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Mid-Century Modern Uptown Walking Tour
Displayed are the buildings on North Tryon Street
The self-guided tour along Tryon Street that can start at either the North Tryon house or at
the Latta Arcade on South Tryon
1.
Tryon House
508 N. Tryon St.
8.
Architect: Unknown
Style: Italian Renaissance Rev
Year: 1920’s
2.
Oscar J. Thies Automobile
Building - 500 N. Tryon St.
Architect: Louis Asbury Sr.
Style: Early Modern
Year: 1922
3.
Architect: Louis Asbury Sr.
Style: Neoclassical
Year: 1929
1
2
7th St.
3
9.
Barringer Hotel / Hall House
426 N. Tryon St.
6th St.
Architect: Bobbie Dial and
Albert Thomas
Style: Art Deco
Year: 1940
5
6
7
8
4
5th St.
WFAE Building/ First
Baptist Church Annex - 7th St.
10.
9
Trade St.
13
15
11.
Spirit Square
318 N. Tryon St.
Architect: Hardly
Holzman Pfeiffer
Style: Byzantine
Revival
Year: 1909
6.
17
18
19
Discovery Place
301 N. Tryon St.
16
3th St.
12.
Wachovia Building
129 W. Trade St.
Architect: A. G. Odell
Style: International Style
Year: 1958
Charlotte Main Public
Library - 310 N. Tryon
St.
21
Architect: Odell /
Middleton & McMillan
Style: Modern
Year: 1954 / 1989
7.
Ivey Building
127 N. Tryon St.
Architect: William H. Peeps
Style: Neoclassical
Year: 1924
4th St.
5.
Hearst Tower
214 N. Tryon St.
Architect: Skidmore Owings & Merrill Architects (SOM)
Style: Post Modern w/ Art Deco
Year: 2002
12
Architect: Unknown
Style: International 11
Year: 1948
14
Mint Museum / Montaldo’s Department Store - 220 N. Tryon St.
Architect: Louis Asbury Sr. & Jr.
Style: Italian Renaissance Rev.
Year: 1920 / 1950
10
4.
Mayfair Manor/Dunhill Hotel
237 N. Tryon St.
20
Architect: Clark Tribble Harris
& Li
Style: Post Modern
Year: 1981
2nd St.
13.
BoA Corporate Center
100 N. Tryon St.
Architect: Cesar Pelli
Style: Post Modern
Year: 1992
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Mid-Century Modern Uptown Walking Tour
Displayed are the buildings on South Tryon Street
The self-guided tour along Tryon Street that can start at either the North Tryon House or at
the Latta Arcade on South Tryon
19. Johnston Building
14.
212 S. Tryon St.
First National Bank Building
112 S. Tryon St.
Architect: William Lee Stoddart
Style: Neoclassical
Year: 1926
Architect: Louis Asbury Sr.
Style: Neoclassical
Year: 1926
1
2
7th St.
20. Jefferson Standard Building
300 S. Tryon St.
3
15.
Home Federal Savings and Loan
139 S. Tryon St.
Architect: Pease Associates /
Little Associates
Style: International Style
Year: 1926 / 2006
6th St.
Architect: Freeman-White
Style: Modern
Year: 1967
4
7
5
6
5th St.
8
16.
21. Two Wachovia Center
301 S. Tryon St.
9
10
BB&T building
200 S. College St.
Architect: Little & Associates
Style: Modern
12
Year: 1975
11
14
Trade St.
13
15
22. Latta Arcade
320 S. Tryon St.
4th St.
17.
NCNB Building
200 S. Tryon St.
17
19
20
Architect: Walter Hook
Associates / LS3P Associates
Style: Modern
Year: 1961 / 2001
Architect: Pease Associates
Style: Modern
Year: 1971
18
16
3th St.
Architect: William H. Peeps
Style: Neoclassical
Year: 1914
Latta Arcade
Interior
21
2nd St.
18.
