Modern Movement 1910 – 1940s Functionalism Ornament as Crime Raumplan & Plan Libre whatever you design MUST work space planning issues

Adolph Loos, 1870-1933 “father of modern movement” architect—loved theory used no historical references in his architecture—especially ornamentation

ornament does not serve a function wrote of people that continue to ornament their bodies—backward & uncivilized likened those with tattoos to criminals

Steiner House, Adolph Loos, 1910-1920 backyard Steiner House, Adolph Loos, 1910-1920 white box as a dwelling strong desire for symmetry

front façade curved line for interest very rigid

Moller House, Adolph Loos, 1910-1920 believes society has two faces—public face (exterior) & private face (interior) client did own interior

space should be freed from having rigid floors wanted much more organicism gave you the shell to work with—you chose individual pieces

Raumplan—he freed the space vertically—different sense of complexity

Maison Domino, Le Corbusier, 1914 direct contrast with Le Corbusier’s—“Plan Libre”

Walter Gropius Director of Bauhaus School—1919 combines two schools of thought—hand craft & fine art you design it, you make it, but you accept that it will be made by a machine & mass produced Walter Gropius

first year completely disregarded history in design all incoming students went through a “ritual cleansing” first year consisted of a study of elements and principles of design

original location of the school—very conservative town 1923—exhibition; public didn’t like it thought that the Bauhaus was creating socialist freethinkers made them move

Bauhaus, Dessau, Gropius & Faculty, 1926 city (Dessau) funded the construction of the new building faculty designed building

still exists simplified approach to building little ornamentation very rational

designed to function in a specific manner if it functioned well, it was beautiful used as few materials as possible

very linear & avant garde

Director's Office at Weimar Bauhaus, Gropius & collaborators, 1926 did use color only soft thing in the room is textile lighting by Laslo

Johannes Itten, 1916 two faculty members per studio one to explain production & one to explain design Itten believed his job was to reach into each student and unleash inner creativity Gropius wasn’t happy with this Johannes Itten, 1916

Die Begegnung, Johannes Itten, 1916 loved expressive and manipulative aspects of color Die Begegnung, Johannes Itten, 1916

Laslo Moholy-Nagly more of an industrial designer—about production form is the expression

Light Display: Black- White - Grey, Moholy-Nagy

Marcel Breuer (Broyer) taught furniture making used materials efficiently and in new ways

sling seat—fabric held in tension step in the direction of trying to see function of chair cantilevering becomes popular

Cesca Chair Breuer, 1926 inspired by a bicycle sitting only on two legs—entirely cantilevered

meant for a middle class market

Wassily Chair, 1927 named after his friend—Wassily Kandinsky Tubular Steel furniture by Marcel Breuer, 1925-1927, Bauhaus Wassily Chair Wassily Chair, 1927 named after his friend—Wassily Kandinsky some people argue it uses more material than necessary

Gunta Stolzl weaving workshop director—began on a temporary basis women could only go into weaving would sell students designs to industry for money for school women in weaving were supporting entire school eventually

did wall hangings, rugs, bedspreads, etc… only soft surface in entire space—humanized interior 1926

Wallhanging, Stolzl, 1926

Student dorm room with Stolzl’s bedspread, Pellerhaus, 1926

Lily Reich heads up weaving workshop in the 30s—when Mies van der Rohe becomes the director called herself an “inner architect”

Textiles from the Bauhaus Weaving Workshop

Interiors by Lily Reich, Berlin Expositions of 1931, Bauhaus, 1934 Berlin exposition vignette—uses textiles to make space more livable

Interiors by Lily Reich, Berlin Expositions of 1931, Bauhaus, 1934 manipulated textiles so that room feels soft—uses tubular steel like Breuer—chair reference to Mies

Mies van der Rohe 1886-1969 “Architecture is the real battleground of the spirit.” wants to take Bauhaus to its next step—focusing more on aesthetics

Tubular Steel Cantilever Chair, Mies & Lily Reich, 1926 MR2 tubular steel fabric in tension supports padding injected lead into back stretcher to hold it down—in order to keep more elegant line of curved legs

perhaps the most famous of all work German Pavilion, Barcelona, Spain, World's Fair, 1929; w/ Barcelona furniture perhaps the most famous of all work

based off of Corbusier’s “plan libre” all walls are non-load bearing—do not articulate and close off space

concrete ceiling & slab floors

limited structure

free flow of space—walls are accenting depth of space rug/textile helps to identify space & function can have glass walls now—are not supporting anything

browns & oranges brilliant blue/ gray

collection of different types of marble in structure

Barcelona Chair, Spain, Mies, 1929 centers all weight on one point—had to thicken joint throne for king & queen of Spain’s visit to pavilion leather and strap steel with fabric & tension webbing

Tugendhat (family) House, Mies, Brno (city), Czechoslovakia, 1928-1930 residential—façade; simple white boxes strong horizontal quality—flat roof unornamented generally unpretentious

glass curtain wall can roll down into basement walls looks to be one story—actually two— top floor servants; ground floor family

