MODERN THEORIES IN

ARCHITECTURE
CULTURE AND BUILT FORM

SUBMITTED BY :
AARUSHI MATHUR
EKTA KAPOOR
MANMEET KAUR BINDRA
MEGHA JAIN
NITISH GOEL
 MODERNISM
 Modernist architecture emphasizes function.
 It attempts to provide for specific needs rather than imitate
nature.
 Modernism After 1900 artistic innovation in Europe and the
US increased in a rapid succession of movements, or “isms”.
 The modern movement lasted through the first half of the
20 th Century.
 Modernism rejects old, traditional ideas and styles in art
and design
 Although Modernist styles are diverse, art moved toward
abstraction based on line, color, shape, space, and texture
 Modern architecture and design moved toward abstraction
and rejected historical styles and ornamentation
 Modern architecture reveals rather than conceals the inner
structure of the building

I.M. Pei, Architect - Herbert F. Johnson Museum of

Examples of Modernist architects: Art at Cornell University
•Rem Koolhaas
•I.M. Pei
•Le Corbusier
•Philip Johnson
•Mies van der Rohe
CHARACTERSTICS OF MODERN THEORIES

Modernist architecture has these features:

 Little or no ornamentation
 Factory-made parts
 Man-made materials such as metal and concrete
 Rebellion against traditional styles
 Form Follows Function.
 Truth To Materials.
 Simplicity and clarity of forms.
 Visual expression of structure.
 Elimination of unnecessary detail.
 Adoption of the machine aesthetic.
 Visual emphasis on horizontal and vertical lines.
BAUHAUS

• Bauhaus is a German expression meaning house for building. In 1919,

the economy in Germany was collapsing after a crushing war.
• Architect Walter Gropius was appointed to head a new institution that
would help rebuild the country and form a new social order. Called the
Bauhaus, the Institution called for a new "rational" social housing for the
workers.
• Bauhaus architects rejected "bourgeois" details such as cornices, eaves,
and decorative details. They wanted to use principles of Classical
architecture in their most pure form: without ornamentation of any kind.
• Bauhaus buildings have flat roofs, smooth facades, and cubic shapes.
Colors are white, gray, beige, or black. Floor plans are open and
furniture is functional.
• Mies van der Rohe said “Less is More” Simple, Open Space and
Quality Materials “ Domino system” - combine rectangles to form
Architect Walter Gropius used Bauhaus ideas when he
architecture built his monochrome home in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
• Barcelona Chair Mies van der Rohe Designed for King and Queen of
Spain to sit on in German Pavilion Later, the design was mass-produced Architects Inspired by the Bauhaus
and became a status symbol in homes and offices Mies van der Rohe , Movement
Barcelona Chair , 1929 •Walter Gropius
• The Bauhaus school disbanded when the Nazis rose to power. •Le Corbusier
•Richard Neutra
•Philip Johnson
•Mies van der Rohe
•Marcel Breuer
Examples of Bauhaus
• Main Building of Bauhaus Art and Design School In 1919
•The Gropius House
•Philip Johnson's Glass House
•The Transco Building by Philip Johnson
•United Nations Headquarters by Le Corbusier
•The Miller House by Richard Neutra
•The Lovell House by Richard Neutra
•The Bauhaus Building in Dessau, Germany
•Furniture by Bauhaus Architects
EXPRESSIONISM AND NEO-EXPRESSIONISM(MODERN CLASSICISM)
Expressionism evolved from the work of Avant garde artists and
designers in Germany and other European countries during the first
decades of the twentieth century. Key features of Expressionism are:
• distorted shapes
• fragmented lines
• organic or biomorphic forms
• massive sculpted shapes
• extensive use of concrete and brick
• lack of symmetry

Neo-expressionism built upon expressionist ideas. Architects in the

1950s and 1960s designed buildings that expressed their feelings about
the surrounding landscape.
Sculptural forms suggested rocks and mountains.
Organic and Brutalist architecture can often be described as Neo-
expressionist.

Expressionist and Neo-expressionist Architects Built in 1920, the Einstein Tower (Einsteinturm) in