Cutter Building
201 S. Tryon St.
Architect: Odell
Style: Modern
Year: 1961 / 2001
22
Citations:
1. Images 1-4, 14, 15 & 17 taken by author.
2. Images 8-13 and 18-21:
Charlotte - Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission, Char
lotte NC. Historic Landmarks Commission. Feb 2009.
http://www.cmhpf.org/uptownsurveyskyscrapers.html
3. Image 5:
Spirit Square, Charlotte NC. Activerain. March 2009
http://www.activerain.com
4. Image 7:
Discovery Place. Discovery Place, Charlotte NC. Cvent March
2009.
http://cvent.com
5. Image 16:
BB&T Building. Charlotte NC. Skyscraper.com. March 2009.
http://www.forum.skyscraperpage.com
508 N Tryon - Tryon House:
The Tryon house, a small-scale apartment building, is built in the Renaissance tradition. The rusticated base emphasizes the ground with the
horizontal striations. Also, the emphasis on the windows on the second
floor references back to the piano noble, the principle floor in a Renaissance style construction, often located above a rusticated base. Lastly,
the building is finished with a cornice, a type of ornamental trim from the
Greek era, along the top of the front facade.
(1)
Above: Tryon House
Architect: Unknown
Style: Italian Renaissance Revival
Year: 1920’s
500 N. Tryon - Oscar J. Thies Automobile Sales and
Service Building:
To accommodate the growing automobile industry in the 1920’s, businessmen like Thies strove to take advantage of the ever growing consumer market. The Thies Building was completed in 1922 and was occupied by the Roamer Auto Sales Agency.
The building begins to show the shift in downtown Charlotte from that
of a residential to primarily a business oriented market. The large store
front windows were designed to draw people off the street and into the
building. Note this particular difference from the smaller window openings of the Tryon House.
(2) Above: Oscar J. Thies Automobile Building:
Architect: Louis Asbury Sr.
Style: Early Modern
Year: 1922
The building has housed the Oldsmobile company, Historic Landmarks
Commission and Historic Charlotte’s offices in the past. Today, the building serves as an office space for nationally acclaimed design firm, Gantt
Huberman Architects.
426 N. Tryon - Barringer Hotel / Hall House:
The Barringer Hotel has a simple façade with minimal ornamentation.
However, attention is drawn to the base and the top through the art deco
inspired stonework. Unlike the international style Spirit Square Offices,
the Barringer emphasizes the height and the verticality of the building
with the brick piers that have been pushed out. In addition, the base is
expanded to resemble buttresses supporting the building.
The 12-story William R. Barringer Hotel opened its doors on December
15th, 1940 boasting 200 bedrooms and the title of Charlotte’s first highrise building. As reported in the Charlotte Observer; “All rooms have
running ice water, beautiful tan tiled bathrooms with bathtub and shower,
spacious closets and other equipment to add to the comfort of the occupants.” In 1950 the Barringer Hotel constructed an additional 125 bedrooms and in 1959 they bought the adjacent lot on N. Tryon to construct
a 100-room motor court and convention hall.
Regardless of such success the Barringer Hotel was sold in November
of 1961 and renamed the Cavalier Inn. In 1975 the Cavalier Inn closed
its doors after declaring bankruptcy and the property was bought by the
City of Charlotte in 1978.
Previously housing the elderly, the location is now used as public housing
for single mothers and their children. The Barringer Hotel and the nearby
Mayfair Manor are the only two remaining pre World War II Hotels in uptown Charlotte.
(3)
Above: Barringer Hotel / Hall House:
Architect: Bobbie Dial and Albert Thomas
Style: Art Deco
Year: 1940
3017th St. - Spirit Square Offices (First Baptist Church
Annex):
True to the International Style, this building is without ornamentation;
the composition of the materials themselves are the ornamentation.
Also, the ribbon window and flat roof stress the horizontal.
It now houses the Spirit Square Offices including the WFAE, the source
and flagship of the National Public Radio station for Charlotte, North
Carolina. The station went on the air on June 21, 1981. It began broadcasting 24 hours a day in 1987 and began airing music such as jazz.
WFAE Building/ First Baptist Church Annex (4)
Architect: Unknown
Style: International Style
Year: 1948
Above: Spirit Square
Architect: Hardly Holzman Pfeiffer
Style: Byzantine Revival
Year: 1909
(5)
318 N. Tryon St. - Spirit Square
Spirit Square was constructed between August of 1907 and May of 1909.
The building presents itself as a revival of a number of different styles including the Romanesque, Gothic and particularly the Byzantine. The large
wooden doors that lead directly into the buildings main room is influenced by the Hagia Sohpia, the world famous church in Istanbul, Turkey.
Because this building’s style is so unique giving it cultural significance to
Charlotte.
