To my surprise, Asplund was not just interested in the traditional architecture of his time and the Nordic Classicism, he played a very interesting role in ushering in a new stage for Swedish architecture during very changing times around 1930. In this year, Sweden held the Stockholm Exhibition where Asplund was key in the design. Everything from small items, furnishings, to complete building designs was on display but the styles strategically catered to more modern ones. They wanted to promote a new era that supported industry. I can imagine that some people would have had mixed feelings, but many people felt it was a good idea to bring in something new (Bullock, 2008). I found it very interesting Asplund’s involvement considering the achievements he’d had in the other designs already, but obviously they weren’t all he was up to! 

By this point in time, Asplund has apparently made a name for himself and got the opportunity to design a town courthouse. It is another famous example of his work still today. Another one of the things I learned about Erik Gunnar Asplund is that he was also into interior design. So not only did he design the building itself, but he also played a role in the furnishings and other pieces inside. It’s always interesting to learn what a person may have been thinking when they designed something one hundred years ago. The story goes in the article I read that Asplund’s wife was pregnant when he was designing this structure and that some aspects were designed with this in mind. Another example of Classicism from around 1920 (Listers Härads Tingshus, n.d.).

In the picture below is a very interesting example of the work of Gunnar Asplund. It’s a library, but not just any library. The Stockholm Public Library is a fascinating display of Nordic Classicism. According to The Museum of Modern Art, the rotunda (I found out what a rotunda is, like the one I grew up seeing in Chicago’s O’Hare airport) makes it possible for the public to retrieve books from the stacks without the help of a librarian. I love that the design is both nice to look at aesthetically but also is practical considering the number of books it must hold.

This is a cottage designed by E Fay Jones. I really like the way that the structure blends in with the surrounding foliage. Also, it’s really cool that in the middle of the wilderness it comes off as a modern masterpiece. I especially like the elevated deck that I imagine provides panoramic views.

Like the Cardboard Cathedral of New Zealand, the Onagawa Container Temporary Housing is built to help those impacted by natural disaster. As the name suggests, the buildings are constructed from many stacked shipping containers and there are a total of 9 buildings located in Onagawa, Japan. From the speaker Richard McKown and other sources, I’ve noticed that repurposing shipping containers is a widely used technique for quickly constructing buildings. From the exterior, my impression of these temporary buildings is that they appear to be very organized and use space efficiently to house many people without a lot of land. While the individual housing units are probably quite small for long-term living, the design seems to function well as temporary or emergency housing.

Photo & info source: https://www.world-architects.com/en/architecture-news/reviews/onagawa-container-temporary-housing

Here is the Cardboard Cathedral of Christchurch, New Zealand, designed by Shigeru Ban. It is meant to be more of a short-term, earthquake-resistant structure to temporarily substitute structures affected by the earthquake. The sides of the building appear to be fashioned from shipping containers, while the roof consists of 98 cardboard tubes. I think the multi-colored glass are a nice addition to an otherwise blank-looking exterior. When looking at this building, the cardboard tubes are, to me, one of its most interesting aspects. While I would normally assume cardboard to be too weak for building construction, it is somehow successfully used here. I learned that the tubes are specially treated and waterproof, but I wonder how thick the hollow cylindrical tube walls are, and consequently how much they weigh. The structure is supposed to be more resistant to earthquakes than traditional buildings, and I assume part of the reason is that cardboard is probably more flexible than regular building materials like bricks and concrete. Overall, I feel that the building’s A-frame design with shipping containers uses materials efficiently and can be quickly constructed, creating a simple yet effective structure.

Photo & info source: https://www.archdaily.com/413224/shigeru-ban-completes-cardboard-cathedral-in-new-zealand

The New House Queens was designed by the architect Adriana Natcheva and is her take on new styled homes in the Queens area. Like most other works she has this house also follows a very modern stylistic approach, while also keeping the house very squared off on all corners. This design also focuses around a centerpiece in the house that has an outdoor area in the middle of the home with a garden and water features for the ultimate escape from New York life. This building also focuses on having windows replace most of its walls, making the house very open feeling and in touch with all of its surroundings. I would definitely live in a place like this in the future, while I don’t think I want to live in New York particularly, I would still love to have this style of home and the outdoor area in the middle of it all is my favorite. 

This is the Jorge M. Perez College of Architecture building located at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida. This beautiful building was the creation of world renowned Architect and theorist Leon Krier. This building is main building of the five building structure located at the University. This building as many buildings, as well as gallery. This building can hold up to 144 People inside. I love the kind of work Krier creates. I love how most of his work is bold and designed with bold colors. This modern style architecture created by Krier is truly one of a kind.