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| Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (1997) Frank Gehry |
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| Eiffel Tower (1889) Gustave Eiffel The Eiffel Tower and the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao have both been described as significant architectural constructions of their time. The Eiffel Tower has been described as; 'a symbol of technological prowess' (www.tour- eiffel.com/) and the Guggenheim museum has been 'hailed as the most important structure of its time' ( www. guggenheim.org/bilbao ) Research both architectural structures in order to comment on; -the importance of the design and construction The Eiffel Tower was Built in 1889 by engineer, Gustave Eiffel. Its design is important because of the scale of the build at the time. The tower is three hundred metres tall, which at the time of being built, made it the tallest man-made structure in the world. It was originally intended to stand for twenty years, however after this twenty years, it was used for scientific experiments that Gustave Eiffel encouraged, for example, the first radio transmissions. At first, the public disliked the tower, but now it is France's icon, and one of the most famous building in the world. The design of the Guggenheim Museum is important because it was designed with the intention of it being "to the same quality as its contents, with an equal importance to the artworks it would house." This means that the museum was to be a work of art in itself, as opposed to simply a building that contained artworks. due to Bilbao being a port town, the Guggenheim "is intended to resemble a ship. Its brilliantly reflective titanium panels resemble fish scales." these are traits often found in the museum's designer, Frank Gehry's work. again typical to Gehry's work, the museum is "uniquely a product of the period's technology." It was designed with the use of Computer Aided Three Dimensional Interactive Application, a digital design software. -significance of the materials Puddling Iron was used to construct the Eiffel tower. Puddling iron is a type of wrought iron, and was a precursor to steel. Gustave Eiffel decided that Puddling iron was the most appropriate material to build the tower out of in terms of its affordability, it's flexibility and its strength. it needed to be very strong because it was such a large project. The Guggenheim in Bilbao was built using a steel frame and a combination of glass, sinuous stone, and titanium. The titanium is only half a millimetre thick, and is unique, having been designed using a state-of-the-art digital design program. The more irregularly shaped exhibition spaces in the museum have been built using concrete, with "curved and twisted" walls. -significance of the designer Gustave Eiffel was an engineer who founded a company that specialised in "structural metal work." The company's biggest achievement was the construction of the Eiffel tower. Eiffel's Favorite area of practice was bridge building, however he was renowned for his other structural work too. Frank Gehry is the principal of the architechture firm Frank O. Gehry and associates. Gehry has won a number of awards for his designs. His designs are often quite eye catching, and unique. It was for this reason, that he was employed to design the Guggenheim in Bilbao. It was intended to be just as special and unique as the artwork it contained, so Gehry's style of design fitted this criteria quite well. -function of each The Eiffel tower was as the main attraction at the 1889 word fair, the date that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the French revolution. The tower was originally intended to stand for 20 years, however Gustave Eiffel encouraged scientific experiments to be carried out on it, which meant it stayed standing. Today it stands as a tourist attraction, and is used for some radio and tv transmissions The Bilbao Guggenheim was built to contain artworks for the general public to view. Today its purpose remains the same. Compare the two architectural structures, by noting their similarities and differences. Similarities Both Structures have had to have the materials used in construction to achieve the curves that the designers wanted to achieve. Even though both were built with quite different intentions, today they are both tourist attractions. Differences The designers of each structure came from very different backgrounds, Eiffel was an engineer who specialized in structural work with metal, and Gehry was an architect. This meant that the final appearance of each building was very different. The Eiffel tower looking very mathematical and planned out, and the Guggenheim is a lot more stylized, and almost looks like its design was improvised as the structure was built. References: http://www.tour-eiffel.com/everything-about-the-tower/themed-files/69#02 http://architect.architecture.sk/frank-owen-gehry-architect/frank-owen-gehry-architect.php http://www.tour-eiffel.com/everything-about-the-tower/gustave-eiffel http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_materials_were_used_to_build_the_Guggenheim_museum_Bilbao http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guggenheim_Museum_Bilbao https://engineering.purdue.edu/MSE/AboutUs/GotMaterials/Buildings/patel.html |
Reading your blog i found out a lot of fascinating little facts about the Eiffel Tower that i didn't know like that the tower was actually named after the person who designed and created it and found out heaps on the Guggenheim Museum example Frank Genhry won a number of awards for his designs, after reading up all about it and actually discovering why it was so important and how they managed to keep such a odd shaped building standing. I also like the range of similarities and differences that you have. You have managed to point out all the key facts on both structural designs.
ReplyDeleteReading this makes you learn alot more about something so well known. I believe that the Eiffel Tower has alot of meaning behind it and sometimes everyone just worrys about what they see instead of what they know. The Eiffel Tower holds alot of meaning and went through alot of processes to where it is today. Society seem to not care a whole lot about the processes but the look of it seems to charm everyone. Heapsa key facts aswell.
ReplyDeletefor something thats been around for a long time, i had no idea why it was built. i found this interesting in a way where i learnt something new. the way in which you referenced the eiffle tower as being 'a symbol of technological prowess' is very facinating. i looked into the meaning of the word 'prowess' and it simply means 'superiosity', the way it has been described suits its original purpose for it being built-to commemorate the french revolution in 1889.
ReplyDelete"The designers of each structure came from very different backgrounds, Eiffel was an engineer who specialized in structural work with metal, and Gehry was an architect" With the different backgrounds, it shows in the different designs. Although it maybe two different buildings, my insite is that they are "two brothers from different mothers"
ReplyDeletesince I read you blogs I though that you have brought very good facts and ideas on your comments. It is very good to understand the idea and learn about the art works with artists.
ReplyDeleteThe building Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (1997) by Frank Gehry and the Eiffel Tower (1889) Gustave Eiffel used the similer metarials. I really like the both style of the buildings.