6.6 — Toward Modern Architecture & Design
Between 1880 and 1914 architects and designers rejected historicist ornament, experimented with new materials, and sought honest structure and integrated design. These currents set the stage for 20th-century modernism and the “machine age” aesthetic.
Arts & Crafts and Honest Making
Reacting against industrial excess, the Arts & Crafts movement emphasized craft integrity, natural materials, and the unity of design.
- William Morris (Britain): Handcrafted textiles, wallpapers, and furniture; the Red House as a total work of art.
- Greene & Greene (U.S.): California bungalows with exposed joinery and custom interiors (Gamble House).
Art Nouveau Architecture
Flowing lines translated into iron, glass, and stone façades; interiors fused structure and ornament.
- Hector Guimard: Paris Métro entrances with biomorphic ironwork.
- Victor Horta: Hôtel Tassel (Brussels) combining iron structure, whiplash stair rails, and light-filled atria.
Vienna Secession & Wiener Werkstätte
In Vienna, a geometric turn streamlined Art Nouveau and embraced total design (Gesamtkunstwerk).
- Otto Wagner: Postal Savings Bank—glass, aluminum, and exposed rivets signal modernity.
- Josef Hoffmann: Stoclet Palace; grids, rectangles, and luxurious craft; co-founded Wiener Werkstätte to unite design and production.
- Koloman Moser: Furniture, textiles, and graphics with clean, repeating motifs.
Prairie School and Horizontal Embrace
In the American Midwest, architects pursued open plans, horizontality, and integration with landscape.
- Frank Lloyd Wright: Prairie houses (Robie House) with cantilevered roofs, hearth-centered plans, and custom stained glass.
- Unity Temple: Reinforced concrete for sacred space with geometric clarity.
Industry, Engineering, and Form
Industrial structures influenced architects to value efficiency and exposed systems.
- AEG Turbine Factory (Peter Behrens): Monumental industrial hall as modern temple to power.
- Glass and Iron: Department stores, arcades, train sheds, and markets showcased light, span, and prefabrication.
Definition: Gesamtkunstwerk
A “total work of art” in which architecture, interiors, furniture, graphics, and objects are conceived as a unified design.
Key Shifts Toward Modernism
- Less Ornament, More Structure: Surface decoration yields to expressed materials and joints.
- New Materials: Steel, reinforced concrete, and large sheets of glass reshape form and space.
- Open Plans & Light: Flexible interiors, flowing circulation, and daylight as a design driver.
- Standardization: Interest in modular elements and reproducible components anticipates later modernist ideals.
Note: From Craft to Industry
Debates raged over handcraft versus machine production. Some sought reconciliation—using craft to dignify industry—while others embraced the aesthetic of the machine itself.
Looking Ahead
Chapter 7.1 turns to the early avant-garde—Fauvism and Expressionism—where painters and sculptors push color, line, and emotion to new extremes in the opening years of the 20th century.