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Fallingwater and icon of American Modern and Organic Architecture. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1936-38. The Koffman family were looking to build a summer retreat home. Fallingwater was commissioned by the Koffman family thanks to their son Edgar Koffman who was an apprentice studying under Wright. Frank Lloyd Wright was known for his Modern architecture and his love for nature. His organic architectural style had a big influence on how the house would be built. Wright was very fortunate to have these clients who were big into arts and always expanding their horizons to new things. This was possible because of their business that they had. As the Koffman family worked in the city it was a great joy for them to return on weekends to a respite away from the bustling city. Immediately after meeting with the Koffman family he acknowledged that the site was very important to them and figured out a way for it to be part of their stay at the waterfall. The building was constr...

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...

CROWN HALL (1956) " Less is more " S.R. Crown Hall Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe was born in Aachen, Germany in 1886. Growing up, he was brought into his father's stone carving business and eventually started to work at local design firms. Exploring other firms and practices, he eventually crossed paths with greats like Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius. After World War I, he fled to the United States and began practicing his architecture in a different tone. Mies originally was interested in Traditionalism and ornament. His early projects conveyed historical styles and classic facades, but his shift in interest then steered him towards a more modernist approach. Eventually, Mies started to get recognition for his work and was involved in projects like the Barcelona Pavilion which was a part of the Weissenhofsiedlung, Bauhaus, IIT Masterplan and more. The project that really started to showcase Mies' understanding of structure and grid was S.R. Crown Hall, a facil...

The Villa Muller, located in Prague, Czech Republic, was designed by architect Adolf Loos. The clients for the house were Frantisek Muller and his wife, Milada Mullerova. This building clearly illustrates the beginning of early modernism. It is also known as a landmark for early modernist architecture. Loos’ ideas of economy and functionality are clearly depicted in this building. The spatial design of this building is expressed in multi-level parts of individual rooms. The placing of the rooms show their function and importance. This is known as the Raumplan. In Loos’ essay “Ornament and Crime,” he criticized decorated surfaces. For the exterior surfaces of the Villa Muller, he designed a white cubic facade. In the design of this building, Loos wanted to differentiate the views from the exterior and public eye from the interior private spaces of the inhabitants.   Adolf Loos once stated, “My architecture is not conceived in plans, but in spaces(cubes). I do not design floor...

The Barcelona Pavilion, located in Barcelona, Spain, was designed by architect Mies van der Rohe. This building is a strong representation of how modernism is moving in the world. This building was originally named the German Pavilion, and after World War II it was the face of Germany. The modern culture was accelerating steadily yet still incorporated classical history. The sleek design alongside with natural materials were presented as a bridge to his future career and modernism. Mies van der Rohe was commissioned to design the pavilion for the International Exposition in Barcelona, Spain. It was intended to represent the face of the German section that would host officials at the exposition. To Mies, the intent of the building was just simply a building. It would not hold art or sculptures, but it would rather be a tranquil area acting as an escape from the exposition. The location of the pavilion reflects its purpose as well. It is located on a narrow site, in a corner that ...

The Villa Savoye, designed by Le Corbusier, stands as on of his most famous works to this day. Located in Poissy, France, the Villa Savoye is a paramount building of the early 20th century which highlights one of the developments of Modernism. This house was designed as a private residence in collaboration with Le Corbusier’s cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, who worked with him in the series of “white villas”. This was a series of private homes following a similar look. The location of this project was originally surrounded by woodland and the client’s visions for the house allowed Le Corbusier to incorporate his Five Points into the project to clearly illustrate the modernism movement. Le Corbusier’s Five Points of Architecture are ones he used frequently to articulate his programs and organize spaces. His five points are: the use of pilotis, a flat roof terrace, an open plan concept, horizontal windows and a free facade. His famous quote for this project was, “The house is a machine ...

North-West Facade Located in France in the small city of Yvelines we can find the Villa Savoye. It stands on top of a hill where it can overlook the bordering river, Seine. The town had a school named after Le Corbusier which ironically almost led to the destruction of the Villa. From the street nothing can really be seen through the trees. The Villa was considered an “upper class”. It was even more emphasized by having the Villa in the middle of the site. This encourages people to walk around the building before actually entering. The house could be described as a floating box that was pierced by a band of window. The Villa shows strong elements of horizontality and verticality. The horizontality is seen as the floating box is strinpped even more through the band of windows, really creating three bands. Even though the house is on pilots, we don't notice them. The vertical elements are the more cylinder element, above and below the box. It almost seems that the cylinder is ...

E-1027; Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France; 1929; Other Fathers: Charles-Edouard Jeanerette-Gris and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe  The E-1027 villa was built in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. It was designed by Eileen Gray, whom is known for her architecture and furniture design. It was constructed with help of local crew members in 1929. During this era, unexperienced female architects were still frowned upon (Willette, “Eileen Gray, Architect: The E.1027 House”) . However, she was still able to conquer this stereotype and build this summer getaway for herself and her partner, Jean Badovici  (Flint, "Restoring Eileen Gray's E-1027") . Eileen Gray is well known to be a founder of the modern movement in architecture. The E-1027 made an unusually vital impact to modern architecture. This structure is considered to be her first major project (Muller; Hecker, "Eileen Gray") . The name of the house, E-1027 is symbolized a system communicating the bond...

REINFORCED MODERN RUNWAY The London zoo’s penguin pool was redesigned in 1934 by architect Berthold Lubetkin and engineer Ove Arup. This project is iconic as it was one of the first to express the vast structural potential of reinforced concrete. “The Penguin Pool at London Zoo 1934, designed by Berthold Lubetkin & Tecton is one of the iconic landmarks of modern architecture”. It was an icon for British modernist architecture. The project was a success as it was functioned as a shelter for animals, a sculpture and a impressive breakthrough in concrete. “ The Penguin Pool, visited and admired by thousands over the 75 years since its completion, also stands as a poignant emblem of the dreams and disappointments of modern architecture”. The use of concrete was like none other in the world. This project was part of the beginning of the modern movement. This project gave the world a taste of the many great things that are possible. The pool has nesting boxes around the perimeter ,...

East Elevation After observing Frank Lloyd Wright’s building through paper Robert Van’t Hoff traveled to America, where he visited the Midway Gardens, Taliesin, the Larkin building and the Oak Park home. When he traveled back to Europe he had a new ideology on what future architecture should be. Creating the Villa Henny put him on the map for international fame.  A year after the Villa was completed, he met Theo Van Doesburg. Together they started the De Stijl Magazine writing articles of the future of architecture, along with Jan Wils and Antonio Sant’Elia. Van’t Hoff renounced being an architect and continued as a furniture designer in Hampshire, England in 1937. Robie House- Frank Lloyd Wright Inspiration  The Villa Henny was originally for A. B. Henny, who was a businessman, but before the house was even finished he sold it to another resident. It is hard to classify the house to just one style, since it gets its abstract structure from De Stijl, which we know ...

Le Corbusier began to study purism as he looked into the house as a “machine for living.” Maison Citrohan was the last of three prototypes, as he looked into a house with double height spaces that would function seamlessly with the daily lives of its inhabitance. The three prototypes were the Domino house, the Monol house, and finally Maison Citrohan. The way the house would function as a machine is how they were built, in series. Le Corbusier was interested at the time in industrialization and the machines that began to mass produce products, and he wanted to do the same for homes, but in doing so he also wanted to contain the humanist expression inside of the building.             Each house would include a double height space with two walls, which was inspired by his visual experience of space inside of popular Paris bars. The houses would include a mezzanine and have a large light near the darker areas light did n...