MICHAEL GRAVES

SUBMITTED BY:

DEEPAK KUMAR SINGHSUSHANT SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

INTRODUCTION

• DATE OF BIRTH : APRIL 1934

• PLACE OF BIRTH : INDIANAPOLIS IN INDIANA, U.S.A

• NATIONALITY : AMERICAN

• EDUCATION :

I. RECEIVED ARCHITECTURAL TRAINING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI & HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

II. WON “THE ROME PRIZE” IN 1960 & STUDIED FOR 2 YEARS AT “AMERICAN ACADEMY” IN ROME.

• PROFESSION :

I. BEGAN HIS PRACTICE IN 1964 IN PRINCETON, NEW JERCY.II. FIRM- MICHAL GRAVES & ASSOCIATES, 1964.

INFLUENCES• GRAVES CONTINUES TO TURN TO ARCHITECTURE ITSELF FOR

HIS INSPIRATION.

• HE HAS A DEEP INTEREST IN EXISTING ARCHITECTURE :- ANCIENT, NEO- CLASSICAL, MODERN - & DERIVES PLEASURE FROM REINTERPRETING IT’S FORMS & COMPOSITIONS.

• HE GIVES CREDENCE TO THE BASIC TENET THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN ORIGINAL IDEA BUT THAT EVERYTHING ORIGINAL IS BASED ON THE REWORKING OF WHAT ALREADY EXISTS.

• ONE VERY STRONG INFLUENCE ON THE WORK OF GRAVES IS THE INTEREST IN & APPRECIATION OF; THE SIMPLE DOMESTIC RITUALS OF LIFE THAT ONE ENJOYS OR OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO ENJOY, DESPITE THE SPEED AT WHICH TECHNOLOGY IS RURTLING US INTO THE CYBER SPACE.

PHILOSOPHY• GRAVE’S LANGUAGE OF ARCHITECTIRE OPERATES ON A NUMBER OF LEVELS. IT IS MEANT TO BE LEGIBLE & A PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE.

• SECONDLY, & CERTAINLY NO LESS IMPORTANT, ALTHOUGH ADMITTEDLY MORE UNDERSTANDABLE TO THE TRAINED EYE, IS A PASSIONATE & SOMETIMES PLAYFUL INTEREST IN REWORKING THE COMMONLY ACCEPTED LANGUAGE OF ARCHITECTURE INTO A UNIQUELY PERSONAL EXPRESSION OF WHAT IT MIGHT BECOME, WITHOUT LOSING IT’S IDENTITY. THE REWORKING OF WHAT EXISTS INTO WHAT IS UNKNOWN BUT STILL RECOGNIZABLE IS THE GOAL.

• GRAVE’S PRACTICE IS PRACTICE IN THE LITERAL SENSE OF THE WORD. HE IS CONSTANTLY PRACTICING THE RULES & PRINCIPLES OF ARCHITECTURE.

• HE DESIRES TO CREATE A PLEASANT, COMFORTABLE ENVIORNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE IN HIS BUILDING.

HIS CONTINUALLY EVOLVING EXPERIMENTATION WITH ARCHITECTURAL FORM & LANGUAGE AT THE LEVEL OF ABSTRACTION & FIGURATION, SCALE & COLOR, SIZE & STRUCTURAL SYSTEM IS SUCH THAT, THERE IS EMERGANCE OF NEW IDEAS WITHOUT DENYING EXISTANCE OF TRADITIIONS.

FIGURE 1 : Denver Central Library, 1990-1996http//:archdaily.com

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE• GRAVES HAS BEEN AN ARCHITECT WHO IS NOT SIMPLY CONCERNED

WITH FORMAL MANIPULATION OF A SELF- REFERENTIAL LANGUAGE BUT IS EQUALLY OCCUPIED WITH A BUILDING’S SIGNIFICANCE WITH TIME & PLACE.

• HE DESIGNS BUILDING IN A NEAR- POPULIST ATTITUDE, SO THAT NON ARCHITECTS CAN RECOGNIZE DISTINCT ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS WITHIN THEIR COMPOSITIONS & RELATE THEM IN SCALE TO THEIR OWN BODIES.

• HIS EARLY PROJECTS REVEAL DISTINCT REFERENCES TO THE ENVIORNMENT THAT THE BUILDINGS ARE A PART OF:-

A CURVE REFERRING TO THE CLOUDS ABOVE. A YELLOW RAIL REFERRING TO THE SUN. A TERRACOTTA BASE SUGGESTING GROUNDING IN THE EARTH. A MURAL EXPANDING THE PERSPECTIVE OF A ROOM.

GRAVES STYLE IN 19801. GRAVES STRATEGY HAS BEEN “TO INTERNALIZE THE EVENTS OF THE BUILDING”, IDENTIFYING PARTICULAR COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM THAT CAN BE GIVEN FORMAL EMPHASIS. THE RESULT IS THAT THESE LARGE COMPLEXES BECOME CITIES INTO THEMSELVES, SELF CONTAINED BY SOMEWHAT INWARD LOOKING.

2. WHETHER THE EMPHASIS OF THE BUILDING IS PRIMARILY HORIZONTAL OR VERTICAL, A HIERARCHIAL ROUTE IS ESTABLISHED THROUGH THE REPETITIVE SPACES.

3. RELATIONSHIP B/W INDOORS AND OUTDOORS BY “PUSHING THE WALL AS FAR OUT AS IT CAN GET TO MAKE A BAY WINDOW THAT GRABS THE LIGHT” e.g. HUMANA BUILDING OR BY CARVING SOMETHING OUT OF THE FACE OF THE BUILDING SO PEOPLE CAN LITERALLY GO OUTSIDE, e.g. TAZIMA BUILDING.

Figure 2: THE HUMANA BUILDING, 1985, Louisville, KY, United Stateshttp//:www.michaeklgraves.com

ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS1). BUILT FORM

INFLUENCED BY THE ROMAN STYLE, GRAVES TRIED TO CREATE GRAND INTERIOR SPACES BUT BROKEN DOWN TO HUMAN SCALE.

CUBICAL FACADES TREATED IN THE CLASSICAL THREE PART

DIVISION OR TRIPARTITE FORM WITH THE BASE, SHAFT &

CORNICE.

IN LATER PROJECTS, THE STRICT FORM OF THE CUBE IS

BROKEN. FIGURE 3: THOMSON CONSUMER ELECTRONICS AMERICAS HEADQUARTERS, 1994INDIANAPOLIS, IN, UNITED STATEShttp//:http://www.michaelgraves.com/

2). WINDOWS

IT FORMS THE BASIC ELEMENT AS SURFACE TEXTURE, DUE TO THEIR PROPORTION & REPETITION.

HUMANA BUILDING PORTLAND BUILDING WALT DISNEY DOLPHIN HOTEL

FIGURE 4: http//:http://www.michaelgraves.com/

MAJOR WORKS

PLACE : LOUISVILLE,KENTUCKY,HUMANADESIGN STARTED :1982DESIGN COMPLETED:1985STRUCTURE MATERIAL USED: STEEL FRAME & GRANITENO. OF STORIES : 26

HUMANA BUILDING

FIGURE 5: VIEW FROM OHIO RIVERhttp//:www.michaelgraves.com

HUMANA BUILDING IS THE HEADQUATERS OF WELL-KNOWN AMERICAN COMPANY SPECIALIZING IN HEALTH CARE.

THE MODERN BUILDINGS SURROUNDING THE SITE ARE SET BACK FROM THE STREET ON PLAZAS, ERODING THE HISTORICAL URBAN STREET WALL PATTERN.

IN CONTRAST, THE HUMANA BUILDING OCCUPIES ITS ENTIRE SITE AND RE-ESTABLISHES THE STREET EDGE AS AN ESSENTIAL URBAN FORM.

