History of Interior Design 2: Emergence of Modernism

The Emergence of Modernism began in the early 1900's and included many well known architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe. Although each architect and designer has their own style, I found Mies, the German architect, to be very interesting. His famous sayings are "Less is more" and "God is in the details". Mies was known for using rich materials such as marble, glass, and steel. These materials served as the ornamentation rather than actual décor pieces. Some of his most famous designs were the Barcelona Exhibition, the Farnsworth House, and the expansion of the Caroline Wiess Law Building. Although he had many more influential designs, these three stood out to me and most definitely stood out in this time period. In all three of these designs, we can se that his saying "Less is more" really is applied. He also designed the Barcelona Chair, Stool, Chaise and Table as well as the Brno Chair. The Barcelona series appeared in the Farnsworth House. However, there were complications with his designs. Such simple, day to day activities were difficult in such an exposed home. Problems like were to place a garbage can and were to hang clothes were not taken into consideration when Mies created the layout for the home. Although some problems occurred, his designs are still being produced today by companies like Ikea. Clearly, Mies Van der Rohe made a lasting impact during the Emergence of Modernism.

Past Photographs: