When I decided to write a book about modern architecture for students, my first instinct was to write interesting stories about great architects that I had heard over the years. Though I included a few of them in the book, I thought it a good idea to single out these stories and have separate blog. So, here it is.
The first story is about a design of a bank building based on Parthenon. This was the Girard Trust Corn Exchange Bank (now part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art) in Philadelphia, designed by architects McKim, Mead & White in the early 20th century. The building was explicitly modeled on the Parthenon style, featuring a massive, open, columned banking hall (or "cella") on the ground floor to maintain classical purity.
The architects refused to subdivide this space with modern partitions, believing it would violate the aesthetic integrity of the classical design. The owner sided with the architect's vision to maintain the monumental, open-floor "temple" aesthetic. As a result of this refusal to disturb the open hall, the bank manager was reportedly forced to have his office in the basement.
The second story is about La Scala, an Opera House in Milan, Italy, which was designed by Giuseppe Piermarini. This was in 1778, much before the modern obsession of a functional design. There were a number of seats in this theatre which had no view of the stage. When people found this out and the architect was asked about the flaw, he argued that in an opera theatre it is impossible to plan for everyone to have a look at the stage and some people will have to be content listening to the music. Though the acoustic design of the place was good, this kind of reply by an architect today would be unimaginable today.
Both the events are much before the modern insistence on function, and hence the reason for F. L. Wright to specify 'Form follows function' or for Le Corbusier to define 'house as a machine to live in'
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