FIGURE 6:http//:www.michaelgraves.com

THE 525,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING INCLUDES TWO PARKING LEVELS, RETAIL SHOPS ON THE FIRST FLOOR, AND OFFICES AND CONFERENCE CENTER ABOVE.

FIGURE 7: SITE PLANhttp//:www.michaelgraves.com

THE BUILDING’S FORMAL ORGANISATION REFLECTS ITS DEVISION INTO THESE SIGNIFICANT PARTS

THE LOWER PORTION, SIX STORIES HIGH, IS DEVOTED TO PUBLIC SPACE AND TO HUMANA’S EXECUTIVE OFFICES.

GENERAL OFFICES ARE LOCATED IN THE BODY OF THE BUILDING. THE CONFERENCE CENTER OCCUPIES THE 25TH FLOOR, WITH

ACCESS TO A LARGE OUTDOOR PORCH OVERLOOKING THE CITY AND THE RIVER BEYOND .

FIGURE 8: TWENTY-FIFTH FLOOR TERRACEhttp//:www.michaelgraves.com

WALT DISNEY WORLD DOLPHIN & SWAN HOTEL

LOCATION : WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT, FLORIDA DESIGN STARTED : 1987 DESIGN COMPLETED : 1990 AREA : 2- MILLION SQ. FEET STRUCTURE : REINFORCED CONCRETE & STEEL

SUPERSTRUCTURE MATERIAL : EXTERIOR INSULATION & FINISH SYSTEM

WITH PAINTED MURALS.

FIGURE 9: http//:www.michaelgraves.com

THE 1,500 ROOM WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT DOLPHIN FACES ITS COMPOSITION PROJECT,THE 758-ROOM WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT SWAN HOTEL, ACROSS A LARGE CRESCENT SHAPED ARTIFICIAL LAKE.

BOTH HOTELS CONTAIN EXTENSIVE CONVENTION FACILITIES, RESTAURANTS, AND RETAIL SHOPS.

FIGURE 10: SITE PLANhttp//:www.michaelgraves.com

FIGURE 11: PLAN OF DOLPHIN HOTELhttp//:www.michaelgraves.com

FIGURE 12: PLAN OF SWAN HOTELhttp//:www.michaelgraves.com

THE COLORS AND DECORATION OF THE TWO HOTELS SUGGEST THE CHARACTER OF FLORIDA RESORTS AND PROVIDE A THEMATIC CONTEXT CONSISTENT WITH DISNEY’S PROGRAM FOR “ENTERTAINMENT ARCHITECTURE”

GIGANTIC STATUES OF DOLPHINS AND SWANS MARK THE ENDS OF THE HOTEL ROOFS, MAKING THE HOTELS VISIBLE AND RECOGNIZABLE FROM A GREAT DISTANCE.

WITHIN BOTH HOTELS, THE LOBBIES, BALLROOMS, GUESTROOM CORRIDORS, RESTAURANTS, AND THE OTHER AREAS EXPERIENCED BY HOTEL VISITORS ARE EMBELLISHED BY A WIDE VARIETY OF PATTERNED MATERIALS AND CUSTOM-DESIGNED LIGHT FIXTURES AND FURNITURE,DELIGHTING THE VISITOR WITH THE UNEXPETED.

FIGURE 13: DOLPHIN HOTEL FACADEhttp//:www.michaelgraves.com

LOCATION : DENVER, COLORADO DESIGN STARTED : 1990 DESIGN COMPLETED :1996 TOTAL FLOOR AREA : 133,000 SQ. FEET (RENOVATION)

& 405,000 SQ. FEET (NEW CONSTRUCTION) STRUCTURE : STRUCTURAL CONCRETE WAFFLE SLABS

ON CONCRETE COLUMNS MATERIAL: CAST STONE, NATURAL STONE,TIMBER &

COPPER ROOFING

DENVER CENTRAL LIBRARY

FIGURE 14:http//:www.michaelgraves.com

INTRODUCTION

• Michael Graves was commissioned in 1990 to renovate and design an extension to the Denver Central Library.

