WEEK 12 BLOG Modernism in America Pt 1

 WEEK 12 BLOG: Modernism in America Pt. 1

Modernism started in Germany and France and quickly spread throughout the globe. The modernist movement was post-World War 2. Many of the founders of the Modernist Movement fled from the European countries to Britain or America due to the World Wars. While pre-war modernism was theoretical and idealistic, post war modernism was practical and applied. 

Frank Lloyd Wright was popular in the 1920s and 1930s for His work did not fit the concept of modernism or international style at that time. Is well known for creating the Hollyhock House in 1921 in Los Angeles, CA. It is a monumental structure of poured concrete with cast geometric ornament and elaborate terraces and gardens. He is also popular for creating La Miniatura or the Millard House in Pasadena, CA. It is the most successful of his houses during this period because of the textile block and decorative patterned faces that created a repetitive pattern. 

After moving back to America from Japan, the Architectural Forum began to acknowledge Wright's approach to modernism and published pictures of Fallingwater in Bear Run, Pennsylvania, made in 1936. This is the most famous of Wright's houses and romantic examples of modern architecture anywhere.

 

Another famous modernist architect in America is Rudolf Schindler.He was born in Austria and had a collaborative relationship with Wright, but their relationship ended with a bitter conflict. He is most famous for the Schindler House. His design style represented the prototype of the modern residential home. There was a unique exploration of space in each home. He is also known for the Kings Road House.

Other very famous architects from this time period include Richard Neutra for the Kaufmann House and the Lovell House, William Lescaze, Philip Goodwin and Edward Stone in commercial design. Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, Eero Saarinen, Mies Van Der Rohe for the Farnsworth and Lake Shore Drive Apartments, and Philip Johnson for the Glass House.

Favorite Present-Day Applications and Buildings admirable today:

Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill; Lever House, NY 1950

Womb Chair Eero Saarinen

Kleinhans Music Hall Eero Saarinen

Perkins and Will Benjamin E Mays High School 

One Step Further: 

Philip Johnson is a modernist architect who created the Glass House in New Canaan, CT.  He worked alongside Miss van der Rohe, but after He drew inspiration from the Farnsworth House to get the Glass House, conflict arose. Philip Johnson is very proud about the fact that the Glass House was not only inspired by Mies van der Rohe, but also many other famous works of architecture around the world. His modernist use of steel and glass created a building that was quite admirable. He even lived in the Glass House for over 50 years before he passed in 2005. The open floor plan with only the cylindrical bathroom creates a very unique space to admire nature and push the limits of architecture. I did my precedent study project in the second semester about Phillip Johnson, and I couldn't be more impressed with the way he created such a beautiful space.