1. The International Style
Major architectural style in Europe & USA
Began in the 1920’s – 1930’2 (1980’s)
Term coined by Henry Russell Hitchcock and Phillip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson ( )
Henry-Russell Hitchcock ( )

2. The most important figures
“The big three”
Le Corbusier (France)
Ludwig Mies van Rohe (Germany)
Walter Gropius (Germany)

3. Nazi’s rejected the modern architecture forcing an entire generation of architects out of Europe.
Mies fled to the USA in 1936 extending his influence and promoting Bauhaus which later became the primary source of architectural modernism.
The International Style became the dominant approach for decades.

4. The International Style was striving towards:
“Simplification, Honesty and Clarification”
The ideals of the style can be summed up in four slogans:
“ornament is a crime” “truth to materials”
“form follows function” “machines for living” (Le Corbusier)

5. Identifying features/characteristics
Modern structural principles and material (commercial and institutional buildings rather than housing)
Concrete
Glass
Steel (most common)
Occasionally reveals skeleton frame construction
Exposing its structure
Rejected non-essential decoration
Ribbon windows
Corner windows
Bands of glass
Balance and regularity
Flat roof, without ledge
Often with thin, metal mullions and smooth spandrel panels separating large, single-pane windows

6. The typical International Style high-rise usually consists of the following:
Square or rectangular footprint
Simple cubic "extruded rectangle" form
Windows running in broken horizontal rows forming a grid
All facade angles are 90 degrees

7. The most famous manifestations include:
United Nations Headquarters
Completed 1952
New York, NY
Le Corbusier  

8. Seagram Building Completed 1957 New York, NY (park avenue)
Ludwig Mies van Der Rohe (and Phillip Johnson)  

9. Access to new building technologies like reinforced concrete , and steel framework for building meant that designers could seek a whole new approach to what is known as the plan or the layout of the interiors of buildings.
The enormous strength of these new materials opened new worlds for designers that were unheard of in building before.

10. (the Netherlands – Frits Peutz) 1935
Glass Palace
(the Netherlands – Frits Peutz) 1935

11. Ludwig Mies Van der Rohewig
Chicago, Illinois 1949

12. Ludwig Mies Van der Rohewig
Chicago, Illinois 1973

13. Gropius House
Walter Gropius

15. The Farnsworth House
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

16. International Style glass house
Philip Johnson 1949