• Sitting adjacent to Denver Art Museum, the Denver Central Library stands as the 8th largest library in the United States.

• The 405,000 s.f. addition to the existing library allows for the original building designed by Burnham Hoyt in 1956 to maintain its own identity.

•  So much so that Graves’ addition and the original library are two parts in a larger composition that are connected by a three story atrium.

• The expansive atrium serves as a new main entrance that becomes the main focal point for visitor orientation and circulation to either wing of the library.

FIGURE 14: SITE & GROUND FLOOR PLANhttp//:www.michaelgraves.com

THE SCALE AND COLORATION OF THE ADDITION, AS WELL AS THE INDIVIDUALIZED MASSING OF ITS VARIOUS COMPONENTS, ALLOW THE ORIGINAL LIBRARY TO MAINTAIN ITS OWN IDENTITY AS ONE ELEMENT OF LARGER COMPOSITION.

TWO MAJOR PUBLIC ENTRANCES ESTABLISH AN EAST-WEST AXIS THROUGH THE GREAT HALL, A THREE STORY PUBLIC ROOM OF URBAN SCALE WHICH IS THE FOCAL POINT FOR VISITOR ORIENTATION AND CIRCULATION.

THE SOUTH-FACING ROTUNDA CONTAINS SPECIAL SUCH AS THE REFERENCE ROOM, THE PERIODICALS CENTER AND, ON THE TOP FLOOR, THE WESTERN HISTORY READING ROOM.

FIGURE 15: WESTENTRY LOOKING TOWARDS THE GREAT HALLhttp//:www.michaelgraves.com

THE LATTER ROOM, WHICH CONTAINS SPECIAL FUNCTIONS OF LOCAL MATERIALS, IS CENTERED ON A TIMBER DERRICK LIKE STRUCTURE THAT FIGURATIVELY RECALLS THE NATION’S WESTWARD EXPANSION.

FIGURE 16: READING ROOMhttp//:www.michaelgraves.com

SECTION

• For a post-modern building, the interior of the library is fairly conservative when it comes to the decorative aesthetics.

• Most of the spaces appear as traditional library spaces composed of natural wood evoking a sense of grandeur and extravagance.

• Only in the reading rooms is there any trace of the post-modern aesthetic. 

• One begins to understand the abstracted colonnades, vaulting, and colorful painting creating more of a fun learning environment rather than a stark, serious library space.

• The Denver Central Library may be one of the first library’s to function more than just a library.

• In addition to the extensive literary collections, the library functions as a community gathering space consisting of multipurpose rooms, meeting facilities, shops, a café, and a special “museum-like” collection on the American West.

• he Denver Central Library sits affixed in Downtown Denver as not only an academic institution, but as part of a larger cultural epicenter.

GRAVES WAREHOUSE RESIDENCE

• Michael Graves house in the university town of Princeton, New Jersey, is a highly personal work by an architect best known for large-scale projects.

• The residence is being renovated from a ruined warehouse. So Graves often address his house as ‘warehouse’.

• Modest in scale and virtually invisible from the public street, the ‘Warehouse’ is nonetheless a symbol of Graves’ passionate belief in an architecture which is both natural and humane. Its quiet grandeur reflects his final rejection of the machine aesthetic of the Modern Movement.

• The house is a personal statement and a private retreat, where Graves keep the furniture, pictures, books, sculptures and other objects accumulated during a lifetime of collecting.

• Graves like John Soane, sees his house as a place to display his collections, which will one day be available to the interested public. John Soane’s museum house has always been an inspiration for Graves.

• The warehouse is an L-shaped building, consisting of a northern wing and an eastern wing.

• The original north wing, hidden from the street, had large doors where trucks regularly disgorged loads of household accessories.