• Gunther Domenig Potsdam is an Expressionist work by architect Erich

Mendelsohn.
• Hans Scharoun
• Rudolf Steiner
• Bruno Taut
• Erich Mendelsohn
• Walter Gropius (early works)
• Eero Saarinen
INTERNATIONAL STYLE
International Style is a term often used to
describe Bauhaus architecture in the United States. The name
came from the book The International Style by historian and
critic Henry-Russell Hitchcock and architect Philip Johnson.
The term is again used in a later book, International
Architecture, by Walter Gropius.
While German Bauhaus architecture had been concerned with
the social aspects of design, America's International Style
became a symbolism of Capitalism: The International Style is
the favored architecture for office buildings, and is also found in
upscale homes built for the rich. One of the most famous examples of the International Style is
By the mid-twentieth century, many variations of the the United Nations Secretariat building, designed by Le
Corbusier. The smooth glass-sided slab dominates New York's
International Style had evolved. In southern California and the
skyline along the East River. The United Nations Secretariat
American Southwest, architects adapted the International Style building was completed in 1952.
to the warm climate and arid terrain, creating an elegant yet
informal style known as Desert Modernism. Architects Inspired by the Bauhaus Movement:
•Le Corbusier
Examples of Bauhaus and the International Style: •Richard Neutra
•The Seagram Building •Philip Johnson
•The Gropius House •Mies van der Rohe
•The Farnsworth House •Marcel Breuer
•Philip Johnson's Glass House
•The Transco Building by Philip Johnson
 De Stijl
When: 1917-1932
Where: The Netherlands
Why: Response to World War I destruction and the
loss of individualism
What: "Abstraction, precision, geometry, striving
towards artistic purity and austerity, studying the laws
of nature to arrive at what really is.”

The house has two floors, developing around a spiral

staircase in the centre. The main structure consists of
reinforced concrete slabs and steel profiles. It is painted
in basic colors, red, blue, yellow, black and white.
Unlike a traditional Dutch house, where rooms are
accessible through corridors, this house was conceived by Rietveld Schröder House:
Rietveld in a flexible manner. Architect: Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (1888 - 1964)
There is no hierarchical arrangement of rooms in the Location: Utrecht, Netherlands 
floor plan. The upper floor is one open space around the Built: 1924
staircase.

It can be divided into three bedrooms and a sitting room by sliding panels. On the ground floor Rietveld was forced
to meet Dutch regulations in order to acquire a building permit. There five rooms are grouped around a small hall.
The interrelation of the rooms can be sensed by the fanlights above the doors and by the recessed and staggered
inner walls
BRUTALISM

Rugged reinforced concrete construction, or Béton Brut,

lead to an approach popularly known as Brutalism.

The Bauhaus architect Le Corbusier used the French

phrase béton brut, or raw concrete, to describe the
construction of his rough, concrete buildings. Brutalism
grew out of the Bauhaus Movement and the béton
brut buildings by Le Corbusier and his followers.
Heavy and angular, Brutalist buildings can be constructed
quickly and economically. Common features include:
• Precast concrete slabs
• Rough, unfinished surfaces The Paulo Mendes da Rocha Residence in São
• Exposed steel beams Paulo, Brazil by Paulo Mendes da Rocha, 2006
• Massive, sculptural shapes Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate

The Prizker Prize-winning architect Paulo Mendes da

Rocha is often called a "Brazilian Brutalist" because his
buildings are constructed of prefabricated and mass-
produced concrete components. Shown here is his home in
São Paulo, Brazil.
The Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer turned to Brutalism
when he designed the Whitney Museum in New York City
and the Atlanta, Georgia Central Library.
MINIMALISM

One important trend in Modernist architecture is the movement

toward minimalist or reductivist design.
Hallmarks of Minimalism include:
• Buildings are stripped of all but the most essential elements
• Emphasis is placed on the outline, or frame, of the structure
• Interior walls are eliminated
• Floor plans are open
• Lighting is used to dramatize lines and planes
• The negative spaces around the structure are part of the overall
design

Modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe paved the way for The use of texture, bright colors, and
Minimalism when he said, "Less is more.“ diffused light
Minimalist architects drew much of their inspiration from the is Minimalist in its emphasis on lines,
elegant simplicity of traditional Japanese architecture. planes, and open spaces.
Minimalists were also inspired by a movement of early twentieth
century Dutch artists known as De Stijl. Valuing simplicity and
abstraction, De Stijl artists used only straight lines and rectangular
shapes.

Architects known for Minimalist designs include:

•Tadao Ando
•Luis Barragan
•Yoshio Taniguchi
•Richard Gluckman
DESERT MODERNISM
Architects in southern California and the American Southwest
adapted ideas from the European Bauhaus movement to the warm
climate and arid terrain.
Desert Modernism was a mid-twentieth century approach to
modernism that capitalized on the sunny skies and warm climate of
southern California and American Southwest. With expansive glass
and streamlined styling, Desert Modernism was an regional
approach to International Style architecture. Rocks, trees, and other
landscape features were often incorporated into the design.