The addition and renovation done to Spirit Square by Hardly Holzman
Pfeiffer gained national attention and received regards as a clear example of Post-Modernism. One of the more noticeable features of the Annex
building is the transition from the horizontal stone bands to glass bands
that have been carried over into the new wing. This design decision is in
the Post-Modern style especially because it addresses design features in
a subtle fashion. Today this building is used as a theater run by Blumenthal Center for the Performing Arts.
310 N. Tryon - Charlotte Public Library
(6)
The Charlotte Public Library has undergone a number changes over the
years. It started out as the Carnegie Library in 1903 and was eventually
demolished for an International Style library designed by Odell in 1956.
The new library is known as the “Drum and Block”. It was again modified
in 1989, gutted to its steel core, and extended to its current size. After
the addition in 1989 of the entrance, hip-roof and new wing that extends
to College street, everything old and new was then covered in Stucco.
Above: Charlotte Main Public Library
Architect: Odell/Middleton & McMillan
Style: Modern
Year: 1989
This addition was done by Middleton, McMillan Architects of Charlotte, in
association with Morris Architects and Aubry Architects. The building incorporates design details that allude to the original 1903 Carnegie Library
building. The original mid-century building was faced in marble and glass
and focuses on a cylindrical drum in a more open courtyard, which has
been encased by the renovation.
(7)
Above: Discovery Place
Architect: Clark Tribble Harris & Li
Style: Post Modern
Year: 1981
301 North Tryon St. - Discovery Place
An example of the International style, this building portrays some of
Le Corbusier’s 5 Points of Architecture. The columns allow for an open
floor plan (Point Two) and the free façade, which separates the structure
from the curtain wall. The industrialized look of the horizontally oriented
window grid references back to the ribbon window promoted. As you can
see, this building does not utilize ornamentation. Instead, the material
(the brick, the steel columns, the dark glass, and the mullions) provide
the aesthetic interest.
237 N. Tryon - Mayfair Manor / Dunhill Hotel:
The Mayfair Manor Hotel, designed by Louis H. Asbury, was built on the
corner of West Sixth Street and North Tryon Street in 1929 for doctors
J.P. Matheson and C.N. Peeler. They are perhaps better known as two of
the founders of the Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital.
The ten-story, 100-room hotel was intended for permanent and temporary guests, with half the space reserved for permanent residents. Hotels
were essential to Charlotte’s emergence as a warehouse and distribution
center for the two Carolinas in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Manufacturer representatives, salesman, buyers, and others who came to town
to do business needed a place to stay. In 1930, there were nine major
hotels in Charlotte – the Mecklenburg, The Central Hotel, Piedmont, Selwyn, Walton, Clayton, Hotel Charlotte, Stonewall, and Mayfair Manor. Of
those nine major hotels only the building that housed the Mayfair Manor
remains today. Like the Barringer Hotel, the ornamentation on this
10-story hotel are concentrated at the base and the top of the building.
However, in this case, the ornament is historically inspired by classical
architecture, such as the pedimental top and the arches over the second
story windows.
(8)
Above: Mayfair Manor / Dunhill Hotel:
Architect: Louis Asbury Sr.
Style: Neoclassical
Year: 1929
220 N. Tryon - Mint Museum / Montaldo’s Depart:
The Mint Museum of Craft + Design is the product of Bank of America’s
donation and renovation of the five-story Montaldo’s department store.
The store was designed by Charlotte architects Louis Asbury Sr. and
Louis Asbury Jr. in 1920 and took over a site which previously served as
the J.M. Harry Funeral Home and as the Wadsworth Livery Stable.
Montaldo’s was an outlet for upscale female clothing in the 1920s and
was expanded during the 1950s. Asbury Sr. designed the original or
northern part of the building while his son Louis Asbury Jr. designed the
southern half. Like the Tryon House, also designed by Asbury, the original Montaldo’s building design was inspired by the architecture of the
Italian Renaissance palaces. This is clear from the horizontal divisions
between floors; instead of a cornice the building is topped with a balustrade. The addition is a simplified version of the original, which has a
French Renaissance mansard roof gaining an extra story.
214 N. Tryon - Hearst Tower:
Reminiscent of the art deco style of the Chrysler building, the Hearst
Tower is a 49-story skyscraper that rises 659 feet from the ground. Note
the ornamentation near the top of the building. It was first opened on
November 14, 2002 and is the 2nd tallest building in Charlotte, North
Carolina. The 32-story tower rests atop a 15-story podium. The Hearst
Tower demonstrates the return to ornament, vertical emphasis and articulation of the top that characterized Post-Modern skyscraper design.