• The later wing, at right angle, was much narrower. It was here that Graves first made his home. He installed a kitchen and bathroom and lived like a student at first.

• In mid eighties with his practice booming, he tackled the northern wing, bringing in other members of his office to assist and began work on the garden. This second phase of work took four years and was followed by a year of work in the kitchen wing.

• The formal inauguration of house take place in 1992, when a conference of US Governors took place in Princeton and Graves held a garden party for the Governors’ spouses.

DRAWINGS

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

EXTERIOR

• The exterior has a quiet monumentality, which derives from the vernacular barns and farmhouses of the Italian countryside.

• Graves have rejected ‘canonic’ classicism in favour of a freer and more ‘natural’ approach to design and stresses that the house is intended as a practical place to live rather than a monument, despite his long term plans to preserve it and possibly house an archive of his work there.

• The elevation of the house cannot be read in terms of conventional classical design. Informal and vernacular in inspiration, they equally have an almost Cubist abstraction which suggests connection with Graves’ earlier houses.

• The chimney stack in particular, is a boldly expressed sculptural design.

• The unity of house and garden is key theme. Graves seeks an idealized landscape, recalling those he loves to paint in Italy, and planting is subordinated to an overall architectural intent. The warm and slightly irregular texture of the stucco, contributes greatly to the overall effect of the exterior.

• Highly sculptural in treatment and rigorous in its exclusion of ornament, the Warehouse looks beyond replication and more genuine ‘traditionalism’.

• The entrance court at the house is a dynamic and yet comfortable space, open to the sky and preparing guests for the relatively low and intense entrance hall.

• The dining room looks into this space, which has an agreeable ‘inside/out’ quality.

INTERIORS

LIBRARY

• The Library is placed such that it behaves as connecting area between Living room and East garden.

• The library has a sense of verticality and highly architectural in treatment, like a street of colonnaded buildings.

• Skylight enlightens the volume of the library from the top.

WORKSPACE | STUDY

• The house is close to Graves’ office, but he occasionally works in here and keeps a small functional study room on the first floor.

• He often expresses himself in the delicate, enigmatic water colours he paints, on his tours.

• Study room is lit by the square window on the front wall.

LIVING ROOM

• Graves’ living room is equally made for comfort rather than mere show. The relatively low floor to ceiling heights in the building – dictated by the original structure – have been cleverly utilized to produce interiors of some intensity.

• Alcoves to the living room are distinctly Soanean in form, but reflects the dimension of original store rooms used by Princeton students to store everything from books to grand pianos.

• A terra-cotta-colored wall sets off furnishings that range from antiques to chairs designed by Michael Graves.

DINING ROOM

• The dining room is lit by tall metal framed windows which look onto the courtyard which seems to form a natural extension to the space.

• The chimney-piece has an austerity which is more Modernist than Classical.

• Many of the accessories in this room were sold as Grand Tour souvenirs a century ago. Michael designed the glass-and-metal centerpiece vessel for Steuben (Manufacturer of handmade art glass and crystal).

• The Warehouse is a highly personal building, which expresses not just Michael Graves, master builder, but equally Graves the sceptic and questioner of orthodoxies, whether modern or ‘traditional’. The house is clearly both modern and traditional.

• If its plan is essentially Classical and its use of light and shade specifically Soanean, the easy flow of the spaces and the essential informality of the building provide a reminder of its architect’s roots in the Modern movement

• The Warehouse is indeed, a clear statement of a lively traditionalism which remains a powerful strand in contemporary American design.

• Its quiet beauty is the work of a man who has played a key role in reshaping the face of architecture in the late twentieth century.

MARITIME EXPERIENTIAL MUSEUM

INTRODUCTION

• The Maritime Experiential Museum is an iconic structure that draws its inspiration from sea-going vessels and thus embodies the stories contained in the exhibits and programs presented inside.

• Throughout the day, the shadows and dappled light cast by the ribbed frame will enliven the interior exhibits.

