History of Interior Design II: Modernism/International Style

Modernism began in 1900 and lasted through 1950, this was the time during the World Wars. “The Machine” was source of design inspiration and functionalism term used to describe design style. There was a rejection of the past and historical design and an embracing of industrial design during this time. The pioneers of this movement were Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier. Frank Lloyd Wright designed over 1000 structures, completed 532 works and worked in the offices of Adler and Sullivan in Chicago before branching out on his own. Some of his notable works include the Winslow House in River Forest, Illinois, the Hickox house in Kankakee, Illinois, and the Robie House in Chicago, IL. Walter Gropius established own architectural practice in 1911 and formed the Bauhaus School in 1919. Some Bauhaus teachers included Marcel Breuer a Hungarian born modernist architect and furniture designer and Wassily Kandinsky a Russian painter and founder of abstract art. Economic and political problems closed the Bauhaus at Weimar and Gropius designed the building for the new location in the industrial city of Dessau. But the school was forced to close in 1933 due to WWII. Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect. He believed that exhibitions offered opportunities to showcase interior design and furniture. Some of his notable works include the Barcelona Exhibition, the Barcelona chair, the Tugendhat House, and the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois. Le Corbusier worked for Peter Behrens and Josef Hoffmann and was most known for urban design. He wanted to improve the industrialized urban cities such as Paris, France. He combined a passion for classical Greek architecture and an attraction to the modern machine. His notable works include Pavilion de l’Esprit Nouveau, and Villa Savoye.

Past:
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