Beyond Modern
1920s –
De Stijl
International Style
Post-war design
Neo-modernism
De Stijl (1917-1931)
1. Painting is an autonomous interworking
of form, surface and color
2. Sought to eliminate all traces of the
emotional and personal in art
3. Neo-plasticism – return design to its
most primal, basic elements (color and
line)
De Stijl (1917-1931)
Piet Mondrian – artist
Gerrit Reitveld – architect
Theo van Doesburg – graphic designer
•about nothing more
than line & color
•white voids of space
•planes of color
•structure—black lines
Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue,
Mondrian, 1930
Red, Yellow, Blue Chair, Gerrit Rietveld, 1917
(Painted in 1921) Beechwood and plywood construction
•originally black & white
•black is structure/white is
space
•color starts to communicate function
•yellow represents wood itself
•black & white—positive &
negative
•exploring relationship
between opposites
Berlin Chair, Gerrit
Rietveld, 1923
Theo Van Doesburg
•Mondrian—too complex; doesn’t like direction, leaves group
•cantilevered chair—small
supports
•plywood
•starting to explore
Zig Zag Chair, Gerrit
Rietveld, 1934
began using
diagonals in
axonometric form
Schroeder House, Gerrit Rietveld, 1924, Utrecht
hired Rietveld because she believed structure would help to mold
her children in their formative years
liked the idea of putting his
building in with all the old,
classical homes of the
area—for more of a
contrast
•color was only used as an accent
•balance between linear black components and planar white surface
moveable walls—solving problems of open floor plans
like taking one of Mondrian’s paintings & making it 3D—Rietveld
used color to define space
Berlin
Chair
The International Style
•modern movement eventually becomes the international style
•not synonymous—modernists were too cold; evolved to
international style
•something anyone across the globe could appreciate
Scandanavian Modernism
Alvar Aalto
(1898-1976)
•undulating ceiling
•very open—lots of
natural light
Viipuri Municipal Library, Alvar Aalto,
1933-35 Viipuri, Russia
loved wood—organic nature of ceiling responds to organic nature
of wood
Chair 68, Stool 60, Viipuri Library, c. 1932, birch
•bentwood is used again—for its warmth
•very simply made
•meant to be mass produced
Paimio
Sanitorium,
Alvar Aalto,
1929-39
Paimio,
Finland
•won architectural
competition for design
in 1929
•sled base—
meant to
moveable
•not cantilevered
•looks a little
more inviting and
comfortable than
some
•all furniture
designed by Aalto
& wife
Paimio Scroll Chair, 1930-31
bent laminated and solid birch frame with lacquered bent plywood seat
Lounge Chair #43, 1936, bent
laminated and solid birch frame with textile webbing
Charles and Ray Eames
•war takes all materials—really have to be innovative
•MoMA creates competitions to promote furniture
design/development
•turn away from the austerity of Bauhaus and create “post war
design”—war makes design stop in Europe and turn to U.S. for
first time
Organic Design in Home
Furnishings – 1940
(exhibition/competition)
LCW, 1945
Charles Eames and
Eero Saarinen
•appreciate idea of
bentwood—but they
bend it in all 3
dimensions
•conforms to body
1st version—winning design
Organic Design in Home
Furnishings – 1940
(exhibition/competition)
LCM, 1946
Charles Eames and
Eero Saarinen
•shell—anything user
touches—seat & back
•substructure & legs—
reduced to a minimum
2nd version—winning design
Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman,
1956
•highly regarded as status symbol—even more comfortable & soft
•rosewood ply & leather seat—shell
•cast aluminum base—structure
shell
structure
follows idea of shell & structure
Eames House, Case Study House #8— Santa Monica, CA
•Charles met Ray at school and married
•interested in creating housing that was easy & cheap to build
Eames House, Case Study House #8—Santa Monica, CA
general structure
metal truss
studio
•corrugated metal roof
exposed as texture
•loved to collect things—very
eclectic
•simple planar geometry
•strong interest in Asian
culture
•can see impact of glass in
design—looking out huge
cliff over the ocean
textile caterpillar—piece
of artwork collection
topped stairs with skylight to
create a shaft of light
Florence Knoll
(1917- )
Chromed base. Hardwood
frame covered with
expanded foam. Cushions
in foam at variable density not removable
10mm thick glass on a triple
chrome plated bar stock steel.