Its use of luxurious materials, like marble and bronze for interior finishes
harkens to the richness of the art deco period.
Right: Hearst Tower
Architect: Skidmore Owings & Merrill Architects (SOM)
Style: Post-Modern/ Art Deco
Year: 2002
(9)
(10)
Above: Mint Museum / Montaldo’s Depart:
Architect: Louis Ashbury Sr. & Jr.
Style: Italian Renaissance Revival
Year: 1920/1950
(11)
127 N. Tryon - Ivey Building:
This building was designed in the historic Neoclassical style, also known
as the Beaux Arts. This movement made its pull towards traditional
styles of high ornamentation, symmetry and the intricate division between base, middle and top. It is the only historic building remaining in
uptown Charlotte today that is clad with terra cotta tiles.
The current building was designed by architect William H. Peeps for the
J.B. Ivey & Company and was opened in 1924 as their new home. Ivey
was a devout Methodist and insisted that the awnings be drawn over the
windows on Sunday so that people would not be tempted by worldly possessions; the awnings were taken down in the 1990s.
William H. Peeps went on to serve as the AIA chapter President of Charlotte for a number of years until his death in 1950. He also designed a
number of well known buildings in Charlotte including the Latta Arcade
and the Ratcliffe Florist Shop which still remain today.
Above: Ivey Building
Architect: William H. Peeps
Style: Neoclassical
Year: 1924
(12)
129 W. Trade - Wachovia Building:
In 1958 the 15-story Wachovia Building was erected on West Trade
Street and was designed by prominent local architect A. G. Odell. Odell
applied the modernist beliefs of order to the building which are evident
from the exterior facade. Clad in concrete, the folded panels reflect an
interest in the play of light and shadow. The tower rises from a heavy
horizontal base.
Charlotte’s emergence as the banking center of the Southeast in the
1950s lead to a boom of banking towers downtown built in the International Style.
The Wachovia Building stands today as the only Modernist / International
high-rise in Charlotte to survive without extensive exterior alterations.
Above: Wachovia Building
Architect: A. G. Odell
Style: International Style
Year: 1958
(13)
100 N. Tryon - Bank of America Corporate Center:
The Bank of America building was designed by Cesar Pelli, a well known
Argentinian architect. At 60 stories and 871 feet, this is the tallest skyscraper in uptown Charlotte and also the most recognizable building in
the Charlotte skyline. This building boasts a crown shaped spire creating
a focal point at the top of the building, which makes it stand out architecturally. Unlike the Chrysler Building in New York City, the spire shines
from within rather than reflecting light from the outside by using glass
illuminated by floodlights.
Although considered primarily a Post-Modern style of architecture, the
symmetry and proportions used in this building are reminiscent of neoclassical architect Palladio.
Above: Bank of America Corporate Center:
Architect: Cesar Pelli
Style: Post Modern
Year: 1992
In addition, the interior lobby of the building was painted by artist Ben
Long using the traditional fresco techniques. It is one of the largest secular frescos in the world.
101 S. Tryon - Bank of America Plaza:
(13)
One of the most Modern buildings on Tryon, the 1974 ground level
plaza building is set back at a 45 degree angle from the street. These
hexagonal steel and glass towers were designed in the Miesian tradition.
112 S. Tryon - First National Bank / Sun Trust:
The First National Bank of Charlotte was established in 1865 and was
the first national bank in the post war South and the first North Carolina bank permitted to print its own bank notes.
The 22-story high-rise is 237 feet tall and became the highest building
in Charlotte replacing the Johnston building.
Above: Bank of America Plaza:
Architect: Odell
Style: Modern
Year: 1974
(14)
This Neoclassical skyscraper was designed by architect Louis Asbury, Sr. and was completed in 1926. Its style holds in high regard
the importance of classical structure in addition to the importance of
ornamentation. A base, middle and top can clearly be identified in the
building’s overall design.
When the building opened in 1926 the Charlotte branch of the Federal
Reserve was located on the nineteenth floor, confirming and solidifying the city’s place as a banking center of the Southeast before failing
in the 1930s.
The building remained the First National Bank of Charlotte until 1942,
when it became the Liberty Life Building. The building was renovated
in 1964 when it changed owners yet again and became known as the
Baugh Building.
139 S. Tryon - Home Federal Savings and Loan:
This building was erected in 1967 and illustrates Charlotte’s growing
significance as an urban place and major financial center in the decades after World War II.
