International Style was associated with the architecture of the Modern Movement.
Alfred H. Barr Jr. coined the term in 1931 with Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock’s 1932 “Modern Architecture: International Exhibition” at the New York Museum of Modern Art, where Barr was director. The exhibition took its name from Walter Gropius’ book, Internationale Architektur, of 1925
Barr recognised the first new paradigm of Western architecture since the 13th century in the works of Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, J.J.P. Oud, Walter Gropius, and others. The name comes from a 15th-century European international painting style.
The exhibition introduced Mies van der Rohe’s work to Americans and toured the country for seven years, stopping at venues including the Sears, Roebuck store in Chicago and Bullock’s Wilshire department store in Los Angeles. Barr penned the catalogue’s foreword and encouraged publicist Edward Bernays to publicise the event, which received front-page publicity in The New York Times.
‘International Style’ Architects
American architects included Frank Lloyd Wright, Claus and Daub, Raymond and Fouhilhoux, Howe and Lescasze, and Tucker and Howell. Other architects included Alvar Aalto, Josef Albers, Gunnar Asplund, Hans Borkowsky, Marcel Breuer, Brinkman and Van Der Vlugt, Erik Bryggman, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, Eixenlohr and Pfennig, Otto Eisler, Joseph Emberton, Figini and Pollini, Brohuslav Fuchs, Walter Gropius, Haefeli, Haesler and Volker, Kellermiller and Hofmann, A. Lawrence Kocher and Albert Frey, H.L. de Koninck, Josef Kranz, Ludvik Kysela, Labayen and Aizpurua, J.W. Lehr, André Lurcat, Markelius and Ahren, Erich Mendelsohn and R.W. Reichel, Theodor Merrill, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Richard Neutra, J.J.P. Oud, Lilly Reich, Jan Ruhtenberg, Hans Scharoun, Hans Schmidt, Karl Schneider, Stam and Moser, Steger and Egender, Eskil Sun- dahl, Lois Welzenbacher, Mamoru Yamada, Nicolaiev and Fisenko, and various government architecture agencies.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL
Design Store
Books| New Releases in Architectural History
Amongst the Ruins: Why Civilizations Collapse and Communities Disappear
Billionaires' Row: Tycoons, High Rollers, and the Epic Race to Build the World's Most Exclusive Skyscrapers
Frank Lloyd Wright's Wisconsin: How America's Most Famous Architect Found Inspiration in His Home State
Poplar Forest: Thomas Jefferson's Villa Retreat
Hidden Patrons: Women and Architectural Patronage in Georgian Britain
Pyramids: The Real Story Behind Egypt's Most Ancient Monuments
Art and Architecture of Sicily
Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt
The Cosmos in Stone: Sacred Geometry of a Master Mason
TUTANKHAMUN: 100 years after the discovery of his tomb leading Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley unpicks the misunderstandings around the boy king's life, death and legacy
Miami Art Deco
The Penguin Book of Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt
Design Monograph: Gaudí
Piero Portaluppi
Ramesses: Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh
Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt
Nefertiti: Egypt's Sun Queen
Wisconsin Farms and Farmers Markets: Tours, Trails and Attractions
Wisconsin Cheese Cookbook: Creamy, Cheesy, Sweet, and Savory Recipes from the State’s Best Creameries
Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh
Norman Foster: Sustainable Futures
Patrick Gwynne (Twentieth Century Architects)
A Conversation with Luis Barragán
Design Monograph: Gaudí
More on Architecture and Design
-
Pavilion de l’Esprit Nouveau (1925) Looking into the Future
L’Esprit Nouveau. The pavillion was named after Le Corbusier’s magazine, L’Esprit Nouveau, which he started in 1920 to spread the word about his own work and that of other artists of the time.Read More →
-
Iconic: Modern Australian houses 1950-2000
The Iconic Modern Australian Houses books by Karen McCartney have been cleverly re-imagined in this newly redesigned comprehensive book that brings together the best of Australian residential architecture from the past 50 years in one volume. The Design Files with Lucy FeaginsRead More →
-
Casabella Italian Architecture and design journal
Casabella was founded in 1928 and was directed by Edoardo Persico, Ernesto N. Rogers, Alessandro Mendini, and Tomás Maldonado. It was a focal point for the new group of architect-editors.Read More →
-
150 Best Cottage And Cabin Ideas to stimulate your imagination
Filled with hundreds of colour photographs, this comprehensive handbook in the highly successful 150 Best Design series showcases the latestRead More →
-
Anchor Blocks – 19th Century construction toy
Anchor Blocks were a German system of building blocks that were popular as a children’s construction toy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, notably in Europe. Dr F. Ad. Richter in Rudolstadt, Germany, began developing and manufacturing the system in 1879. The concept was based on the FROEBEL block system, which significantly impacted…
-
Oscar Onken (1858 – 1948) and the ‘The Shop of the Crafters’
