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What is Modern Architecture?

Sonal Panse
Sonal Panse

Modern architecture is the term used to describe the simplified, unornamented building styles of the late 19th and the 20th centuries. These building styles are also known by other labels, like International Style, Neue Sachlichkeit or New Objectivity, and Functionalism. They developed as a reaction to the design excesses of the Victorian and the Edwardian period.

Proponents of the modern style wanted designs that were more in keeping with the social and political developments of a new age. It also became possible to implement these new design ideas as a result of new technological and engineering developments. Materials like glass, steel, iron and concrete began to be widely used in construction.

A comparison between the modernist IBM Building and the contemporary Trump Tower in Chicago reveals the modernist emphasis on straight lines.
A comparison between the modernist IBM Building and the contemporary Trump Tower in Chicago reveals the modernist emphasis on straight lines.

The architects who designed in this style were mainly inspired by machine aesthetics. They determined the form of a building according to its functional requirements and the materials to be used. Simplified forms were preferred and all unnecessary details were banished.

Some prominent modern architects were Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright in the US, Otto Wagner in Vienna, Victor Horta in Brussels, Le Corbusier in France and Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona. The German architects Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe and Walter Gropius ran the famous Bauhaus school that was a major influence on the modern movement. At the outbreak of World War I, many of the leading Baushaus figures fled to the United States from Europe and took their design ideas with them.

The Bauhaus School was a branch of modern architecture that spread from Germany to the US.
The Bauhaus School was a branch of modern architecture that spread from Germany to the US.

Modernism proved very popular in the US, and for a long time — nearly 50 years — it was the definitive style used to build commercial, institutional and public buildings. The style did not catch on that well with single residential dwellings, however. Notable buildings in the modern style are William Le Baron Jenney's Home Insurance Building in Chicago and the Seagram building by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in New York. Modern architects were also concerned with city planning, with Le Corbusier designing the city of Chandigarh in India and being involved in designing Brasilia in Brazil.

The interior of Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building in New York.
The interior of Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building in New York.

The principle problem with modern architecture was its uncompromising focus on functionality and rectilinear forms. There was no inclination to give designs more humanizing touches and no concession to local styles. This made modern style buildings appear rather stark and sterile. Critics of the style argued that aesthetics and accessibility were as important as functionality, and that the insistence on rectilinear forms was stifling creativity. Disenchanted with the modern styles, many architects began to move towards the more organic designs of post-modernism.

Discussion Comments

anon337262

Modern architecture needs fewer resources than a normal house. It looks awesome, but actually it's very simple.

FrameMaker

I recently went to Arizona and I stopped by Arcosanti located off the interstate somewhere in the middle of the state. I thought that the site was an excellent example of modern organic architecture combined with sustainable landscape architecture. The Architect is also an artist and a sculptor, so it was definitely a stop worth making. For anyone who likes that type of architecture, I definitely recommend stopping for a visit when passing through the state.

Babalaas

@ Highlighter- Modern and green or organic architecture can be one in the same and they can be very different. Modern architecture can range from the very imposing man over nature designs that filled sprawling American cities. Buildings stripped of personality that were resource intensive, and made with materials that were not very healthy for people or the environment.

Modern architecture can also feature structures like Frank Lloyd Wright’s falling water, which highlighted the ability of human endeavors to be in unison with nature and still be appealing. Sustainable architecture has its roots in the late modernist movement, but it really began to take off at the close of the 20th century when the post-modernist era began. Sustainable architecture incorporates elements from functionalism, brutalism, desert modernism, and organic architecture to create designs that flow between the built and natural environment.

highlighter

Is modern and sustainable architecture the same thing? I am not that well versed in architecture, so if anyone can give me a little insight I would appreciate it. Thanks wisegeeks.

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    • A comparison between the modernist IBM Building and the contemporary Trump Tower in Chicago reveals the modernist emphasis on straight lines.
      By: Naotake Murayama
      A comparison between the modernist IBM Building and the contemporary Trump Tower in Chicago reveals the modernist emphasis on straight lines.
    • The Bauhaus School was a branch of modern architecture that spread from Germany to the US.
      By: ArTo
      The Bauhaus School was a branch of modern architecture that spread from Germany to the US.
    • The interior of Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building in New York.
      By: pds209
      The interior of Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building in New York.
    • The United Nations Headquarters in New York, which was designed by a team that included Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer, is an example of the "Internationalist" school of modern architecture.
      By: Touch
      The United Nations Headquarters in New York, which was designed by a team that included Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer, is an example of the "Internationalist" school of modern architecture.
    • Famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright redesigned Tokyo's Imperial Hotel, which was later rebuilt.
      By: scion_cho
      Famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright redesigned Tokyo's Imperial Hotel, which was later rebuilt.
    • So-called modern architects usually design commercial buildings and towers.
      By: vetkit
      So-called modern architects usually design commercial buildings and towers.