Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect during the Modernism period. He was a son of a tradesman and an apprentice to Peter Behrens. He wanted to establish a unique design style for the modern era. Mies van der Rohe valued the concepts of simplicity and clarity with a desire for each structure to appear frameless. He referred to his structures as skin and bones architecture. His concept was "Less is more".

Some methods and materials included interiors that were created using industrial steel and plate glass. He created overlap between the outside and the inside to blend them together. He valued luxurious materials such as wood and marble. He also utilized tubular metal to create chairs. Mies van der Rohe really focused on the details of the design. Interiors were open and each space flowed into the next space. The rich materials were the decoration. For example, the rich material of the wall really pops out and creates the decoration in this space.

Mies van der Rohe designed the Barcelona Pavillion in 1928. The Barcelona Exhibition introduced Mies to the world. This was the first building to fully exploit modern structural technology of steel and concrete. Along with the structure came the Barcelona chair. There were colors and textures of rich materials which provided ornamentation. This was an abstract work of art which gained an international reputation. Mies van der Rohe also designed the Farnsworth House located in Plano, Illinois. It is an all glass house that is held up only by eight structural supports. It sits in the middle of a forest and gives you a feel that you are outside even when you are inside. It is truly a beautiful piece of work, and I have never seen anything like it.  

CURRENT APPLICATIONS:

Here is a modern day application of the Barcelona Chair. You can see that the shape is still the same but there is a more modern feel to it with the negative space due to the straps instead of the cushion.
This is also a picture of a modern glass house which reminds me of the glass houses designed by Mies van der Rohe.













VIDEOS:

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/modernity-ap/v/mies-van-der-rohe-seagram-building-new-york-city-1958

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M3p9iKITaA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sD-0kEWHqA

PEER REVIEW:

Kate I: I really like how you showed Frank Lloyd Wright's version of an open office plan compared to a modern day one. It is really interesting how the idea emerged from him and it has continued to expand. You can see a difference between the two yet they are similar in the way they are set up in groups. Overall, great job showing current examples because it is really neat to see how things progress over time.

Haley B: I like how you talked about many different designers from the same period. You can see how they were similar in some ways such as incorporating glass into their designs. This was especially shown in your images that you provided. I love your examples of the modern day application because you can really tell how things have changed but it all has stemmed from their original ideas.

Protomodernism is the rejection of historical styles and ornamentation. This time really focused on experimenting with form and ideas. Otto Wagner was one designer who stuck out to me. He studied architecture at the Viennese Polytechnic Institute and the Royal School of Architecture in Berlin. He was from Austria and taught at the Vienna Academy. He was the professor of architecture at the academy. He was an architect, designer, urban planner and more. He believed in staunch functionalism. He had more of an industrial style. 

Something that Wagner believed was that design should display understanding and good choices in material. Materials should be available, workable, durable and economical. "Objects resulting from modern views … harmonize perfectly with our surroundings, but copied and imitated objects never do," which is something that Wagner said in one of his lectures. This shows that he truly believed that everything around us should be available and useful. 

In 1894, he was commissioned to design the stations of the underground railroad in Vienna. His first stations that he designed were much different than his later station designs. His early stations were conventional historicist and later stations were designed with Art Nouveau character. This was because of the influence of his pupils, Josef Hoffman and Josef Maria Olbrich. After the turn of the century, he quickly changed his design style. His work at the Postal Savings Bank of Vienna had a linear, smooth and crisp design. The interior was elegant and light using natural materials such as glass and metals. This is a picture of the Postal Savings Bank that he designed. There is also a picture of the Beechwood Arm Chair that he designed. This was also in the bank. It had a plywood seat, metal braces, and aluminum or brass shoes.


Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF2IPZC2sio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy_Ei9OX728









CURRENT APPLICATIONS

Here is an Apple Store in Santa Monica that is using the same idea as Otto Wagner's bank in Vienna. 














PEER REVIEWS: 

Bailey: I really like your picture of your chair and how you found a current application of the picture. It really shows how things change over time and transform to a more modern application. 

Alexandra: I really enjoy your photos of the current applications of protomodernism. You can really see how there is little to no ornamentation and the clean lines. It is really simple and it really stands out in these images you found. 

Art Nouveau literally means New Art, and it was a time of peace and prosperity. This differed from the first movement, Arts and Crafts, because that period did not embrace the manufacturing process, and this period of time did embrace technology and the manufacturing process. This was because growth supported a new and experimental direction for design.

One man that really stuck out to me was Victor Horta. He was a Belgian architect, designer and teacher. He stuck out to me because he introduced the curtain wall. This is seen today in a lot of applications, so it was neat to learn that he was the one who created it. Also, he stenciled walls and ceilings, created mosaic tile patterns on the floors, walls and ceilings and had unique iron railings and hardware. Here is a beautiful picture of an interior designed by Victor. You can see the beautiful tile work along the walls and ceilings.

Art Nouveau became popular in France as well during this time period (1890-1910). Paris and Nancy were the major cities of Art Nouveau. Hector Guimard was an architect, interior designer and industrial designer. He was the most significant designer in Paris. His designs looked handcrafted but they were actually made in factories. He had a unique design and would also carve wood in a curvilinear style. Overall, he valued harmony and continuity. Here is a picture of his Side Chair. 

Not only was Art Nouveau popular in France, but it was popular in Spain as well. Antoni Gaudi was a Spanish Catalan Architect. He used flowing curves and unusual decorative details to create structures that resembled nature based fantasy. He used materials such as glass, masonry, glazed ceramic tile, wrought iron and wood. He then developed a more organic style inspired by nature which were reflected in his designs. This is a picture of Casa Batllo, and the exterior is covered in glass and tiles. This reminds me of nature because the colors that are used, and the design reminds me of leaves on a tree. 

Here are two images of interiors that show current applications of the Art Nouveau style today. You can see the curvilnear lines are really emphasized in each space. In the photo to the right, the curves on the railing and the emphasis of nature is shown as well. 

VIDEOS:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4luPnObQYo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhw6uuR5aPE

PEER REVIEW: Haley Becker: I love the images that you used from the time period and how it is applied in current day. It is interesting to see how things have changed so much but there are still elements that stand out from the time period such as the curvilinear lines. You did a great job summarizing the time period as a whole, and I like how you talked about the important designers from each country because I did something similar to that. Overall, you did a great job with your blog, and I always enjoy reading them. 

Becca: WOW! I enjoyed reading your blog so much because of all the awesome pictures you included. It was so detailed. I like how you did research on one specific designer instead of talking about a few different ones. This helped because I learned a lot of information that I did not know about him. The videos were interesting to watch too. You did an amazing job finding images of Antoni's work and also finding images that reflect the modern day applications of Art Nouveau. Great job!