Knoll tables & sofa—but who designed the chairs?—success lies
in ability to “snatch up” popular pieces of furniture for manufacture
interior designer in her own right—influenced heavily by Eames’
connection with the De
Stijl movement—sense
of clear geometry, color
& planes
most famous commission—CBS headquarters
Richard Neutra
(1892 - 1970)
•from Europe but comes to
U.S.
•created a modern
regionalism for Southern
California—”California Style”
relative to modernism
•combined a light metal
frame with a stucco finish
•creates light, effortless
appearance
tries to connect you to the outside—view, reflecting pond, wood
•abstraction of nature
•architecture extends &
integrates with nature
•interiors are as if “you
are on stage”
furniture
becomes a
little more
scultpural
•furniture not placed against walls—walls become view
•fireplace on one wall of one material becomes popular
created spaces where you
can move in and out
seamlessly
Philip Johnson
(1906 - 2005 )
“All architecture is
shelter, all great
architecture is the
design of space that
contains, cuddles,
exalts, or stimulates
the persons in that
space.”
bathroom
Glass House,
Philip Johnson, New Caanan, CT
(1949)
all about technology—the ability to have a glass house
architecture is very diminished
•living/dining area—using textiles to delineate space
•selected a suite of Mies van der Rohe’s furniture
fine art pieces used
intermittently
bedroom & bathroom
guest house for privacy—a study in opposites
1950s
• post WWII prosperity – consumerism – hit
an all time high
• suburban utopia
• boom in home ownership
1950s
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clean lines and simplicity
mass produced furniture
softer, warmer forms (Aalto, Eames)
good design derived from technology
Atomic Age
named for the dropping of the
atomic bomb
Eero Saarinen—1957
•just one leg—wanted to clear
up the “slum” of legs
•one leg make piece appear
more weightless
Tulip Furniture
•new technologies help to create
new aesthetic—unbroken
line/molded furniture
•flared, circular aluminum base
•Harry Bertoia —worked for
Knoll—sculptor
•molded furniture—mostly
made of air
•welded steel rods—visually
light
Chickenwire Chair
eventually padded
entire front
Noguchi Table,
1950s
Isamu Noguchi
•designed for Herman Miller
•plate glass top—freeform, sculpted bases
•creates a sense of weightlessness
Egg Chair
Arne Jacobsen
•single aluminum
base
•usually leather
upholstery
•etiquette
becoming very
informal
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1940s—recovering from war
1950s—”domestic bliss”
1960s
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youth emerged as a strong market force
social taboos/traditions came under attack
prosperity in western economies
jet travel and the space race (adventure)
Globe Chair, Eero Aarnio, 1960
very casual
designer, Eero Aarnio
somewhat similar to
streamlined moderne
t.v. design informed by
space suit
Model 400, Roger
Tallon, 1964
polished aluminum frame
with latex-foam seating
•reflective nature of polished
aluminum makes support
“blend” into surroundings
Ribbon Chair, Pierre Paulin, 1966
•bent, tubular metal frame
•tensioned rubber seat over top
•filled with latex foam cushion
•fabric cover
Bouloum Chair, Oliver Mourgue, 1968
human form clearly dictating furniture
Blow Chair, by De
Pas, D'urbino,
Lomazzi & Scolari in
1967
•first mass produced inflatable
chair
•more of a youth culture
statement
•utilizes new materials &
technology
•questioned presumed
permanence associated with
furniture
•emphasized disposability
Sacco, Gatti, Paolini,
Teodoro, 1969
Anatomical easy-chair
•envelope containing highly resistant
expanded polystyrene pellets
•cover in Nailpelle, Lancio or leather.
