4 CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE FROM THE 1970s TO THE PRESENT Have you ever been to an Italian city where there are outstanding buildings which are an expression of contemporary architecture? If you haven t, surf the net to get information. What exactly is a loft? Surf the net to get information. Frank Gehry s house in Santa Monica was a forerunner of the Deconstructivist movement. The first recognized public Deconstructivist architectural projects came almost a decade later. An overview Almost every contemporary architect has been influenced by the Modernist movement, but today many of them are following personal and individual paths mixing together details, context, site, theory and new experiments. Since the 1970s, architectural styles have become more fractured and among architects who could be defined contemporary there are post-modernists, neomodernists, deconstructivists, contextualists, expressionists and others too. Clean lines, open floor plans, a loft-like arrangement large spaces, both commercial and residential, and a lack of ornament are general features of contemporary architecture. General trends The term Contemporary Architecture suggests the use of new materials and technologies, forms and architectural languages that are not generally rooted in past traditions. There are six main trends that contemporary architects deal with: 1. Re-use of old buildings to make something new. ONLINE RESOURCES Aldo Rossi to blend in: integrarsi con fame: fama fractured: frammentato loft-like arrangement: disposizione simile ad un loft path: percorso previously: precedentemente rooted in: radicato unpredictable: inprevedibile National Museum of Qatar, Jean Nouvel 318 HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 2. Organic architecture that tries to blend in with the environment around it and sometimes incorporates plants into the structural design. 3. Use of recyclable materials that respect the planet. 4. Carbon-neutral architecture where a structure does not release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, or is designed to run on renewable energy sources. 5. Deconstructivism , which uses non-rectilinear shapes to distort the form of the structure. The finished visual result looks chaotic and unpredictable, but takes into consideration extra space in ways not previously thought of. 6. High Tech, which emerged in the 1970s and includes elements of hightech industry and technology into building design. Stararchitects In the last decade, the word Star architect a neologism describing the phenomenon of architects achieving a sort of celebrity status has been applied to those architects considered icons of contemporary architecture, whose spectacular designs have brought them fame and glory. Among these, the most remarkable are Frank Gehry, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Renzo Piano, Rem Koolhass, Daniel Libeskind, Richard Meier, Santiago Calatrava, Jean Nouvel and Richard Rogers.