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The Barcelona Pavilion became a staple of Modernism and the modern movement. Designed by Ludwig Mies Van De Rohe a German architect. The pavilioned was commissioned by Germany for the Barcelona International Exposition. Spain challenged Germany to build a small pavilion representative of their country. This exposition was to show the world that after the loss of World War I that it was becoming a power house for the coming century. The Barcelona pavilion was made using glass, steel, and various marbles. The pavilion was to accommodate the reception of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. The Barcelona Pavilion was very well received as it used modern design of a flat roof and a harmonious grid system. The marble that was used was Roman travertine, Green Alpine, Ancient Greek from Greece, and Golden Onyx from Atlas Mountains. Rohe choose marble not for their novelty but their purpose for the modern geometric styles of each marble type. One of many innovations that came from the Barcelona Pav...

The Guild Houser by Robert Venturi, built in 1960-64; is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Robert Venturi was a Post-Modernist. This apartment complex was built for housing seniors with low income. The complex was comprised of 91 units of various types and recreation rooms. The exterior was clad in ordinary brick to further drive home the point of the bland materials. The building use what’s known as a pop art technique. The arch opening on top of the building was slightly stretched off the edges and was recessed so the building could receive natural light on top of the building. The façade is separated horizontally by a white brick stripe, this broke the harmonies flow of the continuous red brick. The stepped back sides allowed greater sun exposure to the inside of the buildings. The building is considered a cliché as Venturi manipulates what a normal element is to make a non-normal meaning. One of best examples is the large column in front of the entrance and blocks a direct e...

AEG Turbine factory is located in the Moabit district in Berlin, Germany. Built in 1909; and designed by Peter Behrens in the Art Nouveau style. Peter Behren was a painter who was commissioned by AEG to first redesign the arc lamps. His success was so impressive to AEG as he did not completely redesign the lamp its self as merely improve its current design with less joints and fewer complexities to get a simpler and more effective design. Immediately following that they gave him the task of designing the AEG trademark, and later they assigned him to design what would be his first factory for AEG. The AEG turbine factory is now a staple of early modern architecture as it uses new materials and methods that were unconventional to that time. The AEG factory was not the first in Germany to use steel or steel frame construction it was the way they incorporated these materials to express basic classical values. The steel frame is hidden by bricks which is seemingly a step backwards of mo...

The Unity Temple in Oak Park Illinois is one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s early masterpieces built in 1908-09. It is among the first to use poured in place concrete for a non-industrial building. The concrete is augmented by pre-cast ornament as it’s primary building material. The Unity Temple also features an undersized drainage system inside the building. This design decision was made because Wright did not want to use exterior gutters as it would be detrimental to the look of the building. These drainage systems however did take a toll on the building inside and out. During the construction of this temple there were four types of concrete used; conventional, cinder concrete, light weight cinder concrete, and Portland. Conventional concrete that is found in structural columns, cinder block was used for the floor and roof slabs. Light weight cinder concrete was mostly used for roof toping, and Portland cement facing mortar. Over the years the concrete began disintegrating allowing to e...