Oscar Onken (1858 – 1948) was an American entrepreneur. He was professionally active in Ohio. Onken was a prominent businessman and philanthropist. Impressed with the Gustav Stickley and Austrian stands at the 1904 St. Louis ‘Louisiana Purchase Exposition,’ he founded The Shop of the Crafts in Cincinnati in 1904. Read More →
-
Architectural League of New York – Architects working together
Encouraging architects to work together. READ MORERead More →
-
Victor Horta (1861 – 1947) Belgian Architect and Designer
Victor Horta (1861–1947) was a Belgian architect and designer. He is considered one of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement. His Hôtel Tassel is often considered Belgium’s first house. Four of the buildings he designed have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Maison du Peuple/Volkshuis was the headquarters for the Belgian Workers’…
-
Sydney Opera House – Design Classic
The design of the Sydney Opera House (1956-73), which he won in an international competition, was Utzon’s crowning achievement. He envisioned a solid sculptural building made of a series of giant interlocking billowing white ‘sails’ inspired by the ships of Sydney Harbour.Read More →
-
Gruppo 9999 Italian Architecture and Design Group
Gruppo 9999 was a group of radical architects founded in Florence in 1968 by Giorgio Birelli, Carlo Caldini, Fabrizio Fiumi and Paolo Galli. Read More →
-
‘Moderne’ Style of Art Deco Popular in the 20s & 30s
Moderne was a decorative style that was mostly about how things looked on the outside. Moderne architecture was most noticeable in public buildings like skyscrapers and movie theatres. Postmodernism later brought back a lot of the styles that were part of the moderne movement.Read More →
-
Unit One avant-garde 🇬🇧 group of architects, designers, 🎨 artists
Unit One was a British avant-garde community of architects and fine artists were created by designer, artist, and teacher Paul Nash to encourage Modernism in art and architecture in England. Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, and Ben Nicholson were among the group’s most prominent members, as were the architects’ Wells Coates and Colin Lucas. Read More…
-
Daniela Puppa (b.1947) eclectic Italian architect and designer
From 1977 to 1983, he worked as the chief editor of the design magazine Modo and as a consultant for the fashion magazine Donna. She designed interiors for Driade, Gianfranco Ferré, Montres and GFF Duty Free, Fontana Arte, Granciclismo sports machines, and Morassutti/Metropolis, as well as serving as an image and product consultant for the…
-
Functionalism a design and architectural principle
With his motto ‘form follows function,’ American architect Louis Sullivan is considered the founder of 20th-century Functionalism. Functionalism became a label for an extremely wide variety of avant-garde architecture and design in the first half of the 20th century, including Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s classical Rationalism, Erich Mendelsohn’s Expressionism, Giuseppe Terragni’s unadorned, heroic structures,…
-
Ulrich Franzen (1921 – 2012) German-born American architect and designer
Ulrich Franzen, the German-born American architect, was a leading figure in the first post-war generation of American architects; including Paul Rudolph, Harry Cobb, John Maclane Johansen, and Philip Johnson. Read More →
-
Tom Ngo’s Architectural Absurdity
“Common sense and conventional practice prohibit the evolution of architecture.” This is the first quote you find reading Tom Ngo’s Master’s thesis: The Dinner Address, A Venture into Architectural Absurdity. Read More →
-
Berthold Lubetkin (1901 – 1990) Russian-British Modernist Designer
Berthold Lubetkin (1901 – 1990) was a Russian-British modernist designer. He was a Russian emigre who came to London via the October Revolution of 1917. Read More →
-
Kaare Klint (1888 – 1954) Danish furniture designer
Kaare Klint – Danish furniture designer. The Danes were greatly influenced by Germany’s Bauhaus movement in the early part of the twentieth century. Read More →
-
MARS (Modern Architectural Research Group) (1933 – 1957)
The MARS Group, or Modern Architectural Research Group, was a British architectural think tank created in 1933 by numerous famous architects and architectural critics participating in the British modernist movement. The MARS Group was created after several prior but unsuccessful attempts to establish an organization to promote modernist architects in the United Kingdom, similar to…
-
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886 – 1969) German architect and designer
Between 1905 and 1907, he worked as an apprentice to architect and furniture designer Bruno Paul in Berlin, where he studied wooden furniture design. He created furniture for all of his early homes, including the Werner residence.Read More →
You may also be interested in
Dada Art Movement – Making Mischief
As a designer, I am passionate about the history of art and their influence on ‘visual design.’ In art history, Dada is the artistic movement that preceded Surrealism, it began in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1916 by a group of mostly painters and painters. Dada artworks challenged the preconceived notions of what art meant.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.