WEEK 6 - The Emergence of Modernism
Modernism is a design movement that happened between World War I and World War II. After WWI, there was a chance to redesign things and step forward in the future. Although it may seem that Modernism sprung out of nowhere, Art Nouveau, the aesthetic movement, and Prairie Style explored issues that contributed to this movement. What also contributed to the movement was technological advancement, such as the development of skyscrapers, railroad stations, elevators, moving pictures, automobiles, and photography. Modernism embraced the Industrial Revolution. It relied on the use of machinery and mass production; and the machine itself was a source of design inspiration.
Functionalism is a term used to describe this new way of designing. It is a design philosophy that focuses on designing primarily for the function with no unnecessary ornamentation, and on designs that are easy to produce. The materials used to achieve this were: steel, glass, molded plywood, plastic, and concrete.
The four architects who were pioneers of this movement are: Walter Gropius, who started the movement in Germany; Mies van der Rohe, who took over Bauhaus after Gropius; Le Corbusier, who led the movement in France; and Frank Lloyd Wright, who led it in the United States. The two main design styles were the Bauhaus and the International Style.
Bauhaus was a center for education, founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius in Germany. It was an alternative to the historical educational systems, such as Ecole des Beaux Arts. Here, they focused on the unity of the arts; students were exposed to all the arts and encouraged to be proficient. They looked at craftsmanship and avant-garde designs. After Gropius, Mies van der Rohe took charge of the school. But unfortunately the school was shut down during WWII because the Nazis wanted control, and did not want anything new. During this time, a lot of the professors from Bauhaus ended up being professors at universities in the United States.
The International Style emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, and is identified by these three principles: expression of volume rather than mass; emphasis on balance rather than preconceived symmetry; and expulsion of applied ornament.
Functionalism is a term used to describe this new way of designing. It is a design philosophy that focuses on designing primarily for the function with no unnecessary ornamentation, and on designs that are easy to produce. The materials used to achieve this were: steel, glass, molded plywood, plastic, and concrete.
The four architects who were pioneers of this movement are: Walter Gropius, who started the movement in Germany; Mies van der Rohe, who took over Bauhaus after Gropius; Le Corbusier, who led the movement in France; and Frank Lloyd Wright, who led it in the United States. The two main design styles were the Bauhaus and the International Style.
Bauhaus was a center for education, founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius in Germany. It was an alternative to the historical educational systems, such as Ecole des Beaux Arts. Here, they focused on the unity of the arts; students were exposed to all the arts and encouraged to be proficient. They looked at craftsmanship and avant-garde designs. After Gropius, Mies van der Rohe took charge of the school. But unfortunately the school was shut down during WWII because the Nazis wanted control, and did not want anything new. During this time, a lot of the professors from Bauhaus ended up being professors at universities in the United States.
The International Style emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, and is identified by these three principles: expression of volume rather than mass; emphasis on balance rather than preconceived symmetry; and expulsion of applied ornament.
Historical Examples
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| Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier Poissy, France 1929 |
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| Barcelona Pavilion by Mies van der Rohe Barcelona, Spain 1929 |
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| Interior furnishings of Tugendhat House - Mies van der Rohe Brno, Czech Republic 1930 |
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| Bauhaus Two Seat Sofa by Walter Gropius |
Current Applications
One Step Further...
Walter Gropius is one of the four pioneers of Modernism. He was born in Berlin, Germany in 1883, as the son of an architect father. He studied architecture at the technical institutes in Munich (1903-04), and in Berlin-Charlottenburg (1905-07). In 1907, he joined the office of the architect Peter Behrens in Berlin, and worked alongside Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. According to Gropius, his work with Behrens and the design problems he undertook for a German electricity company did much to shape his lifelong interest in progressive architecture and the interrelationship of the arts.
In 1911, Gropius became a member of the German Labour League, which was founded in 1907 to alley creative designers with machine production. He believed it was up to the designer to "breathe a soul into the dead product of the machine."
Gropius had ideas on art education, and before the end of the war, the city of Weimar approached him for these ideas. In 1919, be became the director of the Grand Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts, the Grand Ducal Saxon Academy, and the Grand Ducal Saxon School of Arts. He united these schools into the Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar. With his understanding of the practical world of the arts, politics, and administration, he succeeded in establishing a new approach to design education.
Eunice,
ReplyDeleteYour summary quite nicely wrapped up the book chapter and the powerpoint. I enjoyed your design examples that you chose to share. The Barcelona Pavilion is very fascinating as well as Villa Savoy. It is interesting to me how buildings can look so drastically different on the inside than they do on the outside. Personally, I enjoy Villa Savoy's interiors much more than its exteriors.
Eunice, very good summary once again! It is sad that the Bauhaus center of education had to be stopped due to the Nazis. However, I am glad it continued somehow in the US and still has a big influence in architecture and art in general.
ReplyDeleteEunice very nice summary of the "Emergence of Modernism".
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your discussion on the topics of functionalism and the international style.
The four architects most famous for this era Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies Vander Rohe developed these two styles.
I appreciate your "One Step Further" into the life of Walter Gropius. His leadership at the Bauhaus and beyond into the United States was so influential to this movement. Walter Gropius also gave value to all of the various art forms.