Imagine living in a home comprised only of beautiful rock and natural cement planes balanced like a perfect pendulum over a serene waterfall high in the mountains and surrounded on all sides by lush tall trees. Designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 and located in the Laurel Highlands of rural Pennsylvania, this home is commonly referred to as Fallingwater. The house quite literally rests as a cantilever structure over a waterfall on Bear Run and is decorated with large glass panel windows and stone masonry walls. Although for many this sounds like an unattainable pristine dream home it does exist for one family, the Kaufmann’s. The patron who spent nearly $2.5 million dollars was Edgar J. Kaufmann , who owned and operated the famous regional department store chain by the same name in the early 20th century. At one point Kaufmann’s reached 60 stores operating in five states on the East Coast . This paper will focus on the connection between modern architecture of the 1920s, especially those principles defined by the Bauhaus, and how they came to influence the design of commercial spaces today.
Le Corbusier often called the house a “machine for living” , a phrase which can be transported to looking at stores as a machine for commerce. This shows the parallels of how efficiency in design principles and utilitarian aspects of modern homes can be applied to the needs of a department store. Modernism presented clear, efficient, and operational design principles that are best suited to the viability of commerce functions. We can see clear evidence of these modernism and Bauhaus theories in present day department store designs.
Let’s clarify by using the term “modernism” in this context we are referring to the art and ar...
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...member that these social and visual principles were revolutionary or progressive at the time. Incorporating new engineering and technology advances into a building rather than focusing on the history and cultural customs was a radical idea. In fact the Bauhaus was criticized by German nationalists for failing to maintain the “national character”.
Here let’s define what we mean when discussing the Bauhaus and the related design principles or “Bauhaus Ideals”. One of the founding principles of the Bauhaus was that Gropius wanted to create a universal space for collaboration among artists, writers, and craftsmen and braking down the common professional boundaries that separate occupations. This concept can also be seen in the design of spaces which use the “Bauhaus Ideal” in the use of an open floor plan creating common space for everyone to join in collaboration.
Marcel Breuer, born in the early 1900’s in Hungary, was one of the first and youngest students to learn under the Bauhaus style, taught by Walter Gropius. Breuer started his career designing furniture, using tubular, or “handle bar like”, steel (Dodd, Mead, and Company 32). One of the most popular of these furniture designs was his Club Chair B3designed in 1922. In the 1930’s, Breuer moved to the United States to teach and practice architecture. In the 1950’s, he received the Medal of Honor from the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Between 1960 and 1980, Breuer was honored with several honorary doctoral degrees from several universities around the world. After retiring in 1976 due to poor health, Breuer was awarded several other awards, and his work was displayed in exhibitions around the world. Breuer died on July 2nd, 1981, at the age of 79 (Marcel Breuer Associates 6).
The Bauhaus aimed at a utopia where design would change the lives of people and unite society. They believed that this could be achieved by creating principles such less is more and form follows function the pinicle of design would be reached. These principles still stand today in 21st century design. The vorkurs which all students had to undergo taught the truth of materiality, colour, form and function. The school incorporated every aspect of artistic media, such as advertising, photography, furniture design and weaving as well as architecture which was seen as the highest goal of all artistic activity. Although architecture was onmly introduced in the later phase of the Bauhaus existence it may have the most visible effect on modern culture. It was the Bauhaus that introduced the idea that design could make thing better for others. This new way of thinking and the second industrial revolution after the First World War created an industrialized and a mass-production orientated school. The aim was to make designs cheap and functional.
It is the new decade after the end of world war two and modernism is a well-established practice. Its pioneers and spearheads are prevalent figures looming over the new architects and designers who are trying to make their mark in the shadows of such historically influential people. With new technologies and materials emerging from the world wars the next era of modernism had started to evolved, bringing with it philosophies and ideas which seemed far removed from those of the pioneers of modernism “What emerged in the late 1940s and 1950s was an expanding synthesis of questions utterly removed from the confident statements of the pioneers.”(Spade 1971,10) Two significant buildings were designed in the 50's, both of them for educational institutes and to house students of architecture, there were both designed in completely different styles and methods. The first is Ludwig Mies van der Rohes' Crown Hall, finished in 1956 and designed as a part of a campus master plan for the Illinois Institute of technology in Chicago. Mies' design for Crown Hall is one of his most realised expressio...
Both 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale are dystopian novels, however, these books are a lot more complex than mere portrayals of dystopia, it can be argued that they are explorations of dystopia rather than mere portrayals. In order to explore dystopia, many themes must be considered, such as; feminism, love and repression. Nonetheless, it is apparent that human characteristics are the driving point of the two novels, predominantly, the depiction of human resilience. In an imperfect world, it is important to have certain qualities which, if plentiful, it can mean success, whereas if it lacks, it can mean failure, this characteristic is resilience. The protagonists in each novel, Winston in 1984 and Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale face situations which leave them both in disarray, and both even consider suicide. The authors tentatively highlight human resilience, its limits and most importantly its strengths into the two novels.
Interior Decorators such as Elsie de Wolfe, Eleanor McMillen Brown, and Dorothy Draper helped to pave the way for the Interior Design profession today. Their influential decisions to stray away from the Victorian style of design helped guide both the interior decorating profession, as well as architects who no longer wanted to design in the bulky and cluttered Victorian Style. Elsie de Wolfe designed during the Victorian movement, however “had adopted the 1890’s preference for Neoclassicism” (Smith, 22). Unlike the cluttered and dark interiors of an average Victorian interior, her interiors were, “in the words of one visitor, ‘[models] of simplicity’” (Smith, 20).