• The interactive exhibits and the circular 300-seat Typhoon Theater, provide a wide variety of experiences for visitors.

• The exhibit focuses on the maritime Silk Route, which historically stretched from Southeast Asia to Oman.  Geographically, Singapore is an important part of this history.

• The Museum is set back from the water’s edge by an esplanade with a covered pedestrian loggia that allows visitors to enjoy the view of the mainland across the bay.

• At night, when viewed from the water, the glass facade of the Museum will reveal the brightly-lit interior, becoming a beacon on the water and a landmark on the horizon.

• West of the Museum, a small marina will display examples of sailing vessels, a tourist attraction in its own right, which lends an air of authenticity to the museum complex.

FLOOR PLAN

• The Museum and Marina are thematically linked to the adjacent outdoor Marine Life Park and form a rich tourist experience focused on the sea, marine life and maritime experiences.

• Along the waterfront at the base of Universal Plaza is the Showplace Theater, with large stone steps creating a seating area for 2,000 people.

•  With views across the bay to the main island, this is the location of the Crane Dance, a nightly sound and light show in the water that epitomizes the fun and drama of Resorts World.

PORTLAND BUILDING

PORTLAND MUNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING

• Built : 1980- 1982• Type : Government offices• Cost : US$29 million• Floor : 15• Location : Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, USA•  height : 71.6 m

BUILDING CHARACTERISTIC• Its distinctive block-like design and square.• Use of sculptural forms ornaments.WINDOW• Cubical facades treated in the classical three part division or

tripartite form with the base , shaft and cornice Anthropomorphism.FACADE• Uses column as an surface treatment and defining the cornice or the

head of the building and entrance.• Façade are symmetry and linearity broken by adding vertical band of

color and windowSCULPTURAL ELEMENT• These form are sculptural and somewhat playful• These forms are not reduced to an absolute minimum; they are built

and shaped for their own sake.• The building units all fit together in a very organic way which

enhance the effect of the form.• It has a typical symmetrical façade which was at the time prevalent

throughout postmodern building

HANSELMANN HOUSE

DRAWING & SKETCHES

HANSELMANN HOUSE, FORT WAYNE, INDIANA

• Built : 1967• Type : house• Context : suburban• Style Block : massing• House content : family of two adults and four children • The house is understood frontally by the layering of three principal

facades• The house and the space immediately in front of it make a double

square in plan and volumetrically a double cube, with one being open and the other enclosed

QUOTATIONS

• I don't care what people call me, labels have the negative value of making smaller boundaries for people.

• I see architecture not as Gropius did, as a moral venture, as truth, but as invention, in the same way that poetry or music or painting is invention.

• I don't believe in morality in architecture.

• In designing hardware to be used every day, it was important to keep both the human aspects and the machine in mind. What looks good also often feels good.

BIBLIOGRAPHY :

• http://architecture.about.com/od/greatarchitects/p/graves.htm• http://architect.architecture.sk/michael-graves-architect/michael-gr

aves-architect.php• http://www.michaelgraves.com/architecture/project/the-humana-b

uilding.html• http://www.archdaily.com/91274/ad-classics-denver-central-library-

michael-graves-associates/• http://www.archicentral.com/st-coletta-school-washington-dc-usa-

michael-graves-associates-6373/• http://efbdesigns.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/michael-graves-pow

erpoint.pdf• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Graves• http://www.cfstinson.com/Finishes/SampleBrowser.jsp?lid=1001&d

s=.pattern.descriptor.hp._2Fdescriptors_2Fcollection_3DMichael+Graves&rt=Michael+Graves+Collection&srk=7&lsc=2

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArchINFORM• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_School_of_Architecture• http://www.archdaily.com/86804/ad-interviews-michael-graves/• http://www.walsh-construction.com/projects_washington.htm• http://www.michaelgraves.com/• http://www.di.net/about/senior_fellows/