Branding Architecture

Swiss architect Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, has began branding himself as Le Corbusier, the french word for crow since the year 1920. he portrayed one of the most influential visionaries of the 20th century of the architecture realm, Le Corbusier had created his own distinctive definition of modernist architecture. Influenced by automobiles and their idea of a working machine, he believed that all men had the same need and requirements for a living space. He began is journey to define the universal standards of a living space. The modular, a diagram of human porportion to architecture was one of his creations for setting the standards of human living. Also a writer, Le Corbusier expressed his approach towards architecture in his book : Towards a New Architecture. His ideas circulated around the idea of creating a utopian of mass produced uniform units of living space. He pictured the city acting more of  a "machine" where living space is presented in its most functional and productive method.

For example, one of his (failed) vision for Paris to devise its city plans, Le Corbusier presented his drawing of uniform high rises (with vertical gardens), totally transforming the city in to a gigantic utopian, a super efficient machine. Not all agree with his vision, some claimed that his ideology is his strong support towards his political standpoint, a Fascist regime. Agreeing or not, Corbusier has definitely created a distinctive vision for his architecture. a brand for his architecure.

His 5  standard architectural elements highlighted in the book : Towards a New architecture are : pilotis, ribbon windows, a free facade ( free facade design since it does not play role in any structural loads), Free plan,  and rooftop gardens. His formula is repeated and applied to different structures around the world such as concrete apartment blocks he called a "Utopian machine." Due to post war shortages, raw concrete was also a part of his design.

His architecture became the brand for modernist architecture. Its literally everywhere and presented in every large city around the world. Bangkok, for instance, adopted much of his styles and the Le Corbusier buildings can be spotted everywhere in downtown Bangkok.

In contrast to Le Corbusier's mass production brutalism, a machine-influenced industrial architect Eero Saarinen from America defined his architecture with a much different approach from Le Corbuiser. He designed the TWA Flight Center with curves and steel frames to represent the flight-in-motion. He defined motion in terms of experience rather than efficiency that Corbusier was so attached to.
 
The flight center is represented in the form of wings in flight and complex curvatures to evoke the sense of motion. Saarinen was known for his use of motion-like curvature to create a unique experience in buildings. Although both industrialized and machine-influenced one can completely create their own style and branding of architecture.

 

 My studio project deals with the shoe brand Crocs using focusing on its Aesthethic, Functionality, comfort and fun. My idea of using the Crocs aesthetics is to recapture Crocs in a setting where Crocs are fashionable. Targeting an age group (that Crocs failed to capture) who would never wear Crocs and an activity Crocs would unlikely be associated with, I tried to create a unique context where Crocs are perfectly fashionable. The flagship store would bring the user to directly experience the materiality and functionality as well as the aesthethics of the brand in a vibrant fashion.  I decide to associate the brand with water, because water holds all the qualities that Crocs is trying to represent, a soothing sense of relaxation an also fun. The flagship store would be a floating building along the chaopraya river, making its aesthethic clearly stand out. As a precedent project in representing the brand, i allude to the rolex building, with continous curves and apertures that is relatable to Crocs. Linking back to the TWA airport by Saarinen, my goal is to manipulate the experience through architecture just like what he had done with the Flight Center. If experience is controlled, the brand image can be manipulated and changed.

.