NCC Art Room: International Style

In the wake of WWI many artists believed that a new age was being born and strove to create a balance between individual and universal values. Discontent with traditional architectural forms compelled architects to attempt the construction of perfect 'machine based' units for living. In doing so they created the De Stijl and Bauhaus artist enclaves.

In correlation to the innovations of these groups came a group of architectural “purists” who embraces the ideas of universal architectural standards that supported the needs of the individual. They also embraces new technology and machine inspired forms. All this was done, however, in the spirit of actually making such pure architecture available to the masses (unlike the DeStijl group who, despite intentions, never reached large production and universal acceptance). These “purists” called for an architecture that transcended boundaries of culture, religion, or historical connotation and that would be embraced on an international/universal scale

This directly led to new architectural form called International Style which dominated for most of the 20^th century. Its main advocates included:

Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, Philip Johnson and Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (AKA 'Le Corbusier')

International Style focused on the relation between human need and architectural design, and the elimination historical or cultural referencing. Such buildings were therefore designed to meet human physiological and psychological basic needs regardless of country/location.

Attempted to strip away any sense of mystification and monumentality by avoiding references to previous architecture and the connotations that such held.

Defining features of international style/Visual indicators

· Use of Steel as a new material for load bearing in construction

· Virtually devoid of additional appliqué ornamentation – an International Style building is (as art critic Robert Venturi would put it) its own sign, lacking in ornament