Emergence to Modernism

Walter Gropius was one of the founding fathers of Modernism.  He created the Bauhaus, which embraced elements of art, architecture, graphic design, and interior design in its design.  Gropius was very interested in newly developed factories.  In 1908 he joined the studio of Peter Behrens, a German architect and industrial designer.  He worked alongside Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe.  However, Gropius was the first one to put his modernist ideas to work.  He and Adolf Meyer designed the Fagus Factory.  After the Bauhaus was closed it gained its popularity in the Western world with an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Current Applications

E.C. Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRREJp0AhKw

Peer Reviews:

Country Brown:  I really liked how you really went through and described major events that happened in Mies's life and what events were going on that this time.

Marisa: I really liked how you described some of the materials that were used during this time.  I also really liked your description of the Barcelona Chair.

Protomodernism

Australian designer Josef Hoffmann was great at minimal style.  He first came around during the arts and crafts movement.  He began to question the traditional style.  He helped lead the way to the Vienna Secession.  It was a movement that helped create a new style that was its own.  They hoped to show modernism at every level of society.  Architects from this time period embraced geometry and abstraction.  They also developed decorative style with curvilinear designs.  As the movement progressed, architects became very interested in planar and classical forms.  The Vienna Succession Movement was very important because it showed their rejection to historicism and combined modern design.

Today's Design

E.C. Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6Ic8SF0qzA

Peer Reviews

Savannah: I really like how you described protomoderism as a rebellion. I also really liked your video about 20th century design, you really can see the protomoderism influence.

Somang: I really liked how you went into detail about both movements and talked about how protomodernism expanded from the arts and crafts movement.

Art Nouveau

Hector Guimard was a French architect and interior designer for Art Nouveau objects.  He traveled through Belgium and England.  In Brussels, Guimard saw buildings designed by Belgian designer, Victor Horta, whose art had a very big impact on his own art.  Guimard’s first project was to design the interior of a restaurant in Paris called, “Au Grand Neptune.”  After this he designed some private dwellings in Paris.

One of his most important works was the entrances to the Paris Metro.  It was completed just in time for the 1900 World Exposition.  He used ornamental and organic natural forms.  He had designed many Metro entrances in the Art Nouveau style.  They all featured wrought iron, bronze and glass.  Eighty-six still remain today.

Modern Day

EC Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y37SniEVMHM

Peer Reviews

Becca: I really enjoyed your videos and images of Antoni Gaudi's works.  He was really talented and his designs almost looked like something you would see in a dream.  His works are very beautiful and whimsical.  I could never even image trying to create some of the things he did.

Demi: I never knew that Victor Horta was the one that introduced the curtain wall.  That is something that we use a lot today.