Modernism began in Germany and France and eventually moved to the United States. There were many influential modernist designers that were both American or came to America from Europe. When the Bauhaus school closed because of the war many designers fled to the United States or Britain.
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| Glass House By Philip Johnson |
There were many new materials that were being used in the movement. Some of the new material that was used primarily in the building of the modernist buildings was reinforced concrete, ribbon windows, steel frames, and curtain walls. Modernism focused primarily on the usability of a building its focus was much less on ornamentation and more focused on having a minimal look. The interior of these buildings was filled with natural light and was very open.
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| Schindler House By Rudolph Schindler |
Examples of Modernism in America Today
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| Salk Institute by Louis Kahn, San Diego, 1963 |
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| Rainier Tower by Minoru Yamasaki, Seattle, 1977 |
One Step Further
Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra was born in Vienna Austria. He studied architecture at the Sophiengymnasium in Vienna. His studies where interrupted when he joined the military and became a lieutenant in the artillery in Balkans. He finally was able to take his final exam for architecture in 1917.
He first worked as a landscape architect after World War I. He then was a city architect in 1921. He then married a daughter of an architect and had three boys. They soon moved to America in 1929.
Richard Neutra worked with Frank Lloyd Wright for a short while and then he worked with Rudolf Schindler.
Two of Neutra's most famous works was the Lovell house and the Kaufmann House. The Lovell house was the first home in America to be built with a steel frame. Richard Neutra was known for being a designer that paid a great deal of attention to the needs of the client and met them through his designs. He would ask his clients a list of questionnaires so that he would know exactly what they needed.
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| Lovell House |
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| Kaufmann House |
Christyanne, I love what you found out about Richard Neutra. I think it's really interesting that he worked as a landscape architect and then married the daughter of an architect.
ReplyDeleteChristyanne, when you mentioned the migration of many designers from European countries to America, I wondered if they faced any difficulties when they got here such as language barriers if they spoke other languages previously. I also found the range of materials that were used very interesting. It's almost like the designers of the time were really open to any and everything.
ReplyDeleteWonderful summary. We were fortunate to be able to welcome many of the European masters to our country at this time. Many of them became professors at some of the most prestigious universities in our country.
ReplyDeleteGood summary on Richard Neutra- I love the Kaufman house.