Modern Architecture: Beginnings and Key Developments

Introduction

• Common perception: Modern Architecture began in the early 1920s
  • Architects: Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier
  • Characterized by: sleek geometric boxes, mostly glass and steel
• Question: When did Modern Architecture actually begin?
  • Technological innovations, societal changes, and shifting architectural theories were gradual and didn't always coincide

Industrial Revolution and Early Innovations

• Industrial Revolution (mid-1700s to mid-1800s, Britain)
  • Large-scale iron production
  • Impact on construction:
    • Efficient structural elements, wider beam spans, better lateral stability
    • Less fire-hazardous structures due to metal being non-combustible
  • Buildings still adhered to traditional aesthetics (cladded in masonry, classical proportions)

The Crystal Palace (1851)

• Hosted London’s Great Exhibition
• Structure: Slender cast iron frames, large sheets of plate glass
• Revolutionized building with:
  • Tall, light, and open structures
  • Defying conventional structural expectations (solid, sturdy bases)

The Home Insurance Building (1885)

• Located in Chicago, known as the first “Skyscraper”
• Response to Great Chicago Fire (1871)
  • Utilized structural steel frame (stronger and lighter than iron)
  • Larger window openings
  • Paved the way for modern office towers and retail buildings

Philosophical and Theoretical Shifts

• Practical and economic reasons drove initial design decisions
• Turn of the 20th century: formal principles of modern architecture standardized
  • 1896: Louis Sullivan’s essay "The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered"
    • Coined “form follows function"
  • 1919: Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus School (Weimar, Germany)
    • Simplification to essentials of function, no unnecessary ornamentation
  • 1920: Le Corbusier co-founded L’Esprit Nouveau
    • Advocated separation from historical references
    • Introduced urban planning theories (zoning residential and commercial areas)

Post-WWII Developments

• 1950s: Reconstruction projects, demand for economic construction
  • Public housing projects embraced modernist strategies
  • Capitalists and elites in America adopted modernist concepts (shiny glass towers)
• 1950s: Perception of Modern Architecture shaping everyday lives

Conclusion

• Modern Architecture’s start: Variable perspectives
  • Departure from classical conventions
  • First theoretical publications
  • Founding of educational institutions
  • Adoption by the masses

Reflection and Further Discussion

• Viewer engagement: Personal perspectives on the beginnings of Modern Architecture
• Additional resources: Links and reading material in the video description