Style Definition
Also called "high-tech modernism", Structural Expressionism is a
specific branch of advanced modernism in which buildings display their
structural elements visibly inside and out. The larger design features are
liberated by the possibilities of engineering, while detailing is
generally faithful to the principles of the International Style. Common
features include detached frames, exposed trusswork, and highly complex
shapes requiring unusual engineering.
Structures in this style tend to be
metallic, in contrast to the older brutalist style which usually employs
concrete. Precedents of Structural Expressionism include modern buildings
like the John Hancock Center and U.S. Steel Tower.
Structural Expressionism was born as a
distinct style with some of the early work of the Richard
Rogers Partnership, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The
style's leading practitioner is the firm Foster
and Partners, led by Norman Foster. The architect Santiago
Calatrava is another major figure, with a more naturalistic form of
this style
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