MODERN ARCHITECTURE

1803- 1879
1841 1918
1856 1924
1870 1933
1887 1953
1892 , 1970
1910 1961
1913 2005

gottfried semper
otto wagner
Louis Henry Sullivan
Adolf Loos
eric mendelson
Richard Joseph Neutra
Eero Saarinen
Kenz Tange

MODERN ARCHITECTURE

The concept of modernism is a central theme in the

efforts of 20th century modern architecture. Gaining
global popularity especially after the Second World
War,

Characteristics
Common themes of modern architecture include:
the notion that "Form follows function", a dictum
originally expressed by Louis Sullivan, meaning that
the result of design should derive directly from its
purpose
simplicity and clarity of forms and elimination of
"unnecessary detail"
materials at 90 degrees to each other
visual expression of structure (as opposed to the
hiding of structural elements)
the related concept of "Truth to materials", meaning
that the true nature or natural appearance of a
material ought to be seen rather than concealed or
altered to represent something else
use of industrially-produced materials; adoption of
the machine aesthetic
particularly in International Style modernism, a visual
emphasis on horizontal and vertical lines

The Salk Institute complex in La Jolla,

California, by architect Louis Kahn.

MODERN ARCHITECTURE
Context
1.
2.
3.

Some historians see it as a social matter,

Modern architecture as primarily driven by
technological and engineering developments.
a reaction against eclecticism and the lavish stylistic
excesses of Victorian and Edwardian architecture.
With the Industrial Revolution, the availability of
newly-available building materials such as iron, steel,
and sheet glass drove the invention of new building
techniques.
In 1796, 'fireproof' design, which relied on cast iron
and brick with flag stone floors was used. Such
construction greatly strengthened the structure of
mills, which enabled them to accommodate much
bigger machines.
Due to poor knowledge of iron's properties as a
construction material, a number of early mills
collapsed.
It was not until the early 1830s the section beam was
introduced, leading to widespread use of iron
construction.
This kind of austere industrial architecture utterly
transformed the landscape of northern Britain,
leading to the description of places as "Dark satanic
mills".

The Crystal Palace, 1851, was one of the first buildings to have
vast amounts of glass supported by structural metal,
foreshadowing trends in Modernist architecture.

The Crystal Palace by Joseph Paxton at the Great

Exhibition of 1851 was an early example of iron
and glass construction, followed in 1864 by the
first glass and metal curtain wall.
A further development was that of the steelframed skyscraper in Chicago around 1890 by
William Le Baron Jenney and Louis Sullivan.

MODERN ARCHITECTURE
Early modernism

In Italy: Futurism
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
Around 1900 a number of architects and designers
around the world began developing new solutions to
integrate traditional precedents (classicism or Gothic,
for instance) with new technological possibilities.
The work of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright in
Chicago,
Victor Horta in Brussels,
Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona,

Otto Wagner and the Vienna Secession in

Austria,

In the United States

Frank Lloyd Wright, and Richard Neutra

and Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Glasgow, among

many others, can be seen as a common struggle
between old and new.
The work of some of these were a part of what is
broadly categorized as Art Nouveau ("New Art").

In Soviet Russia: Constructivism

Konstantin Melnikov
In Western Europe
Arts and Crafts movement
Peter Behrens
Expressionism
Rudolf Steiner
Modernism reaches critical mass
Bauhaus
Le Corbusier in France, and Walter Gropius
and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Germany,
all of whom trained under Peter Behrens.
Style Moderne: tradition and modernism
Art Deco and Streamline Moderne
Wartime innovation
International Style
Philip Johnson

Otto Koloman Wagner

1841 1918
Austrian architect
urban planner
known for his lasting impact on the appearance of his home town
Vienna, to which he contributed many landmarks.
In 1864, he started designing his first buildings in the historicist
style. In the mid- and late-1880s, like many of his contemporaries in
Germany
In 1894, when he became Professor of Architecture at the Academy
of Fine Arts Vienna, he was well advanced on his path toward a more
radical opposition to the prevailing currents of historicist
architecture.
By the mid-1890s, he had already designed several Jugendstil
buildings.
Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) it was inspired by natural forms and
structures, not only in flowers and plants, but also in curved lines.
Architects tried to harmonize with the natural environment.
Wagner was very interested in urban planning in 1890 he
designed a new city plan for Vienna, but only his urban rail
network, the Stadtbahn, was built.
In 1896 he published a textbook entitled Modern Architecture in
which he expressed his ideas about the role of the architect;
His style incorporated the use of new materials and new forms to
reflect the fact that society itself was changing.
In his textbook, he stated that "new human tasks and views called for
a change or reconstitution of existing forms". In pursuit of this ideal,
he designed and built structures that reflected their intended
function, such as the austere Neustiftgasse apartment block in
Vienna.

In 1897, he joined Gustav Klimt,

Joseph Maria Olbrich, Josef
Hoffmann and Koloman Moser
shortly after they founded the
"Vienna
Secession"
artistic
group. From the ideas of this
group he developed a style that
included
quasi-symbolic
references to the new forms of
modernity.

Wagner died in Vienna in 1918.

Otto Wagner wrote Modern Architecture to create a new STYLE

Three principle themes of Modernism:
A plea for simplicity in the accommodation of modern needs
The artistic and ethical ruin of eclecticism
The demand for a new style based on present technologies
and methods of construction
In his Book
Chapter 1: The Architect
Chapter 2: Style
Chapter 3: Composition
Chapter 4: Construction
Chapter 5: The Practice of Art
Chapter 6: Concluding Remark

Among the fine arts architecture alone is

truly creative and productive; in fact, it
alone is able to make forms that have no
model in nature yet appear beautiful to
man.
The education of the architect:
Technically trained, 22 to 26 years of age,
imagination, taste, keen thinking
Qualifications for a professional:
Must have the ability to perceive needs
The title Architect
Misused by those who have no claim to it

We must become fully aware that the sole

departure point for our artistic work can only be
MODERN LIFE.
-Wagner

Style

The artist has been content to dissect the dead

with a magnifying glass and lancet, instead of
listening to the pulse of those who are alive and
relieving their pains.
The modern style is a response to the needs of
modern man
He argues that the logical consequence of
catering to these needs is that art, and artist, are
then forced to represent their epoch and to
conform to modern appearances and ideas, even
to the point of staying in step with fashion.
Architectures basis was no longer to be
symbolic form, but construction and technology.
Not only a building style; modernism affected
all aspects of the aesthetics.

Composition
Emphasizes the human need for a visual resting
point; otherwise a painful uncertainty or
aesthetic uneasiness occurs.
The image to be perceived, whether from single
or multiple viewing points, was very important to
Wagner.
Viewing points: locations where the
building can be seen most frequently, most
easily and most naturally
Wagner stressed a need for symmetry, as it
provided self-containment, completeness and
balance

Construction

The Practice of Art

Wagner felt there was a break with the past because of

the changes in modern construction methods; new
technical and material means needed new formal
solutions

There are two conditions demanded by modern

man that can be considered to be criteria: the
greatest possible convenience and the greatest
possible cleanliness.
-Wagner

Need, purpose, material and construction are

conveyed as the primitive germs of architectural
production
Therefore, new purposes and materials lead to new
methods of construction
Construction gradually acquires artistic value,
leading to art-forms

The introduction of IRON was the main reason for this

change of vision

The Practice of Art, according to Wagner,

Includes:

Representation through drawing

City Planning:
Streets, Squares, Urban Gardens, Fountains,
Bridges, Railroads , Dwellings

Art in Industry and Production:

Furniture, Illumination, Decoration,
Clothing/ Fashion, Materials