(Image taken from Tranchtenberg, Marvin, Isabelle Hyman. Architecture: From Prehistory to Postmodernity. Second Edition. Prentice Hall, Inc. New Jersey: 2002.)
The ideology of the Bauhaus was conceived when Walter Gropius, a German architect, sought for a unification of the arts through craft. Gropius wanted to end the division between industry and art by training students equally in both crafts and fine arts. In 1919, the Weimar Academy of Arts and the Weimar School of Arts and Crafts merged together into what is known as the Bauhaus, or “house of construction.” Walter Gropius was appointed director and described the school as “a utopian craft guild combining architecture, sculpture, and painting into a single creative expression” in his Proclamation of the Bauhaus. Gropius soon developed a curriculum in which he combin...
The Bauhaus was a school in Weimer, Germany. It was founded in 1919 by a German architect named Walter Gropius. The goal behind the Bauhaus was to bring the arts together into a new age of modern art or, as Gropius described, “Architects, sculptors, painters, we must all get back to craft” (Borteh). Gropius expressed this idea in the Proclamation of the Bauhaus, a document by Gropius that stated the Bauhaus was a “utopian craft guild” that combined architecture, sculpture, and painting (Wilson). This idea attracted many highly experienced staff members.
Modernism is defined in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary as "a self-conscious break with the past and a search for new forms of expression." While this explanation does relate what modernism means, the intricacies of the term go much deeper. Modernism began around 1890 and waned around 1922. Virginia Wolf once wrote, "In or about December, 1910, human character changed." (Hurt and Wilkie 1443). D.H. Lawrence wrote a similar statement about 1915: "It was 1915 the old world ended." (Hurt and Wilkie 1444). The importance of the exact dates of the Modernist period are not so relevant as the fact that new ideas were implemented in the era. Ideas that had never before been approached in the world of literature suddenly began emerging in the works of many great authors. Two of the pioneer Modernist writers were Joseph Conrad and T.S. Eliot. The tendencies to question the incontestable beliefs embedded in all thinking and to focus on the inner self dominated. Old viewpoints were tossed aside to make way for the discovery of modern man's personal spirituality. Two works that are considered important forbears in the Modern period are T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
Art Deco and Bauhaus are two of the most influential art styles that influenced modern America today. From the avant-garde decorations and design that is still present in Los Angeles, to the flat roof design and simplicity of houses and shops that can be seen almost anywhere, these two designs are still present in our communities. The two movements do have some comparative similarities, but are also very different in design and concept. One should now be able to distinguish the similarities and differences between Art Deco and
German Expressionism is a kind of art that is supposed to make you feel something. When you look at a painting such as “The Scream” by Edvard Munch (1863-1944), you ask yourself what kind of emotions does this painting give you. A group of early 20th century German artists used the term “expressionism” to desribe the way they produced art. The title later turned into “German Expressionism”. This art movement was prominent during 1905-1925. In German it is known as “Die Brucke” and “Der Blaue Reiter”. Unlike Impressionism, its goals were not to reproduce the impression by the surrounding world, but to express the artists feelings on the surrounding world. Expressionism comes from the route word “expression” which means to make known or reveal or show.
...erfect atmosphere to convey speed, efficiency, and technology of the time. This open floor plan not only functions as an efficient visual element but also incorporates the idea of communal work. Customers, store leaders, associates, tech gurus etc. are all free to wander and work together without office walls or boundaries to separate them. The change in the use of light began during the Bauhaus era when lampshades which used to block light and create harsh separations were replaced with broad flood lights evenly spaced to create equal lighting throughout. The use of pure white walls and metal trim also make direct reference to the Bauhaus ideals. Likewise there is an egalitarian principle evoked in the designs. Built to human scale and made clearly for use by people rather than large monumental or overly scaled buildings that often promote power and authority.
As a proponent of Architectural Realism, Otto Wagner was interested in urban planning. Although Wagner began as a traditional architect, he promoted the transition from historicism to the idea of an architecture that spoke to its time. As an architect, Wagner began his career with buildings that were designed in the conventional Baroque and neo-classical styles. Wagner attempted to turn away from the accepted traditional forms of architecture by bringing together structural rationalism and technology. However, he retained a sense of historicism and eclecticism. (Wagner 21). Wagner’s architectural style embraced and clearly manifested a distinct change in traditional and the emergence of purpose built buildings. The church at Vienna’s Steinhoff sanitarium, the Postal savings Bank and several entrances for Vienna’s city railway are some of Wagner’s most memorable buildings. (100) . The belief of art having purpose was expressed when he stated, “ The practical element in man, which is particularly pronounced, is evidently here to stay and every architect is going to have to come to grips with the postulate, a thing that is unpractical cannot be beautiful” (100). In the exploration of the idea of modernity in architecture, he used the designs of his own buildings, where he used new technology, materials and simpler ornamentation.
Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier are two very prominent names in the field of architecture. Both architects had different ideas concerning the relationship between humans and the environment. Their architectural styles were a reflection of how each could facilitate the person and the physical environment. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, is considered one of the most important buildings in the history of American architecture and Le Corbusier s Villa Savoye helped define the progression that modern architecture was to take in the 20th Century. Both men are very fascinating and have strongly influenced my personal taste for modern architecture. Although Wright and Corbusier each had different views on how to design a house, they also had similar beliefs. This paper is a comparison of Frank Lloyd Wright‘s and Le Corbusier ‘s viewpoints exhibited through their two prominent houses, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House and Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye.