BAR 406 : History of Art

and Culture - III

Modern Architecture
movement and Philosophies

Presented by :
Ar. Himali Hardas Pande
MODERNISM = Against Machine + For Machine
Balance of 2 opposite thoughts

Falling Waters , Frank Loyed Wright

 Architectural Features of Modernism
● Asymmetry in buildings.
● Abstract i.e breaking the
nature in a simplistic
patterns and forms
● Purity in Design ,
Material, Form, color
● Use of New Material
 Bauhaus Movement
● Bauhaus architecture is a school
of design and architecture founded
by architect Walter Gropius in
1919, in Weimar, Germany.
● Architect Walter Gropius, who
founded the school, was upset by
the rapid industrialization of the
era without any thought for artistic
quality or humanity, and the large
rift between the fine arts (like
painting and sculpture) and the
applied arts (also called arts and
crafts during the time; things like
furniture design, graphic design,
and architecture).
 Bauhaus Movement : Architectural Features

● Purity of form (geometrical and primary shapes).

● Lack of adornment or ornamentation, focusing attention on the streamlined shape.
● feature flat roofs to produce a basic, geometric appearance.
● abstract forms sparingly in ornamentation and as a practical choice for mass manufacturing ,
Prefabrication and standardised sizes.
Bauhaus Movement : Architectural Features

● Buildings were more functional and defined the form accordingly.

● As symmetry was deemed excessively industrial and lacking in artistic heart, Bauhaus architecture
and design strived for aesthetic balance through asymmetry. As a consequence, Bauhaus
designers attempted to connect and balance Bauhaus buildings and spaces by using the same
components throughout without making all sides the same.
Bauhaus Movement : Architectural Features

● Glass, particularly in glass curtain walls, concrete, particularly in architectural architecture, and steel,
particularly in appliances and things such as lights and chairs, are examples of these materials.
● Purity of Colours
Bauhaus Movement : Fagus Shoe Factory , Walter Gropius and Adolf Meyer
 Chicago School
● Chicago School, group of
architects and engineers designed
and constructed buildings in 1880 -
90s.
● They included Daniel Burnham,
William Le Baron Jenney, John
Root, and the firm of Dankmar
Adler and Louis Sullivan.
● Closely associated with tall
multistoried buildings.
● Drastic change in visual style.

Chicago Savings Banks, William Holabird

 Chicago School
● Steel-frame buildings with
masonry cladding (usually terra
cotta),
● Allowing large plate-glass
window areas and
● Limiting the amount of exterior
ornamentation.
● The "Chicago window" originated
in this school
● Commercial style.

Marshall Field’s Wholesale Store, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson

Chicago School

Roosevelt University
● Many Chicago School skyscrapers contain the three parts of a classical column.
● The first floor functions as the base, the middle stories, usually with little
ornamental detail, act as the shaft of the column, and the last floor or so represent
the capital, with more ornamental detail and capped with a cornice
Chicago School
Chicago Windows : Reliance Building
 Chicago Windows
● The "Chicago window" originated in this
school. It is a three-part window consisting
of a large fixed center panel flanked by two
smaller double-hung sash windows. The
arrangement of windows on the facade
typically creates a grid pattern, with some
projecting out from the facade forming bay
windows.

● The Chicago window combined the functions

of light-gathering and natural ventilation; a
single central pane was usually fixed, while
the two surrounding panes were operable.
These windows were often deployed in
bays, known as oriel windows,that projected
out over the stree
Chicago Windows
Prairie Architecture
 Prairie Style
● The Prairie style emerged in Chicago
around 1900 from the work of a group
of young architects, including Frank
Lloyd Wright.
● These architects melded the ideals of
the Arts and Crafts movement, with its
emphasis on nature, craftsmanship
and simplicity, and the work and
writings of architect Louis Sullivan.
● They embraced Sullivan’s architectural
theories, which called for
non-derivative, distinctly American
architecture rooted in nature, with a
sense of place, but also incorporated
modern elements, like flat planes and
stylized ornamentation.
Ward Willet House (1900 - 1902), Oak Park, F L Wright
 Prairie Style
● Prairie buildings are, as Wright said,
“married to the ground.” They celebrate the
long, low landscape of the Midwest.
● Their most defining characteristic is their
emphasis on the horizontal rather than the
vertical.
● They spread out over their lots, featuring flat
or shallow hipped roof lines, rows of
windows, overhanging eaves and bands of
stone, wood or brick across the surface.
● Thin Roman bricks sometimes enhance the
effect and cantilevers often extend the
horizontal line without vertical support. Even
the unwelcome verticals of downspouts are
either eliminated or carefully placed.

