Background/History of Modernism:
Figure 1: Immeuble Pleyel, salle de danse, Paris, France, 1925. [1]
The Rise of Modernism
After the industrial revolution, there is a rise in technological advancement. The technology breakthroughs create a smaller world by decreasing the time and space one can get somewhere and communicate a message [2]. Along with shortening the amount of time and space, it also created a fast pace life in cities in which the society and the design needed to adapt.
Modernism was a shift and an acceptance of the rise and advancement of technologies. Along with the fast pace and efficient life came new problems such as smog in the air, traffic, connectedness with nature, health, and transportation[3].
Modernism was aiming to adapt and solve the new issues and new expression of the modern day moving towards what we now know as a city. Along with adapting to the change in society, modernism steered away from historical and monumental design towards abstract mass production for the common worker[4]. Modernism was a solution to the rise of the working class, the consequences of the ever-changing society, and the future to come.
At the forefront of this movement was a Swedish French architecture named Le Corbusier. To deal with the present day, Le Corbusier wanted to steer away from the Renaissance aesthetic, making the modern look more functional [6]. Modern design is using the space efficiently to keep up with the technological advancements [6]. In addition, the modern design is supposed to represent the fast and efficient world the modern world was headed towards. The exterior and interior materials of building often were design coherently using the same materials and function well together [7]. The outside was sleek containing metal such as steel, concrete, and glass, the interior design and furniture incorporated the same. The incorporation of materials from the exterior was a common trend in modernism architecture. Modernism was not only reflected in architecture and design, but through one’s mentality, media, and other various social forms [7].
Figure 2: Charles-Edouard Jeanneret in his apartment Jacob Ave, Paris, 1920. [5]
Resources
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"Projets. Biographie." Fondation Le Corbusier. Picture 1. (2018).
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Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Industrial Revolution." Encyclopædia Britannica. April 11, 2018.
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Emmons, Paul. "The place of odour in modern aerial urbanism." The Journal of Architecture 19, no. 2 (2014): 202-215.
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Muschamp, H. “New public housing, French vintage 1922.” New York Times (1993).
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"Biographie." Fondation Le Corbusier. Picture 2. (2018).
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Birksted, Jan Kenneth. "‘Beyond the clichés of the hand-books’: Le Corbusier's architectural promenade." The Journal of Architecture 11, no. 1 (2006): 55-132.
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Moos, Stanislaus Von. Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier. Lumen. (1977).