three iconic buildings
1970 Nakagin Tower (Tokyo)
iconic dream:
Nakagin Capsule Tower became the symbol of the Japanese obsession for inventing the highest technology. It would not have a chance to exist for this long in any other city than the city of future, Tokyo. Unfortunately if it can't be financed for renovation, very soon it will be demolished.
1955 Inland Steel (Chicago)
The Inland Steel building was designed by two architects one after the other, Walter Netsch was the first architect and later SOM's Bruce Graham took over the project. Out of these three post-war buildings, the most successful one was Inland Steel.
Programmatically it was very succesful because of the innovative idea of collecting the services and the office floors in two different towers.
iconic materiality, iconic power:
The "steel" building was directly associated with the products of the company itself and liked by public. It was also backed by the newly elected Chicago mayor as a icon of rebirth for Chicago after the World War II.
1950 Lever House (New York)
architect client:
The architects of Lever House were very lucky because their client was a trained but not practicing architect heading Unilever. The brief he gave to the architects was very unusual and was letting them explore the simple beauty of the modern architecture for the first time in New York.
iconic advertising:
More than being succesful as a building to live in, Lever House was an icon, a symbol for the simple and elegant architecture of the century in New York. It survived because Unilever thought it's different and clean look was a good advertising tool for themselves.
iconic dream:
Nakagin Capsule Tower became the symbol of the Japanese obsession for inventing the highest technology. It would not have a chance to exist for this long in any other city than the city of future, Tokyo. Unfortunately if it can't be financed for renovation, very soon it will be demolished.
1955 Inland Steel (Chicago)
The Inland Steel building was designed by two architects one after the other, Walter Netsch was the first architect and later SOM's Bruce Graham took over the project. Out of these three post-war buildings, the most successful one was Inland Steel.
Programmatically it was very succesful because of the innovative idea of collecting the services and the office floors in two different towers.
iconic materiality, iconic power:
The "steel" building was directly associated with the products of the company itself and liked by public. It was also backed by the newly elected Chicago mayor as a icon of rebirth for Chicago after the World War II.
1950 Lever House (New York)
architect client:
The architects of Lever House were very lucky because their client was a trained but not practicing architect heading Unilever. The brief he gave to the architects was very unusual and was letting them explore the simple beauty of the modern architecture for the first time in New York.
iconic advertising:
More than being succesful as a building to live in, Lever House was an icon, a symbol for the simple and elegant architecture of the century in New York. It survived because Unilever thought it's different and clean look was a good advertising tool for themselves.
