The Emergence of Modernism

Driving forces during this time ( 1900- 1950's) to change design were among other things; the ending of the first world war and also new technological advancements such as automobiles, photography, and skyscrapers. As most design movements it was a rejection of the old historical design styles. An inspiration during the time was emerging technology, because of this the industrial style was embraced. During this time great architects were part of the movement that helped change the direction of design. One of these architects was Mies van der Rohe, he was German-American whose phrase was, "less is more." He was a director of the Bauhaus but also helped bring modernism to the next level in the United states.
Below is a link to information about the 2013 winner of the Mis van der Rohe award:
http://inspirationist.net/winner-of-mies-van-der-rohe-award-2013-special-guest-of-riff-2014/

Mis van der Rohe's famous Barcelona Chair

Today Knoll sells Mis van der Rohe's design for modern inter-
iors. This was a chair so well designed that it transcends time.

Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House (1951) brings in its surroundings with
its glass walls, while still being a modern style structure, using simple
materials.

The designer of this building won a Mis van der Rohe award for their design.
It does not directly copy his design as the chair above but instead is inspired
by him, which is the best way to design. It is apparent that the designer was
channeling Mis van der Rohe with this modern day building. (link above info)

Peer Reviews:

Kiera Ferguson: I enjoyed the modern examples she used to illustrate how we still are inspired today by these designs from a different tine, it helps back up what we learned in class. I also enjoyed the information on Walter Gropius and how he did not study architecture but opened his own business.

Marisa Smith: I enjoyed reading about Mis van der Rohe from her perspective since he was also who intrigued me to write my blog post about. Although we wrote about the same person we touched on different aspects of his design, I like how she approached his use of materials along with texture.