West Coast Architecture
1,000-mile Architecture road trip
02.05.2023 - The international elective workshop on West Coast Architecture took students to the US West Coast during the semester break from February 24th to March 3rd. It was an intensive 1,000-mile architecture road trip from Eugene in Oregon along the coast to Berkeley in California for 15 students on the Architecture bachelor's and master's degree program, as well as the Real Estate Management bachelor's program and the two organizing professors Joachim B. Kieferle and Horst Roman-Müller.
The excursion began with a two-day workshop together with 16 students from the University of Oregon, School of Architecture & Environment, in the studio of Prof. Nancy Yen-Wen Cheng. Working in international teams of two, the students developed flexible interiors for the American students' current design projects and presented them in sketches, models and photos.
"Right at the beginning, horticulture lecturer Dr. Whitey Lueck demonstrated in his introductory tour of the campus layout and botany on the campus grounds, which were virtually unvegetated when the University of Oregon was founded in 1885, that the teaching and learning space of the American campus university differ significantly from German universities," says Prof. Roman-Müller.
Typical West Coast Architecture
The architecture of the US West Coast is particularly characterized by the Mid-Century Modern Architecture of the 20th century (ca. 1930 to 1970). The specialization of the architecture road trip was on projects from this era. Like the Gordon House in Silverton by Frank Lloyd Wright right at the beginning, which he called USONIAN Style, an architectural style specific to the USA. "What is particularly impressive about the Gordon House is the spatial composition and the masterful use of different materials. Alvar Aalto designed the library of Mount Angel Abbey quite differently, but just as masterfully, with a multifaceted library space with many intermediate levels and framed views of the wide landscape," says Prof. Kieferle.
As a current timber construction, the multi-award-winning house of track and field athlete Roscoe Divine by architect Landry Smith has demonstrated the quality of current American timber construction. After lots of nature, such as the Oregon Dunes and the Avenue of the Giants redwoods, we headed to the coastal town of Fort Bragg. Here, City Councilwoman Tess Albin-Smith and planner Sarah McCormick gave an introduction to the problems and current development strategies of the town following the closure of the sawmill around 20 years ago.
A highlight of the road trip was a tour of the 1960s Sea Ranch development, which is characterized by buildings by Charles Moore, Don Jacobsen and other architects that are perfectly integrated into the coastal landscape. The Real Estate office Liisberg, represented by Michaela Suess from Germany, made it possible to visit various original residential buildings, walk-in cabins and the Sea Lodge. "The Moonraker Recreation Center was particularly surprising with the impressive 'Supergraphics' by Barbara Stauffacher," says Prof. Roman-Müller.
In Napa Valley, California's wine region, the two wineries built in the early 1990s by Clos Pegase (architect: Michael Graves) in a postmodern style and Artesa (architect: Domingo Triay) as a terraced structure showed very different approaches. Other highlights were the visits to the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, also designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and finally in San Francisco the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption by Pietro Belluschi and Pier Luigi Nervi as well as the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Center with the largest hotel lobby in the world and the forerunner of the so-called Atrium Hotels by architect and project developer John Portman. And the campus tour of the University of Berkeley by Prof. Hajo Neis emphatically showed why the university enjoys such a reputation.
"With the many impressions, the students continued to work on the various tasks in the context of the Architecture Road Trip on climate, materials and building construction as well as sustainable buildings (green buildings) until the end of March," explains Prof. Kieferle, who, like Prof. Roman-Müller, thanked the students for their confidence in the organization of this Architecture Road Trip, their great resilience, as well as their commitment and enthusiasm for the architecture, country and members of staff of the West Coast of the USA. "Another special thanks goes to the International Office of RheinMain University of Applied Sciences and the university management, who made this workshop possible with internationalization funds, as well as the faculty, who supported all participants financially," both professors agreed.