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Richard Meyer, a name you may not know very well
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But abroad, he is a popular “fried chicken”
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The godfather of “white school” of modernist architecture, the youngest winner of Oscar Pritzker Prize in architecture
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All his works have become local landmarks
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Even included in the list of historical sites by the United States, it has become a national protected cultural resource
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Is he really that good? Now it’s time to get to know the architect who is popular abroad
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In 1934, Richard Meyer was born in northeastern New Jersey of the United States to ordinary working-class parents
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In the 20 years before entering the industry, Meyer’s life was flat and light
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The only bright spot is that he was admitted to Cornell University, an Ivy League school in the United States, and gilded his resume
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However, as a top student, Meyer did not choose to get a job immediately after graduation
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Instead, he traveled in Europe and continued to study
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An opportunity, he met the architect Corbusier, this “encounter” let Meyer benefit a lot
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Corbusier’s Modernist theory has deeply influenced Meyer’s design concept
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“White is the biggest feature in my works”, which is also an unavoidable topic in Meyer’s design
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There are many people who design white buildings, but few people only design white buildings
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Meyer is one of them
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In 1970, Meyer and other modernist architects with similar ideas formed the “New York five” group
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The nickname is “white pie.”
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Most of their works are of modernist sculpture style, with smooth and pure white appearance
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In particular, Meyer’s works are the most outstanding
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Why does Meyer love white so much? “White is the most wonderful color, including all the colors in nature, is an extensible color.” More than that, white is a way for Meyer to have a direct dialogue with architecture
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The space, volume and other basic elements of the building can be seen in the pure white design
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White is like rice paper in ink and wash painting, through which Meyer can freely display his talent
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Words without foundation, works see true chapter
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Smith can see the shadow of Corbusier even in his famous works of John Mayer
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Accurate proportion, high living room, curved wall, outdoor stairs are all derived from Corbusier’s three-dimensional space theory
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The significance of Smith house to Meyer is not only learning, but also the formation of its future style
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Another secret is that the real Smith house is actually made of wood, not concrete, which Meyer seldom uses
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Unlike most residential designs, Smith’s house has an entrance facade, a private space enclosed by closed white walls, with only a few dark windows scattered
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On the contrary, the back facing the coast is an open public space composed of three glass facades
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The floor to ceiling glass windows and transparent exterior walls of the three-story building are sparing no effort to “skim” the natural light
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The light and shadow change in one day
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Surrounded by dense forest and blue sea, Smith house is quiet and pure
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Douglas house is a cultural resource on the list of historical sites in the United States
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It was built in 1973
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It is located on the steep slope of Lake Michigan, surrounded by dense coniferous forest
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The slope extends down to the blue Lake Michigan
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Under the environment protection of nature, the white building stands abruptly in the center, as if it is a dramatic dialogue with nature
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The white of the building, the blue of the lake and the green of the trees complement each other and merge into one
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Each floor of the house corresponds to the surface of the lake, the horizon and the water bank
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Millennium church gives up the luxury and solemnity of the past church and adds the clean and free and easy of modernist architecture
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On the ground surrounded by ordinary apartments, the Millennium church unexpectedly “made a good relationship.”
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It does not appear exaggerated and abrupt, but also retains the loftiness and solemnity of the church
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Millennium church is a combination of pure cube and sphere
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Three spherical concrete arc walls ease the cold and indifference of the pure white cube
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In the whole white tone, a beige wooden shutter wall adds a little “warmth” to the church
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Sunlight poured from glass roofs and skylights, and the church was more distracted by the sunshine
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7.8 billion “fire protection” building, Meyer’s most famous masterpiece, the landmark building of Los Angeles, Getty Center
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The Getty Center, which is located on the top of the mountain, was founded in 1984
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It took 14 years and cost US $1.3 billion (about 7.8 billion RMB)
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The total construction area is 92000 square meters, equivalent to 12 football fields, covering the world’s richest private museum
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It is the concentration of Meyer’s design concept
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Needless to say, the appearance of pure white, a close look, this is simply a full score of “three-dimensional composition of the operation.”
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The simple structure is played out by Meyer
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Light and shadow linger among them, patching together a quiet and beautiful world
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However, this grand complex has also faced the “test of life and death”
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Last year, more than 600 acres of land near Getty Center were destroyed by a mountain fire in California
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Surprisingly, it still stands intact
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It’s all thanks to Mayer’s design
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How did he do it? The first step is to select materials
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High temperature resistance is the key
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Reinforced concrete and protective steel are indispensable
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The roof is also covered with sand and stone aggregates commonly used in water conservancy projects
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Two words, fire prevention
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Second, beauty
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Unified use of a high degree of fire-resistant natural stone, tuff stone
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From Tivoli, Rome
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It’s split by hand
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The rough surface can still see fossils of leaves and feathers
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This is “hard material”
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In terms of “soft materials”, drought resistant plants and fire-resistant oak trees are planted in the Central Park and surrounding areas
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Material is for design, the second step is design
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Indoor, double-layer design
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In case of fire, the fire doors of the Museum Gallery will be closed and separated from other venues to prevent the internal fire from spreading
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At the same time, the circulating air system starts, increases the air pressure to prevent the smoke and dust from entering, and extracts oxygen from the air to extinguish the flame
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Outdoors, there are two fire buffer zones, a square constructed of tuff stone and a central garden covered with vegetation
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There are 3.7 million liter water storage tanks connected underground
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According to the ground conditions, the system will start the sprinkler at any time to put out the fire
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In addition, Mayer also considered the earthquake resistant design
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In case of earthquake, special display case and movable base can protect the collection from damage
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From Smith house to Getty Center, the trend of architecture has changed for decades, but Meyer still insists on his own style
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His works are just like textbooks
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Whether it’s appearance design or functionalism, people can’t be picky
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Just like white, Meyer’s design is simple and pure, but it can make people feel the beauty of architecture
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