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INTERNATIONAL STYLE ARCHITECTUREWhat is 'International Style'?The International Style is the name of a major architectural style that is said to have emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of modern architecture, as first defined by Americans Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson in 1932, with an emphasis more on architectural style, form and aesthetics than the social aspects of the modern movement as emphasized in Europe. The term "International Style" first came into use via a 1932 exhibition curated by Hitchcock and Johnson, Modern Architecture - International Exhibition, which declared and labeled the architecture of the early 20th century as the International Style.

CharacteristicsLight, taut plane surfaces that have been completely stripped of applied ornamentation and decorationOpen interior spacesVisually weightless quality engendered by the use of cantilever construction.Glass and steel, in combination with usually less visible reinforced concrete, are the characteristic materials of constructionRectangular forms, often with round projectionsFlat roofRibbon windowsCurtain walls of glassSmooth wall surfacesAsymmetrical facade

Avon Lea Oscar Stonorov's personal residence built in 1938. The stone walls of an existing stone and frame farmhouse were used as the core of the structure. Exterior wood was cypress/ Roofs were flat/ the studio is connected to the main house by the bridge

FormationThe International Style grew out of three phenomena that confronted architects in the late 19th century:Architects increasing dissatisfaction with the continued use in stylistically eclectic buildings of a mix of decorative elements from different architectural periods and styles that bore little or no relation to the buildings functionsThe economical creation of large numbers of office buildings and other commercial, residential, and civic structures that served a rapidly industrializing societyThe development of new building technologies centering on the use of iron and steel, reinforced concrete, and glass

These three phenomena dictated the search for an honest, economical, and utilitarian architecture that would both use the new materials and satisfy societys new building needs while still appealing to aesthetic tasteFactorsTechnology was a crucial factor; the new availability of cheap, mass-produced iron and steel and the discovery in the 1890s of those materials effectiveness as primary structural members effectively rendered the old traditions of masonry (brick and stone) construction obsolete. The new use of steel-reinforced concrete as secondary support elements (floors, etc.) and of glass as sheathing for the exteriors of buildings completed the technology needed for modern building, and architects set about incorporating that technology into an architecture that openly recognized its new technical foundation.The International Style was thus formed under the dictates that modern buildings form and appearance should naturally grow out of and express the potentialities of their materials and structural engineering. A harmony between artistic expression, function, and technology would thus be established in an austere and disciplined new architecture.

ForerunnersThe International Style grew out of the work of a small group of brilliant and original architects; including Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Germany and the United States, J.J.P. Oud in the Netherlands, Le Corbusier in France, and Richard Neutra and Philip Johnson in the United States.WorkGropius and Mies were best known for their structures of glass curtain walls spanning steel girders that form the skeleton of the building. Important examples of Gropius work are the Fagus Works (Alfeld-an-der-Leine, Ger.; 1911), the Bauhaus (Dessau, Ger.; 192526), and the Graduate Center at Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.; 194950)all of which show his concern for uncluttered interior spaces. Mies van der Rohe and his followers in the United States, who did much to spread the International Style, are most clearly identified with glass-and-steel skyscrapers such as the Lake Shore Drive Apartments (Chicago; 194951) and the Seagram Building, done jointly with Philip Johnson (New York City; 1958). Oud helped to bring more rounded and flowing geometric shapes to the movement. Le Corbusier, too, was interested in the freer treatment of reinforced concrete but added the concept of modular proportion in order to maintain a human scale in his work. Among his well-known works in the International Style is the Villa Savoye (Poissy, France; 192931).

Fagus Factory

Lake Shore Apartments

By Mies Van der RoheNear Lake Michigan, Chicago They went on to be the prototype for steel and glass skyscrapers worldwide. embody a Modernistic tone with their verticality, grids of steel and glass curtain walls, and complete lack of ornamentation. Since Mies was a master of minimalist composition, his principle was less is more as it is demonstrated in his self-proclaimed skin and bones architecture