Characteristics of Desert Modernism:

•Expansive glass walls and windows Examples of Desert Modernism:
•Dramatic rooflines • Kaufmann House (shown above) in Palm Springs,
•Wide overhangs California. 1946 by Richard Neutra.
•Steel and plastic combined with wood and stone • Grace Lewis Miller House in Palm Springs,
•Open floor plans California. 1937 by Richard Neutra.
•Outdoor living spaces incorporated into the overall design • Edris House in Palm Springs, California. 1954. E.
Stewart Williams, architect.
Architects Associated With Desert Modernism:
•William F. Cody
•Albert Frey
•John Lautner
•Richard Neutra
•Donald Wexler
•E. Stewart Williams
 STRUCTURALISM

•The Berlin Holocaust Memorial is a controversial

Structuralist work by architect Peter Eisenman.
•Structuralism is based on the idea that all things are built
from a system of signs and these signs are made up of
opposites: male/female, hot/cold, old/young, etc.
•For Structuralists, design is a process of searching for the
relationship between elements.
•Structuralists are also interested in the social structures and
mental processes that contributed to the design.
•Structuralist architecture will have a great deal of complexity
within a highly structured framework.
•For example, a Structuralist design may consist of cell-like
honeycomb shapes, intersecting planes, cubed grids, or densely
clustered spaces with connecting courtyards.
•Architect Peter Eisenman often brings a Structuralist
approach to his works.
CONSTRUCTIVISM

•During the 1920s and early 1930s, a group of avant-garde architects in Russia
launched a movement to design buildings for the new socialist regime. Calling
themselves constructivists, they believed that design began with construction.
•Their buildings emphasized abstract geometric shapes and functional machine parts.
•Constructivist architecture combined engineering and technology with political
ideology. Constructivist architects tried to suggest the idea of humanity's collectivism
through the harmonious arrangement of diverse structural elements.
•The most famous work of constructivist architecture was never actually built. In
1920, Russian architect Vladimir Tatlin proposed a futuristic monument to the 3rd
International in the city of St. Petersburg (then known as Petergrado). The unbuilt
project, called Tatlin's Tower, used spiral forms to symbolize revolution and human
interaction. Inside the spirals, three glass-walled building units - a cube, a pyramid,
and a cylinder - would rotate at different speeds.
•Soaring 400 meters (about 1,300 feet), Tatlin's Tower would have been taller than
the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The cost to erect such a building would have been
enormous. But, even though Tatlin's Tower wasn't built, the plan helped launch the
Constructivist movement.
•By the late 1920s, Constructivism had spread outside the USSR. Many European
architects called themselves constructivists. However, within a few years
Constructivism faded from popularity and was eclipsed by the Bauhaus movement in
Germany.
Constructivist buildings have many of these features:
•Glass and steel
•Machine-made building parts
•Technological details such as antennae, signs, and
projection screens
•Abstract geometric shapes
•A sense of movement

Constructivist Architects:
•Vladimir Tatlin
•Konstantin Melnikov
•Nikolai Milyutin
•Aleksandr Vesnin
•Leonid Vesnin Shukhov Tower, Moscow, 
•Viktor Vesnin
•El Lissitzky
•Vladimir Krinsky
•Iakov Chernikhov
 FORMALISM

As the name suggests, Formalism emphasizes form.

The architect is interested in visual relationships between the
building parts and the work as a whole.
Shape, often on a monumental scale, is the focus of attention. Lines
and rigid geometric shapes predominate in Formalist architecture.
You will find Formalism in many Modernist buildings, especially in
Bauhaus and International Style architecture. Architect I.M. Pei has
often been praised for the "elegant formalism" of his works.
MID 20TH CENTURY MODERNISM
•Use of organic forms instead of geometric forms
•Fusion of architecture and sculpture.
•Simplicity
•New industrial material
•Due to increase in the economy in the late 1950’s ,
people could afford an artistic taste.
• playing with form
•Concept based planning

Pioneering architects :
• Frank Lloyd Wright
• le Corbusier
• Eero Saarinen
ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE

Frank Lloyd Wright said that all architecture is organic, and the Art
Nouveau architects of the early twentieth century incorporated
curving, plant-like shapes into their designs. But in the later half of
the twentieth century, Modernist architects took the concept of
organic architecture to new heights. By using new forms of concrete
and cantilever trusses, architects could create swooping arches
without visible beams or pillars.
Organic buildings are never linear or rigidly geometric. Instead,
wavy lines and curved shapes suggest natural forms.

Examples of Organic Modernism:

•Frank Lloyd Wright used shell-like spiral forms when he designed •Architect Jorn Utzon borrowed shell-like
the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. forms for the Sydney Opera House in
•Architect Eero Saarinen is known for designing grand bird-like Australia.
buildings such as the TWA terminal at New York's Kennedy Airport
and Dulles Airport near Washington D.C.- Simple curved, organic
shapes Theme of Motion / “Wings in Flight”
• Le Corbusier French Le Corbusier , Notre Dame du Haut
(Ronchamp, France), 1950 - 1955 Small church chapel which
replaced a building destroyed in WWII Shape represents praying
hands or wings of a dove (symbol of peace). Reference to Medieval
Architecture Concrete over metal structureTwo concrete “shells