terra non firma: schindler's legacy

Friday, March 25, 2005

schindler's legacy

just read the nytimes' article on nissan's new headquarters in michigan, designed by san diego-based architect jennifer luce and flipped through the slideshow. with the caveat that I'm not an architecture expert, I was struck by the some of the conceptual similarities between this design and some of RM Schindler's early work, even if in practice the aesthetic result is vastly different. and granted, some of the ideas are pretty common today. but a few of them seem directly related to schindler's ideas:

conceptual comingling of home and work - yup. got that (altho schindler probably stole that from frank lloyd wright)
modular, sliding walls to transform the division of space. check.
removing outer walls that open to nature. natch.
lots of natural light.
a love of industrial materials.

I know creativity doesn't exist in a vacuum and schindler was inspired by many of his contemporaries (esp FLW) so many of this ideas don't "belong" to him alone, but no one can deny the extent of his influence on other architects, particularly in southern california. so its not inconceivable that many of the devices luce uses stem (however indirectly) from schindler's programs for his residential projects.