Corbusier’s idea of structure used—columns or “pilotes” only thing holding up structure

frames an extraordinary view

front door hard to find—kind of like FLW

“wallpaper” is nature—curtains play vital role in climate control textile defines space

chrome plated columns distinguishes Mies work from Corbusier curtains being used as temporary walls textiles & glass used as dividers instead of walls

chrome plated columns distinguishes Mies work from Corbusier

Tugendhat chair fabric & tension webbing tufted leather still cantilevered, but with “S” shape curve again used strap steel

Identifying features?

dining room articulated by curved wall— built-in marble side board seems to be floating

wood grain of wall creates distinct patterns view brings color and pattern to space

Brno Chair named after location of house emphasizes cantilever dropped seat not fabric & tension strap steel

Brno Chair tubular steel version

STRAP STEEL VERSION more elegant heavier more expensive TUBULAR STEEL VERSION easier to move less expensive

his interpretation of modern movement most clear—published “Vers un Architecture” made five points: plan libre—eliminate load bearing walls so it can be open to anything—furniture created space definition—furniture becomes most important skeletal steel frame should show—columns/pilotes lift structure off ground away from “dampness” creates abstraction of nature on roof to balance footprint below uninterrupted strip/ribbon windows due to less structure Le Corbusier 1887-1965

Maison Domino, Le Corbusier, 1914

demonstrating his five points with model of Villa Savoye

real marker that modernist movement is catching on

Grand Comfort Lounge Chair (LC2), Le Corbusier and Perriand (Charlotte), 1929 example of theories in furniture form showing structure “lifting up”

Villa Savoye, Le Corbusier, Poissey-sur-Seine, France, 1931

ramp turning radius of a car auto beginning to shape architecture

service stair treated as sculptural piece

grill grate at door for cleaning feet—saw architecture as “machines for living”—help you live furniture was “equipment” for machine

garage doors

places sink here to help keep the house “machine” clean

white used because it is all about form sculptural stair front door ramp white used because it is all about form

wants you to believe that it is all machine made

leads you right into perfect view—”idealized version of nature”

creates abstraction of nature on roof to balance footprint below

strip window lends visual texture & color to space structure separated from wall indirect trough lighting

burnt orange walls—denote mass powdery blue trim—delicate base paint highlighted sculptural form

living room—very large space + strip windows to view outside

spatial complexity

bathroom—drip dry on built-in chaise lounge bedroom curtain for privacy bathroom—drip dry on built-in chaise lounge

easy to maintain—house is meant to help you live skylight built-in storage easy to maintain—house is meant to help you live

varied treatment of pilotes throughout space— freestanding; pretty close to a wall; submerge column partially; hide in wall completely

Chaise Lounge (LC4), Le Corbusier and Perriand, 1928 tubular steel, painted wood & leather still being produced today meant to be a moveable system

Chaise Lounge (LC4), Le Corbusier and Perriand, 1928

french architect and designer Charlotte Perriand french architect and designer

recognized at age 24 for "Bar Under the Roof"—furniture made out of chromed steel and anodized aluminium

collaborated with Corbusier for nearly ten years

furniture still in production

Eileen Gray counterpart for Corbusier & Mies architect that started out as a decorative artist—completely untrained started in Ireland

first craft—lacquering Le Destin 1914

more graphic in nature—leaves classical behind

Lacquer work, furniture and screens, Eileen Gray, 1913-1920s block screen—created so that it is very pliable iconic piece of Eileen Gray Lacquer work, furniture and screens, Eileen Gray, 1913-1920s

Madame Levy—Gray’s first interior commission– Rue de Lota applied concept of block screen down hallway

large, custom graphic design on wall sitting in Pirogue—like boatish daybed

fireplace only remaining original interiors—all else Gray modified

Pirogue, from the apartment of Mme Levy

used a reeding effect—Egyptian inspiration?

graphic imagery on wall separates Gray from everyone else

House, E1027, Eileen Gray, Roquebrune, France, 1929 example of architectural work—on Mediterranean Ocean in Saint Tropez—built with the help of Jean Badovici

part of interior stepping out of the “box”

Eileen worked mainly in exploded floor plan

looks much bigger than it is has two bedrooms, a maid's room, utility rooms and a large space, partitioned with screen furniture, that could serve as a living room, dining area, cloakroom or guest room

Bathroom, E1027, Eileen Gray, Roquebrune, France, 1929 villa provided what she called the "minimum of space, maximum of comfort"

filled every surplus cubic metre with concealed storage compartments each designed to accommodate a specific item

Gray called Le Corbusier's murals "an act of vandalism."

detail of Le Corbusier’s mural Le Corbusier wrote to Gray after staying at E-1027: "Those few days spent in your house have made me appreciate the rare spirit that dictates all of its organization, both inside and outside, and has given the modern furniture and equipment a form that is so dignified, so charming and full of wit."

Transatt Chair, Eileen Gray

produced a second furniture type for the house—”le style camping" flexible, light and portable capable of assuming different configurations accommodate a range of activities.

Adjustable Table

Bibendum Chair