POST 08: Modernism in America Part I




Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Post Office Chicago. . . Perfection! …

It is known as we have seen previously that Modernism started first in Europe, most precisely in France and Germany before it spread throughout America and the rest of the world after World War II due to media ( journals, books and exhibitions) and the flee of many founders of modernism from their countries to America due to unfortunate wars like Mies Van der Rohe, a German architect. Mies van der Rohe was known and was one of the figures of the Bauhaus movement and was known to build the Barcelona Pavilion. In fact, "Mies Van der Rohe moved to the United States in 1937 to escape the Nazis" and sa that he could have opportunities there and was offered to head the department of architecture of the newly established Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Frank Lloyd Wright is considered to be the first American to do modernism (founder in America). He is considered to be the first American to found Modernism in America because he was the one to create the American style and was the pioneer of the Prairie Style. At first he did not fit the concept of modernism as well as the International Style with his earlier projects that were done between the 1920s and 1930s, but after a while he gained followers and some famous architects were apprentices under his wings. That helped him eventually to be acknowledged as his work falls now under the category of Modernism with his most successful works called La Miniatura, and Fallingwater.

Patio - Fallingwater; Frank Lloyd Wright
The Patio of the Fallingwater building by FLW.

La Miniatura by FLW.

As we've seen earlier, Architects liked to use a huge amount of glass and concrete in their projects which helped modernize and distinguish America from Europe, especially with the skyscrapers. In fact, Mies Van der Rohe and Philip Johnson were fond and known to use a lot of glass in their buildings.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Seagram Building, 1954-1958. Photo Ezra Stoller
The Seagram building designed by Mies Van der Rohe.


Current Applications:
Glass House / Molteni & C.
Glass House designed by Molteni & C.


Lane House, Amagansett, New York, USA, by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
Lane House, Amagansett, New York, USA, by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
ONE STEP FURTHER...

Rudolph Schindler (1887-1953) was an American architect that originated from Vienna, Austria. Before emigrating to the United states he graduated from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in Architecture and gained some experience working in an architectural firm from 1911 to 1914.

Schindler was one of the famous architects hat went under the wings of Frank Lloyd Wright for quite a time. In fact, he had a collaborative relationship with him. For example, when Frank Lloyd Wright had a commission in Japan that took him several years, Schindler was in charge of the projects in America.

His most famous works are located in California and includes works such as the Schindler's House
in West Hollywood or the Lovell Beach House located in Newport. He liked to use concrete, redwood and glass as well as inexpensive materials such as Plaster and Stucco for the shell of the house.
Schindler’s House, 1922.
The Schindler's House.

Richard Neutra, Lovell Beach House, Newport Beach (1926)
The Lovell Beach House.

Comments

  1. Eunice Slanwa April 15, 2018 at 1:14 AM

    Martha, great summary of the main points of modernism in America. Indeed, the unfortunate events of the War lead to the closing of Bauhaus, forcing architects from the main countries in Europe to spread to other parts of the world. I appreciate you emphasizing the significance of the works that Frank Lloyd Wright was already doing in the United States. The Prairie Style and American Style show strong concepts of modernism.

    ReplyDelete
  2. amberbuieApril 16, 2018 at 7:43 PM

    Martha,

    The photos you used for examples, were beautiful. Yes, even though the closing of the Bauhaus was devastating, we got Mies! It is very beneficial for us here in Illinois to see his work, as well as Frank Lloyd Wright's work. Looking at this work helps us to see the change with the materials that were new at the time.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POST 09: Modernism in America Part II

Image
A knoll showroom in the 50s. During the 1950s and the 1960s, we see a new style emerging, after the end of World War II, that revolutionizes Modernism. Mid- Century Modernism, due to its new aesthetics in architecture with its flat roofs, bi- level structures, the plays between indoor and outdoor, the use of earthy colors and the new materials that changes the furnishing game, it still has an impact today on how we do architecture, interior design and furniture design here in America and throughout the world. The style that emerged is timeless because its ideas still live today. It seemed that the Mid- Century Modernism focused more on the furnishing aspect of design and not really in architecture. Through this chapter, we see the establishment and development of the Knoll Company that was founded by a couple named Hans and Florence Knoll in New York in 1938. The design firm that still exist today and still is successful offers till now office systems, furniture, textiles and c...
Read more

POST 05: The Emergence of Modernism

Image
A lot has changed, during the 1900's due to many significant events that now shapes the world of today. In the world of art and design, many movements rose in the late 1800's and still continued to do so in the 1900's. World War I (1914-1918) changed the way of how architects and people in general see the world and get a chance to redesign the cities. However, before the war begun, Art Nouveau and the Prairie Style movement influences what we call now Modernism. There was also the appearance of new technologies such as skyscrapers, new methods of transports with the train and automobiles, etcetera, which explains the embrace and support for industrial design. The modern movement had four major pioneers that were all architects, which are Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Mies Van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. It is interesting to see that all four of them, while contributing to modernism were somehow indirectly influenced by the previous art movements such as ...
Read more

POST 07: Rise of the Decorator/ Women in Interior Design

Image
Since the movement of the Arts and Crafts until the Art Deco movement, we saw a total rejection of the Victorian style and historicism that came with an unity and solidarity between the different arts. That led to some prominent figures of these movements to master different arts by studying painting, architecture and sculpture for example. The movement of the Arts and Crafts helped somehow to establish the profession of the decorator because they valued personal style inside the homes. However, when the Art Deco movement rose into prominence, there was a conflict between two categories, which were the functionalists and the decorators. The functionalists concentrate more on the function and how it relates to form when it comes to objects. While the decorators or "ensembliers" rely more on the aesthetic aspect of objects and sometimes promotes the excess of accessories and furnishings. More and more, people saw a need to establish the profession of an inter...
Read more