What Is Post-Modern Architecture?

Intrigued? You can find fantastic post-modern architecture across the world nowadays, so let’s take a look at just a few of the finest examples:

• Guild House (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: VSBA Architects and Planners/Robert Venturi). First occupied in 1964, providing housing for the elderly, Guild House is one of the earliest expressions of post-modernism. The building may not look particularly revolutionary now but even the large arched window can be seen as a rejection of the modernists’ love of rectangular shapes. Does the lettering at the front, bearing the name of the building, need to be quite so large? Clearly not, the letters are arguably at least as much ornamental as functional, whereas the modernists sought to minimise ornamentation. Venturi’s decision to place a fake golden television antenna on the roof of the building, as a playful reference to the main hobby of the elderly residents, was a sign of the post-modernists bringing a new sense of fun to architecture.

• Team Disney Building (Burbank, California: Michael Graves Architecture & Design). Talking of fun, the next time you are passing through California (and we assume a jet-setter like you is always passing through California), take a look at the Team Disney Building. Snow White’s seven dwarfs holding up the roof is a great example of post-modern wit.

• The Binoculars Building (Los Angeles, California: Frank Gehry). We mentioned the importance of facades to post-modern architects and the iconic binocular-shaped entrance to this building is indeed one of the most famous facades in the world. The fact the other parts of this commercial office complex, opened in 1991, look nothing like binoculars ticks the post-modern box of structural variety.

• The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) Building (London: Farrells). The home of James Bond and the Secret Intelligence Service since 1994 is, ironically, one of Europe’s most famous buildings. The fact post-modernists love historical allusions explains why the 20th-century design actually reminds you of ancient Mayan and Aztec temples.