Style Of Modern Architecture

1 . 0 I N TR O D U C T I O N
T he Interna tiona l st yle w as a ma jor arc hite ctura l st yle of the 1920s and 1930s . T he t erm us ua lly re fers to the buildi ngs and a rchit ect s of t he formati ve dec ades of M odernis m , before Worl d W ar II . The term had its ori gin from t he na me of a book by H enryRus s ell H itc hcock and P hili p of J ohns on w ritt en to re cord he ld at t he the to Int ernat ional c ate goris ed E xhibit ion a nd M odern upon Archit ect ure

M us eum of M odern A rt i n Ne w Y ork Cit y in 1932 w hich i denti fie d, expa nded cha ract eris ti cs com mon M oderni sm ac ross t he w orld. A s a res ult, the focus wa s more on t he s tyli st ic a spe cts of M oderni sm . H itc hcock' s and J ohnson' s ai ms w ere to de fine a stye of t he t ime , w hich w ould enca psul ate thi s m odern archi tec ture . T hey ident ifie d three di fferent princi ples : the e xpres si on of vol ume rathe r than m as s, bala nce rathe r tha n pre conce ived s ymmet ry and t he e xpuls ion of a pplie d orname nt. A ll t he w orks w hic h we re di spl ayed as part of the exhibi tion w ere c areful ly s ele cte d, as only works w hich s tri ctl y followe d the s et of rul es we re dis pla yed.

I N TERN A TIO NA L STYLE : - In arc hitect ure, the phas e of t he modern move ment t hat em erge d i n E urope worki ng i n t he Int ernat ional s pac es . st yle ga ve new em phas is inc lude the to the e xpres si on at of s truc ture, t he l ighte ning of m as s, and the enc los ure of dyna mic Importa nt e xampl es Ba uhaus D es sa u, G erm any, by Wa lt er G ropius (192526) and the V ill a Sa voye, P ois s y-sur-S ei ne, France , by Le Corbusi er (192930).

st yle

of

arc hite cture

appli ed

to

res idenc es

and

public

bui ldings tha t is m inim ali st in concept , is devoid of regiona l c harac teri st ics , st res s es func tiona lis m, and re jec ts a ll nones sent ial de corat ive e lem ents; typical ly thi s st yle e mphas iz es the horizont al a spe cts of a bui lding. In t he de cade s se parat ing World W ars I a nd II, A me rica ns t ended t o prefe r peri od houses that refl ect ed pas t tradi tions , w hile E uropean archi tec ts em phas iz ed ra dica lly new des igns t hat came t o be know n a s Internati onal st yle arc hite cture . L e Corbus ie r ha d s tre ss ed t he ide a of the house as a "m achi ne for li ving." D uring the 1930s t hes e idea s w ere i ntroduc ed into t he Uni ted S ta tes by s eve ral dis ti nguis hed prac tit ione rs, l ike Wal ter Gropi us a nd Mi es van de r Rohe, Richa rd Ne utra and M arc el Bre urer w ho e migra ted t o es cape the devel oping cha os i n Europe.

1.1 D EFI N IN G F EATU R ES # S im ple ge omet ric form s, oft en re cti line ar # Rei nforced-c oncre te a nd st eel c onst ruct ion wi th a nons truc tural Oc cas iona lly, cyli ndrica l s urfa ces U nadorne d, s mooth wa ll s urfac es , t ypica lly of gl ass, s te el, or s tuc co pa inte d whi te. # Comple te a bse nce of ornam enta tion and dec orati on; oft en, an w al l O ften, a cant ile vere d upper floor or ba lcony H ous es in thi s st yle are c harac teri zed by ope n i nteri or s pace s and a re com monly a sym met rica l, Comm erc ial buildi ngs a re not onl y s ymm etri cal but appe ar as a se ries of repe tit ive e lem ents , F lat roof, w it hout a ledge , e aves , or copi ng, t hat te rmina tes at the plane of t he w al l, Large a rea s of fl oor-to-ceil ing gl as s or curta in wa lls of gl as s, M et al wi ndow frame s s et flus h w ith the exte rior w all s, often i n hori zonta l bands Cas em ent w indow s ; sl iding w indow s, D oorw ay t reat ment s c onspi cuous ly pla in, la cking decora tive deta ili ng e ntire blank s kin

4.0 Conclusion
International style architecture prospered around the 1920s and 1930s and is considered a primarily American offshoot of Bauhaus architecture and also the most minimal form of modernism. be characterized support, A as and More specifically, international style can the design of simple, the the floors Seagram unornamented and interior a

buildings usually constructed in glass for the facade, steel for exterior supports. concrete example for is classic building,

skyscraper, in New York City. It was built in 1958 as a 38-story icon of corporate International Modernism. Finally, it was around the 1960s that criticisms of modern architecture bloomed on the basis that it was universal, sterile, elitist, and to lacked the meaning. formalism of Postmodernity the is seen as a of response international style

modernism and manifests itself by replacing unapologetically diverse aesthetics; styles collide, form is adopted for its own sake, and new ways of viewing familiar styles and space abound. A classic example of postmodern architecture can be (i.e. skyscraper with steel beam and many

seen in the Sony Building where it has modernist architecture characteristics

windows)

as

well

as

postmodern

characteristics

such

as

its

Chippendale style and neo-eclecticism. IN CONCLUSION modernist architects see postmodernism as vulgar and loaded with gee-gaws whereas post modernist architects see modern architecture as soulless and bland. Modernism is rooted more in the amount of material and cost of a structure whereas post-modernism seeks exuberance in the use of building techniques, angles, references.

Bibliography
Architecture Form, Space & Order byFrancis D.K. Ching The Other Tradition of modern architecture bycolin st john wilson The International Style b yRichals neutra & Rudoy schindler http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761595616_4/Modern_Architecture.html http://www.answers.com/topic/international-style http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page http://www.google.co.in/