Robbie House, Frank Loyed Wright

 Prairie Style

Frederick Carter House, Evanston Illinois (1910), Walter Griffin

● Low pitched roofs or flat cantilever or deep overhangs.
● Long rows of casement windows that further emphasized the horizontal theme ( pure geometry)
● Native Materials and woodworks were stained never painted to bring out natural beauty
● Visual Connections to traditional architecture.
Prairie Style : Robbie House, Frank Loyed Wright
Prairie Style : Falling Waters, F L Wright
Prairie Style : Falling Waters, F L Wright
ART DECO
 Art Deco - 1930

● Reaction against art Nouveau.

● Termed by Le Corbusier
● Hand Craft Traditional Motifs + Machine
Made imageries
● Art Nouveau Movement + Machine
Maade Geometric Patterns

The Mossehaus with Art Deco elements by Erich Mendelsohn in Berlin,

Germany (1921–23)
 Art Deco
● Streamlining
● Bold shapes
● Colour
● Geometric designs
● Decoration

The Mossehaus with Art Deco elements by Erich Mendelsohn in Berlin,

Germany (1921–23)
Chrysler Building,
Manhattan , New York.
William Van Alen, 1930

● Steel frame structure , brick masonry and

metal cladding
● The spire of skyscraper consists of 7
arches on each facade creating a crown
like structure
● Concentric arches
● Facade ornamentation of stainless steel
cladding and glass burst pattern
Empire Estate Building ,
Manhattan , New York.
Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1930
● Steel frame structure , brick masonry
and metal cladding
● The spire of skyscraper consists of 7
arches on each facade creating a
crown like structure
● Concentric arches
● Facade ornamentation of stainless
steel cladding and glass burst pattern
INTERNATIONALISM
 Internationalism

● Developed in 1930s and 1940s

● Minimalistic + Use of steel, glass, cut in
wall + Cuboid
● Minimalism = Less is more
● A style suitable for every place
irrespective of context and be followed
everywhere
● Modern Materials + Techniques
● Prefab i.e machine made
● Visually Light Weight : Cantilever
● Interlocking spaces and interpenetrating
planes
● Structural systems as aesthetics
The Glass House, or Johnson house, in New Canaan, Connecticut, built
in 1948–49.
The Barcelona Pavellion
,Spain .
Meis Van Der Rohe, 1929
● Horizontal and vertical planes - Maze
like formations
● The water body and small side
element balance the composition of
the main volume
● Free form and floating rooms
● Simplicity of form is complemented
with textures of materials .
Farnsworth House ,Illionois .
Meis Van Der Rohe, 1951
Farnsworth House ,Illionois .
Meis Van Der Rohe, 1951
EXPRESSIONISM
 Expressionism

● Expression of an emotional idea through the

abstraction of form.
● Symbolism and representation of concept became
more important
● Creative potentialities of craftsman and artisans
● Visula styles inspired from caves, lightening , crystal
or rock formation

Eigen Haard Housing Estate, Amsterdam,

Netherlands, Michel de Klerk
Einstien Observatory, Potsdam,
Germany .
Meis Van Der Rohe, 1951
● The tower’s design was derived
from the structure and the
expression of the purpose of the
building.
● He used reinforced concrete as
the primary construction material
for the tower that helped him
achieve the surface plasticity to
get curves into the structure. The
structure has a plastic
appearance and looks more
molded into its form rather than
built, without angles and with
smooth rounded corners.
● Through the form of the
structure, the architect has tried
to represent energy through mass
and wanted to show the
movement that is immanent in
the building mass.
Goetheanum, Donarch, Switzerland
Rudolf Steiner, 1921

● Anthroposophy aims to attain the

precision and clarity attained by
the natural sciences in their
investigations into the physical
world.
● based on an architectural concept
in which each element, shape and
color have an inner relationship
to the whole and the whole flows
organically into its individual
elements in a process of
metamorphosis.
● designed to blend with the local
topography, ground movement
and the rocky foothills of the Jura
mountains, visible from the valley
of the Birs River, five miles
southeast of Basel, although at
times its creator denied this
relationship.
MONOLITHIC
 Monolithic

● Monolithic Form, One and Unified (Geometric ) form

● Form comes before function ; function fits in form
● Evolved from internationalism
● Geometric forms buildings are categorized into
different clusters.