Modernism in America - Part 1

Delia Tacheny
INT 332 - History of Interiors II

The Spread of Modernism 

Post WWII, the world was a mess, some countries left thriving, others sorely hurt by the impacts of global war. Prior to the world wars, we studied the founding and influence of the Bauhaus and various other Modernists movements; due to Nazi regime, the Bauhaus effectively closed down, leaving many designers left to venture on their own. Pre-war modernism was founded on theories and ideals; post-war modernism pushed for the applied practicality of these ideas. 

While Modernism took root in Germany and France, it very quickly spread all across the world through travel, journalism, books, and exhibitions. As I began to read the Chapter on the spread of Modernism, I was amazed at how many countries began to experiment with Modernist design, and yet each in their own way. While we may think of Modernist design as being simple and manufactured, the spread of Modernism showed that Modernism can very much become integrated with culture just as much as any other movement. From Latin America to Egypt to Asia, not one country even within these continents exhibited Modernism in the same way. In many places, the experimentation with Modernist principles became inspired by ancestral and early cultural heritage. 

Modernism in America... Part 1

In the 1920s and 1930s the United States saw many designers from around the World make their home in the United States. This week we touched on Rudolph Schindler, Richard Neutra, William Lescaze, Walter Gropius, Mies Van der Rohe, Philip Johnson, Eero Saarinen, and a handful of other names. Frank Lloyd Wright, native to the US, is also a name to discuss within this topic. 

Wright was not always considered a Modernist at points in his career; his work his distinct and his projects vary. Wright did however, work with both Schindler and Neutra at different points in his career. Both Schindler and Neutra set up firms in California. Schindler, from Austria, had a distinct style named "Space Architecture" by which he was determined that architecture provides the space, structure, and design for interior spaces. The Schindler House is amongst his more well-known works. Neutra, also from Austria valued determining the needs of each of his clients and focused on the Art, Architecture, as well as landscaping of each house design; his style was geometric and Airy. So many different Architects from around the world influenced the Modernist movement in the United States:

• William Lescaze was a Swiss-born American architect who brought European modernism to America in 1920, and took part in designing the first American skyscraper. 
• Walter Gropius was invited to teach at Harvard as the head of the graduate school of Design and took part in founding "The Architects Collab." (TAC - Firm)
• 
  Mies Van der Rohe became the director of Architecture at the Armour Institute (now IL Institute of Tech.) and helped design the Lake Shore Dr. Apartments in Chicago.
• Philip Johnson was an American architect who studied at Harvard under Gropius and was responsible for bringing Le Corbusier, Van Der Rohe, and Breuer to America as immigrants; one his best-known projects is the Glass House.
• 
  Skidmore, Owings, and Merril is a large architectural and engineering firm that was founded in 1936 and contributed to Modernist design in the US. 
• Eero Saarinen was a Finnish Arch. and Industrial Designer, who studied at Yale, and formed a partnership with his father Eliel in Michigan. The completed several iconic furniture pieces and projects such as Kleinhaus Music Hall; they also partnered with Perkins and Will on multiple projects.

The Farnsworth House

Speaking of Modernist Architecture in America, the Farnsworth House is located just an hour away from Judson in Plano, IL -- an iconic modernist structure designed by one of the Father's of modernism! Visiting the Farnsworth House Sophomore year was one of my favorite field trips; the house is beautiful as well as the surrounding landscaping. 

However as unique as the almost fully glass structure is, the Farnsworth House stirred controversy. I remember being intrigued on this field trip as we learned about the lawsuit following its construction. How had such a masterpiece and a master architect managed to fail his client?

In 1951, upon completion, Dr. Edith Farnsworth was appalled at the house that Van der Rohe has designed for her as a place of retreat; he had far exceeded the budget and built an "unlivable" house with almost zero privacy and crazy expensive heating bills. She sued Van der Rohe but lost her case as she had technically signed her approval to the plans. Nevertheless, her case caused an outrageous response from the Press, attacking International Style/ Modernist design, with Wright even joining the attack as well. In April 1953, House Beautiful magazine described the style as a "Threat to the New America." Since then, the Farnsworth House and Modernist design has remained a controversy.

Mies van der Rohe and the Battle with Farnsworth (thoughtco.com)