Architecture & Nature: Softening Modernism
“The tree, man’s friend, a symbol of all organic creation; the tree, the image of a complete construction.”
— Le Corbusier, The Decorative Art of Today
What connects us to our built environment? What makes us most comfortable in a modern design?
The spaces we love the most are interpretations of the natural environment. While Modernism has a reputation of being cold and unwelcoming, we argue that through the application of natural materials, we are able to deepen the human experience. What we respond to most is connected to what we know best. No matter how abstract or complicated our built world has become, it is still a reflection of the beginning. What we seek is where we came from. The following slides demonstrate how architecture has followed a natural order.
Check out 10 of our projects below and learn how they connect to nature.
1. GM Building
Original Architect: Edward Durell Stone, 1968
We use stone to paint pictures. And what greater brush is there than nature? The columns’ height and symmetry instantly transport you to a row of trees in a forest, reinforcing their stature in an urban environment.
2. 237 Park Avenue
Have you experienced the awe-inspiring sensation when standing head onto a mountain? The custom-milled Afromosia veneer feature wall at 237 Park Avenue grounds you with its grand nature.
3. Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Look up- what do you see? Sky, shadow, light.
The manmade wood wall is juxtaposed with the familiar arch of a cave, demonstrating the natural human instinct to trace the gentle bend and see where it touches the sky.
4. 350 West Broadway
The building’s entrance is clad in hand-chiseled Cold Spring granite, a deliberate contrast to the transparency of the surrounding storefronts. The dark, granular stone emulates the texture similar to cliff rocks.
5. 645 Fifth Avenue
The undulating limestone wall at Olympic Tower recalls the geometry of the quarry from which it was cut. The soft angled contours of the wall approximate the beauty found at a natural quarry.
6. 888 Seventh Avenue
Resembling ocean waves, the marble floor has color variation, movement, and pattern, imparting a familiar calming effect.
7. 36 East 57th Street
36 East 57th Street features a triangular cut-out and an iconic 93-foot glass totem that leads to the entrance of the building. The dynamic glass design is complete with peaks, valleys, and reflections.
8. The JACX
Parallel in striation and color, the JACX’s artful bands of terracotta reflects the organic identity of rock formation.
9. 1185 Avenue of the Americas
The Kenya Black Marble feature wall is uniquely defined by a vertical orientation reminiscent of tree trunks.
10. First Canadian Place
Exhaustive research of industry-standard glass assemblies led to a custom frit-patterned white spandrel panel. The dynamic glass pattern was inspired by the unique prism-like structure of a diamond.
