What does 'modern' mean anyway?

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you are one of the many people who attended a Design school of any type within the last 30 years you probably were taught to be somewhat forward thinking.  Most schools today try to best prepare their students for the world which they will enter upon graduation.  And let's face it, that world is a MODERN world.  It is a world full of technology and opportunity for those who wish to embrace it.  I don't know how many successful architects are still using a T-square and a drafting table, but I doubt it's very many (Glenn Murcutt may be the only one).  </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That being said, when the conversation turns to Architecture, the word 'modern' has a very negative connotation.  Modern buildings are thought to be harsh and cold, made of steel and glass and very often devoid of emotion.  Modern homes are thought to be reserved for movie stars and egomaniacs who like the idea of living in a place that looks like it's meant to be on display but not really 'lived in'.  Even the real estate industry has turned it's back on the word 'modern' by replacing it with 'contemporary' in its listings.  If no one disputes that we all live in a 'modern' world, then why are modern buildings so few and far between?  I don't see people driving around in Model T's, so why would people build their houses in the styles of by-gone eras?  I think the answer lies in the fact that no one really knows what 'modern' is.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let's start with a textbook definition.  Modern is defined as 'of or relating to present or recent time'.  By that definition anything that exists today is Modern.  If you went out and built a pyramid tomorrow, it would be a modern pyramid.  This is part of the problem.  I don't really think that the definition of the word itself is applicable anymore based on how quickly our society changes.  Relatively speaking, a Sony Walkman relates to recent time.  Compared to a record player,  a Sony Walkman is modern.  It is also extinct.  </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The next problem is that there are very few examples of great modern design.  If you open a trade publication you will find that most of the modern buildings that get published border on the ridiculous.  They may photograph well and appear very progressive but in fact are borderline dysfunctional and very expensive to maintain.  To me, this is not what inspires people, or at least, it doesn't inspire me.  Judging from the widespread lack of modern housing, I'm guessing it doesn't inspire alot of home buyers either.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A few years back, the American automobile industry was headed for extinction.  For years they had just regurgitated the same old designs and relied on the American consumer to buy their cars regardless of the competition.  For 'the big three' there was only one way out  of the crisis and that way was 'modernization'.  They had to update their product lines, focus more on design and fuel efficiency in their fleets and start creating products that reflected the technology of the day.  They introduced features such as parking assist, voice commanded automation, and better engine technology.  All of this in sleeker more interesting modern designs.  It has been shown time and time again that creating well crafted, socially relevant products will yield great success.  To circle back, we have to ask ourselves:  "Is the building industry really doing this?  Are they giving modern design a good name?"</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think that modern architecture is not about building something that relates to present time.  I think it is about building something that relates to present life.  And in that pursuit it cannot be contained within an Architectural style.  When I look at the homebuilding industry at present, I see the automobile industry three years ago.  Unfortunately, there are no major homebuilders leading the way with socially relevant, modern designs.  They just keep reformatting different versions of the same thing.  If we as a society are truly to embrace modern design as a medium then we have to look at the most successful examples from Joseph Eichler to Steve Jobs and understand how the tools that we have available to us today can carry us into a better tomorrow.   </span>

What does 'modern' mean anyway?

If you are one of the many people who attended a Design school of any type within the last 30 years you probably were taught to be somewhat ...

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Cheshire Architects at Northland's Mountain Landing

A sneak preview from our June/July issue, which will be on newsstands on June 7. In it, Pip Cheshire, the designer of this lodge/getaway at Mountain Landing in the Bay of Islands, ponders the question of bigness in residential architecture, and the consequent fear of botching a beautiful landscape with an architectural intervention. Here's an image of the lodge he designed, photographed by Patrick Reynolds - as you can see, the landscape around it is extraordinary and, in our opinion, the house is a suitably strong but respectful presence in it: <br /><br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474992246630385938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8Wyp1DYecDkXdUlFJ9wPpUTl5myRyApNVjWbjeB2mEE7kOd8Io6E-YQXhuePzmCB4XoVDGJwnhMe0M_vzxWzcLXcCBw6kWp-KeaJKTYhMAYFjS8In2OJpLEjSzKLVOt1pzmqmF6n8JKr/s400/Mountain+Landing+exterior+view.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" /><br />Mountain Landing is a private subdivision at the northern end of the Bay of Islands. Once a run-down farm, the developers have invested heavily in the creation of wetlands and vast new planted areas. This is a view of the house from down at the bay - it's one of the first homes to be built in the development.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fEXxyQRQU4UFaAaL7uOwIotXMqVab7IyZxkhiqB0zzel9GDhvGOK7P6QSLBsfmBfbDlU-O6bULtk4TEjBKTVbxjdOvUIGzqVMNOgbk0eOU965yqPkMaJnZJEVwdHAtC9Mry837EgGaLU/s1600/MOUNTAIN+LANDING+I_4452.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474992268693014978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fEXxyQRQU4UFaAaL7uOwIotXMqVab7IyZxkhiqB0zzel9GDhvGOK7P6QSLBsfmBfbDlU-O6bULtk4TEjBKTVbxjdOvUIGzqVMNOgbk0eOU965yqPkMaJnZJEVwdHAtC9Mry837EgGaLU/s400/MOUNTAIN+LANDING+I_4452.JPG" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>And here's a view of the bay from the home's terrace:<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxciIEevGdY_a9BDuE7zFbr0K7Bs0rbU9mGXLq33BTIMBKb0CXLeMru6Y0HPZbHxlERrjbiDvc23744fpsGmZeEt5ZE_IEYQ5vQUOdoJTSJOjWi_a2jmXyaSZhSikZGfXr76q3-o4g01o/s1600/Mountain+landing+view+from+terrace.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474992262078603826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxciIEevGdY_a9BDuE7zFbr0K7Bs0rbU9mGXLq33BTIMBKb0CXLeMru6Y0HPZbHxlERrjbiDvc23744fpsGmZeEt5ZE_IEYQ5vQUOdoJTSJOjWi_a2jmXyaSZhSikZGfXr76q3-o4g01o/s400/Mountain+landing+view+from+terrace.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> </div><div>In the magazine, we ask Pip if the prospect of building on such an amazing site was intimidating.<br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ"><span >"Yes," he says. "The nervousness here stems from two aspects, that I might stuff up a great opportunity and a nice paddock and, more importantly, that the site is so loaded - high landscape and heritage values - that the building couldn’t blink, it needed to be strong without dominating."</span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ"></span> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ"><!--xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /--><o:p><span >We also asked about his decision to adopt a very different strategy from "touching the earth lightly", Glenn Murcutt's famous architectural dictum. </span></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ"><span ></span></span> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ"><span >"I think that Murcutt line of touching the earth lightly is great and certainly fits <!--xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /--><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s history and landscape," Pip says, "but we are a land of major earthworks, of trenches, palisades and ramparts. It's not a universal: I have some lighter projects but where its a big project, a big brief, then I guess I would usually dig in if there was some sort of slope."</span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ"></span> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">You can read the full Q+A with Pip and the story he's written about the property in our next issue (it isn't often that architects are also authors - in Pip's case, his recent book Architecture Uncooked - so we took the opportunity to commission him to write about his own project for this issue). Keep an eye out for it on newsstands soon. </span></p></div>

Cheshire Architects at Northland's Mountain Landing

A sneak preview from our June/July issue, which will be on newsstands on June 7. In it, Pip Cheshire, the designer of this lodge/getaway at ...

Read more »