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The History of Modern Architecture

October 22, 2022 /

“Modern architecture is not a style, it is an attitude”

MArcel Breuer

Introduction

Architectural Digest: ’50 Modern Buildings That Changed the World’

In short, modern architecture is a style of building that emphasises heavily on function. It usually involves sharp, clean lines that strays away from the styles of Victorian, Queen Anne, and Gothic Revival. Modern architects work in ways that focus more on a building’s functionality and utility, rather than its beauty. It is unsentimental, unlike revivalist style, and instead, bears innovation and minimalisms.

Origins

The dawn of modern architecture came at a time where revolutions in technology, engineering and building materials were taking place. When hand-laboured craftsmanship was being replaced by machineries and industrialisation. It emerged at the end of the 19th century with a desire to break away from historical architectural styles and to create buildings that were purely functional and never seen before.

Form follows function

Modern architecture comprises several sub-styles that have taken the span of nearly a whole century. Which is why it can be hard to pinpoint the exact starting point of this widely acknowledged style. However, most architects can agree on one thing: that the birth of the modern style was inspired by the notion that form follows function. This means that the purpose of a building should be the starting point for its design. This concept doesn’t just float around theories regarding architecture, it instead spans over a myriad of other fields of study such as biology, graphic design, product design, writing and so on and so forth.

Louis Sullivan

Britannica: Louis Sullivan – American architect

As the founding father of this key principle of design, Louis Sullivan deserves to be regarded as a ‘father of modernism.’ Form follows function first sprouted in the buildings Sullivan designed for the 1893 Chicago World Fair, which acted as a foundation for a whole network of modern architects to build upon. Furthermore, the Chicago-based architect “lent his unique stylistic vision to the design of the Bayard-Condict, reflecting the significant thought he gave to the beauty of all his buildings” (smarthistory, 2021). The Bayard-Condict building is accepted by architectural historians as the first true skyscraper, which supports his often-regarded title as being the “father of skyscrapers” as well. 

Frank Lloyd Wright

Aside from holding the title of a “father of modernism,” Sullivan also was a mentor to Frank Llyod Wright, who followed his path and became a popular pioneer of modern architecture himself. He designed more than 1,000 structures in the span of 70 years and is widely known for being a great originator and a highly productive architect. Arguably, Wright holds the title for the most famous architect of all time, whose ‘Prairie Style’ became the basis for 20th century modern residential designs in the United States.

Other pioneers of modern architecture

Other pioneers of modern architecture include Staatliches Bauhaus, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Norman Foster, all of whom established long-lasting conceptual ideas in the field, as well as developed infamous structures. Popular examples are those such as The Staatliches Bauhaus, a German art school in the early 20th century that planted the seed for the Bauhaus architectural style. The Villa Savoye also stands to be considered as an important building of modern architecture that was key in the development of the International Style of Modernism.

Bibliography

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