International Style Design Elements

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Through all the “ism” in art and architecture, modernist design in architecture refers to the mid-century of the 20th century. So many buildings and residences set the stage for contemporary modern designs of today. Many of the iconic places so familiar to us have exerted incredible influences on current design to such a degree, that the postmodernist reaction has been to take its elements and add complexity and elaboration similar to the Baroque and Rococo changes from the Renaissance.  In terms of modern style, modernist design suits small and tiny houses much more so than the flamboyance of the contemporary due to the emphasis on what I call direct design; that is, avoidance of unnecessary complications and details.

 

Glass House, Philip Johnson, 1949.
Glass House, Philip Johnson, 1949. By Staib – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7797606.

Of that stated above, not all is entirely true. Due to the fact that the modernist impulse leads to experimentation and groundbreaking designs, not all modernist fabrications strictly adhered to the International Style such as in the design of the Glass House or the Farnsworth House.

 

Farnsworth House, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1945-51.
Farnsworth House, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1945-51.

Significantly different to the Internationalists, Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs clearly differ to the more rectilinear edifices of the Internationalists such as Mies van der Rohe’s creations.

 

David and Gladys Wright House, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1952.
David and Gladys Wright House, Phoenix, Arizona, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1952.

Since this is not a scholarly examination of all the types and elements of all modern architecture, for our purposes we will stick to some of the elements of the International Style.

One always hears or reads the phrase, “…clean lines…” I prefer unadorned or unbroken lines. Modernists seek to find elemental geometry in their vision of the residences they build. The cube, the circle, the triangle becomes their palette. The most important and well-known houses built by modernists possess a Zen-like quality when combined with their surrounding environment.

 

The Bailey House or Case Study House #21, Los Angeles, California, Pierre Koenig, 1958.
The Bailey House or Case Study House #21, Los Angeles, California, Pierre Koenig, 1958.

 

Case Study House #22, The Stahl House, Los Angeles, California, Pierre Koenig, 1959.
Case Study House #22, The Stahl House, Los Angeles, California, Pierre Koenig, 1959.

This brings us to the first modernist element. The house should create an atmosphere when combined with its surrounding landscape. This means that those inside feel the influence of the outside landscape through walls of glass, sliding glass doors, large windows, even walls that move to allow access to patios or verandas. Any room might be exposed in some way to views or have access to the outdoors.

 

Mid Century Modern House, Berkeley, California, Roger Lee, 1952.
Mid Century Modern House, Berkeley, California, Roger Lee, 1952.

 

The Hailey Residence, Richard Neutra - bedroom
The Hailey Residence (Bedroom), Los Angeles, California, Richard Neutra, 1959.

Many times, where there are no windows or glass walls, modernist architects used clerestory windows and skylights to bring in natural light.

 

The Hailey Residence, Richard Neutra - front
The Hailey Residence, Los Angeles, California, Richard Neutra, 1959. (Notice the clerestory windows all along the top just below the roof.)

This brings us to another important element of modern residences. Often times the walls of glass and sliding glass doors were on the sides of the house not facing the street. When, indeed, the front facing the street had considerable glass, screens of sculpted cement block, wood or metal blocked a direct view.

 

Twin Palms, Palm Springs, California, William Krisel, 1957.
Twin Palms, Palm Springs, California, William Krisel, 1957.

 

 

Whittier Public Library, Whittier, California, William Harrison, 1959.
Whittier Public Library, Whittier, California, William Harrison, 1959.

 

Rather than walls, screens were also used for spatial arrangements in the interior as well.

 

Knoll Showroom, Mexico City, Erwin Hauer, 1961.
Knoll Showroom, Mexico City, Erwin Hauer, 1961.

Probably the most noticeable and prevalent feature of a modernist, post and lintel dwelling is the exposed skeletal structure. Large beams supporting the roof are left to be admired.

 

Curtis House, New Orleans, Louisiana, John Dinwiddie, 1955.
Curtis House, New Orleans, Louisiana, John Dinwiddie, 1955.

Proudly exposing the structure of a building was thought of as an asset, many times, and not to be bashful about. This notion carries over from commercial buildings and high-rises such as the Seagram Building in New York.

 

Seagram Building, New York, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Philip Johnson, 1958.
Seagram Building, New York, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Philip Johnson, 1958.

Of course, when dealing with the International Style modernists, they reveled in using steel for the framework of a residence. This didn’t always carry over from commercial to residential. Besides the more famous structures, most modern houses are framed in wood, especially those made in a modern American Style. At any rate, the readily visible frame claimed a poetic beauty among modern houses.

 

Case Study House #8, Pacific Palisades, California, Charles and Ray Eames, 1949.
Case Study House #8, Pacific Palisades, California, Charles and Ray Eames, 1949.

Not all modernist houses in the International Style sported flat roofs. Butterfly, saw-tooth, shed and other unique shapes, such as the hyperbolic-parabolic figure into modernist designs.

 

Mid-Century Modern House With Hyperbolic Paraboloid Roof, New Canaan, Connecticut, by James Evans.
Mid-Century Modern House With Hyperbolic-Parabolic Roof, New Canaan, Connecticut, by James Evans.

 

An Example of Butterfly Roof On Mid-Century Modern Home.
An Example of Butterfly Roof On Mid-Century Modern Home.

Decorative elements became frowned upon in the International Style. However, simple sculptural elements, especially those which supported or supplied a function found their way into their architectural palette. Included among these decorative elements, designers created walls of natural stone or wood that continued from the inside to the outside, repeated arches and columns and simple porticoes or decks that continued and accented the rectilinear quality of the form of the rest of the house.

 

Hooper House, Baltimore, Maryland, Marcel Breuer, 1959.
Hooper House, Baltimore, Maryland, Marcel Breuer, 1959.

 

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington District of Columbia, Edward Durell Stone, 1971.
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington District of Columbia, Edward Durell Stone, 1971.

Although the above example of repeated columns is not a family residence, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts provides an excellent illustration of how a simple element presents an appealing architectural feature.

Since we have examined basic elements of modernist design of residences, we can get an idea of what is needed in designing a house using these principles. What we require is a starting point in design, which requires a basic understanding of the process. However, this article was not created to provide a college course in design, but to cover basic elements in modernist architecture. A future article will explain some features necessary for any artistic endeavor, for ideally architectural design conforms to the same rules as any other art form, such as balance, proportion, rhythm, and harmony.

 

elements of design photo
Photo by Internet Archive Book Images

 

However, a second article will forward the basic ideas of design and, then, digitally build a modernist house inculcating many of the elements above. Possibly, sometime in the future, we will venture a try at modern organic houses utilizing the elements such as those used by Bruce Goff or Frank Lloyd Wright.

 

modernist house photo
Photo by JoeInSouthernCA

HBosler

Self-Portrait in Red.
Self-Portrait in Red.