ARCHITECTURAL STYLE:

MICHAEL GRAVES
A member of the "New York Five", Graves re-interpreted the rational style that had been
introduced by Le Corbusier in the 1920s into a neoclassical style. By the mid-1970s, Graves
had become less concerned with the roots of Modernism and had developed a wide-ranging
eclecticism in which he abstracted historical forms and emphasized the use of color.
Michael Graves generates an ironic, vision of Classicism in which his buildings have
become classical in their mass and order. Although influenced by the fundamentalists in
developing an architectural language, Graves has become an an opponent of modern works
who uses humor as an integral part of his architecture. Indeed, many of his recent designs
seem to celebrate architectural pastiche and kitsch.
Graves' designs are simple, bold and have modern appeal while featuring classical
styles found in ancient architecture. These elements appear timeless and give his buildings a
sense of monumental nobility while still pleasing contemporary commercial society. The clean
elegant lines soar and at the same time relate well to human scale. Shapes are rendered in
their most basic forms yet translate to a sophisticated and practical reality. "He re-interpreted
the rational style that had been introduced by Le Corbusier in the 1920s into a neoclassical
style. By the mid-1970s, Graves had become less concerned with the roots of Modernism and
had developed a wide-ranging eclecticism in which he abstracted historical forms and
emphasized the use of color. Michael Graves generates an ironic, vision of Classicism in which
his buildings have become classical in their mass and order.

Graves continues to turn to architecture itself for his inspiration.

He has a deep interest in existing
o Architecture :- ancient, neo- classical, modern - & derives pleasure from
reinterpreting its forms & compositions.
He gives credence to the basic tenet that there is no such thing as an original idea but
that everything original is based on the reworking of what already exists
Graves has been steadily developing his practice in japan for the last 15 years.
He explain that japan has become a place to experiment a bit with
abstraction. In europe & america im probably a bit more conscious of historic
context. Because so often the cities weve been asked to design for there are

completely rebuilt
IN JAPAN GRAVES ARCHITECTURE WAS SEEN AS HUMANISTICRATHER THAN
MECHANISTIC i.e.IN TERMS OF MATERIALS & THE ANTHROPOMETRIC
QUALITIES OFTHE BUILDING. HE USED MAN AS THE METAPHOR RATHER THAN
THE MACHINE