Above: First National Bank Building
Architect: Louis Asbury, Sr
Style: Neoclassical
Year: 1926
(15)
Designed by Charlotte architects Freeman-White the building is
considered to be a shining example of small scale modernism. The
7-story building is worked with rough concrete, known as the Brutalist
style, expressing the stairs, elevators and mechanical spaces through
curved geometries. Each floor has protruding concrete balconies
which double as sun shades for the floor below. Between the rough
concrete floors there is floor to ceiling glass to maximize view and
lighting for the interior spaces. Japanese architecture also influenced
the building as seen through the small water garden, planters, wall
brackets and the process in which the wall panels are shown.
The Home Federal Building has recently been converted into high end
condominiums.
Above: Home Federal Savings and Loan.
Architect: Freeman-White
Style: Modern
Year: 1967
(16)
200 S. College Street - BB&T Building:
The BB&T building was completed in 1975 in the modernist style. After
being vacant for a number of years in February of 2007 it was sold to the
CIM Group for $117 million.
Still holding on to the past while attempting to move forward the BB&T
building is one of the few Charlotte city skyscrapers that still presents
itself with a clear top, middle and base. The modern twist on a classical column enables the building to rise vertically while still being bound
horizontally. After close examination you will notice that the exterior
glass is pulled forward off the actual plane of the building allowing for it
to stretch uninterrupted.
Above: BB&T building
Architect: Little & Associates
Style: Modern
Year: 1975
(17)
200 S. Tryon - NCNB Building
The NCNB Building, erected in 1961, was Charlottes first Miesian style,
glass and steel skyscraper. It has undergone serious updates and renovations since the 1970s. The most recent renovation was done by LS3P
Associates in 2001 which added windows to the previously windowless
‘base’ block.
This 18-story high-rise building in the international style was originally
designed by Walter Hook Associates, Inc. and was the tallest building in
Charlotte from 1961 - 1971 at 300ft.
The building emphasizes its horizontality through glass variations and
clear expression of a tower on a solid base. This is not only very midcentury but an almost identical move to what was done with the Lever
House in NYC. The vertical steel members on the exterior bring an additional level of depth to the facade and in the decision not to continue the
members all the way down mimic the architectural style of Mies van de
Rohe.
Above: NCNB Building
Architect: Walter Hook Associates/LS3P Associates
Style: Post-Modern
Year: 1961/2001
(18)
201 S. Tryon - George Cutter Building:
Across the street, the George Cutter Building has a similar history to the
NCNB Building. Both were inspired by the Lever House in New York City
and both are considered among the first Miesian glass and steel skyscrapers in the state of North Carolina. You can see the emphasis on the
glass curtain wall system on the facade.
In addition, the Cutter Building was the first skyscraper constructed in
Charlotte after the Great Depression. It’s exterior was completely removed in the late 1990s and today you can see the newly installed exterior with Dean and Deluca’s at the base.
Above: Cutter Building
Architect: Odell
Style: Modern
Year: 1961
212 S. Tryon - Johnston Building/ Midtown Plaza:
(19)
Designed by architect William Lee Stoddart the 17-story high-rise
building was the tallest in Charlotte from 1924 - 1926. The steel
frame building is clad in limestone panels and buffed colored bricks
detailing the Neoclassical style.
It is a prime example of the buildings constructed in the 1920s as
new business leaders began to take over companies from their predecessors like Edward Dilworth Latta and other entrepreneurs.
The building was originally designed as a 15 story Neoclassical building with the traditional base, middle and top, to resemble that of a
Doric column. Small modern details however begin to break through
the classical style of architecture with clean cut windows, and a
curtain wall at the top allowing for recessed windows behind it. An
additional two stories were added in the late 1920’s. Their presence
is minimal as to not take away from the overall buildings style and
effect.
Above: Johnston Building
Architect: William Lee Stoddart
Style: Neoclassical
Year: 1926
300 S. Tryon - Jefferson Standard / Wachovia
Main:
(20)
This corner of S. Tryon and Third was occupied by various retail
stores until 1953 when it became the site of the modernist-style
Jefferson Standard Building. The 10-story building was unique in its
fashion as it held the title of Charlotte’s first modernist high-rise. The
building underwent renovations in the 1970s and in the 1980s where
two more stories were added. The building was originally designed
by Pease Associates and received its largest renovation in 2004 when
Little and Associates completed a face-lift and re-skinning of the
buildings exterior facade.
Its ribbon windows and white planar surfaces are indicative of the
International Style of architecture.
Above: Jefferson Standard Building
Architect: Pease Associates
Style: International Style
Year: 1953
301 S. Tryon - Wachovia Two Center:
This 32-story modern high-rise was finished in 1971 and became for
three years not only Charlotte’s but North Carolina’s tallest building till
1974. Devoid of any ornamentation, this skyscraper depicts strong elements of the International style of architecture. Composed of relatively
few materials, the Wachovia Two Center references the white Modernist
towers of the era with the use of concrete and glass. Note the elongation of the windows at the top and the middle of the skyscraper with the
mechanical room windows elongated to show their presence. This building emphasizes the horizontal which particularly speaks to the International style, as we saw in the WFAE building. However, in some ways the
building also addresses the vertical, common during the new age of the
skyscraper.
Above: Wachovia Two Center
Architect: Pease Associates
Style: Modern
Year: 1971
(21)
320 S. Tryon - Latta Arcade:
(22)
Above: Latta Arcade
Architect: William H. Peeps
Style: Neoclassical
Year: 1914
The Latta Arcade, built in 1914, is a two-story, brick commercial building.
The pedestrian passageway on the ground floor serves as a link between
South Tryon and South Church streets. Brevard Court is joined to the
rear (west elevation) of the building at ground level, and serves as an
extension of the first-floor Arcade thoroughfare.
The main portion of the building is organized with two parallel rows of
brick offices and retail shops with a beautifully sky-lit center walkway.
Divided into two blocks, the front arcade is covered by a gable roof which
shelters the pedestrian walkway on the first floor.
The interior of Latta Arcade was largely restored between 1969 and
1973, and the main facade was remodeled during a second renovation
which followed a change of ownership in 1982.
Above: Latta Arcade interior
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Mid-Century Modern Architectural Styles:
Listed are, in chronological order, a brief definition of the architectural styles discussed in
Charlotte’s Uptown Walking Tour.
Art Deco:
A popular style of art design effecting the visual and decorative arts, it existed from around 1925 to the 1940s. The practitioners of art deco as it applied to architecture attempted to desribe
the sleekness of the machine age, using minimal detail and expressions in their designs. Art Deco is also a mixture of existing styles of
the time period drawing influence from Cubism, Modernism, Neoclassism and Futurism.
Neoclassical:
Literally meaning “New-Classicism” the European and American neoclassical movement was inspired by Classical Greek and
Roman ruins.The movement began in the mid 18th century as a response to the Rococo’s excessive ornamentation. It was in essence
a pull towards the fundimentals of proportions and purist beliefs.
Italian Renaissance Revival:
Technically being the second revival of the renaissance style
of architecture this movement occured roughly from 1890-1920.
The buildings often focused on distinct horizontal divisions in attempts to make each floor slightly different, typically using the
Doric Column. Most buildings built in this style were 3-4 stories tall
so that a distinct base, middle and top could be expressed. Directly
inspired by large urban Villas’ built during the Renaissance it was
the most successful design method to come out of the Beaux Arts.
Byzantine Revival:
Occured mostly during the second half of the 19th century
and into the 20th. Reusing the Byzantine forms typically found
in churches it destinguished itself through multiple domes, round
arched windows, ample decorations and polychromatic building features.
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Mid-Century Modern Architectural Styles:
Listed are, in chronological order, a brief definition of the architectural styles discussed in
Charlotte’s Uptown Walking Tour.
International Style:
Existed from the 1920s to the 1940s it was a style that
stressed minimalism in the home and public spaces. Devoiding itself of distinctive characteristics to allow for functionalism. This style often emphasizes the horizontality of a building
through ribbon windows, a flat roof and white concrete to create a uniform look.
Modern:
Very similar to the International Style, Americans took
this movement as the simplification of form and the absence of
ornamentation. As Louis Sullivan said “Form follows function”
and as such function should work as a determinate of form.
This style was very popular for skyscraper and tall building design.
Post-Modern:
A reaction to the modern movement Post-Modernism
appeared during the 1950s. It reintroduced symbolism to
architecture and attempted to replace the aggressive lack of
ornamentation taken by its predecessor. Often times drawing
slight inspiration from previous styles ignored by the Modern or
International styles.
Source:
1. Professor Emily Makas, UNC Charlotte School of Architecture