1960's Kartell Storage Unit
•original storage container element
(model 4970)
•designed by Anna Castelli Ferrieri
for Kartell Italy c1967
•constructed from white ABS plastic
•consists of two interlocking units—
the lower one on casters
arch
large void
Vanna Venturi House, Robert Venturi, 1964, Chestnut Hill, PA
•does not follow classical theory
•uses a version of modern ideals—in opposing manner
led to the development of postmodernism in architecture during
the 1970s
Venturi’s theories
advocate the use of
historical allusion and
symbolism, while
rejecting the
perceived sterility of
orthodox modern
buildings
1970s
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energy crisis of 1973
petroleum by-products increase in price
– plastic becomes too expensive
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socially responsible design approach
environmental and economic concerns
Pruitt-Igoe,
St. Louis
Missouri
•low-income housing for
predominantly African American
•consists of 33 11-story
apartment buildings on a 57 acre
site
•totaling 2,870 apartments
Pruitt-Igoe
•shortly after its completion, living conditions began to decay
•by the late 1960s, the extreme poverty, crime, and segregation
brought the complex a great deal of infamy
•demolished within 20 years
of completion
•critics have cited the failure
as an example of how
planned urban communities
often fail
•designed as an attempt to
emulate the public housing
projects in NYC, but with little
regard for the vast difference
in economies and population
distributions in the two cities
•claimed to mark the day that
“modern architecture died”
•exploration in new
materials—corrugated,
laminated cardboard
•shows that cardboard can
look elegant & has
remarkable strength and
resilience
•cantilevered
•really heavy; not very
moveable
Wiggle Chair, Frank Gehry, 1972
Little Beaver Chair, Frank Gehry, 1980
•exhibition vignette
•shows that social
taboos becoming
even less formal
1970s interior by
Joe Columbo
high tech
architecture
incorporates
elements of hightech industry and
technology into
building design
Pompidou Center, Rogers and Piano,
1977, Paris
mechanical systems exposed and color coded
Postmodernism
Piazza d’Italia, Charles Moore, 1976, New Orleans
take classical references and do whatever you want with them—
should not be held to rigid examples
color is used for the sake of color—doesn’t look as if it is about
form; more about plane
1980s
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caricature of classical details
breaking of the “rules”
color for the sake of color
the end of “drab rationalism”
Portland Building, Michael Graves, 1980, Portland
postmodernism sometimes referred to as a caricature of
classical features
•criticized not only
by design
community, but by
Portlanders as
well
•windows bevel
in—no regard to
Portland weather
•workers in
building have high
incidence of
sickness
Chippendale and Queen Anne, Robert
Venturi, 1984 (silk screen printed, molded plywood)
postmodernism sometimes referred to as a caricature of classical
features
•MEMPHIS was a Milan-based collective of young furniture and
product designers—debuted in 1981 & led by Ettore Sottsass
•after its 1981 debut, Memphis dominated the early 1980s design
scene with its post-modernist style
Kandinsky Sofa, Sottsass, 1979 lacquered wood and textile
“acting out” against neutrals—attack it with color, pattern & form
bookcase/shelving unit
Carlton (name of
piece), Sottsass
(designer), 1981
•laminates become all the
rage
•completely dishonest in use
of materials
Ginza Robot,
Umeda, c. 1980
•Memphis style split the
design world
•caused a media sensation
after years of drab rationalism
First Chair, de
Lucchi, c. 1980
Kristall End Table,
de Lucchi, c. 1980
Ettore Sottsass: 1980's
Memphis Design Modern
Tahiti Lamp
•polychrome enameled
metal "duck"
•with pivoting head
•mounted on a black and
white confetti-patterned
laminate base
1990s
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self-contained structures
new age of architects using logarithmic
equations to design
human form now a “lab rat”
A to Z line
Andrea Zittel; 199394
•self-contained structures
•furniture can almost fold into
a box when it is time to move
Aronoff Center of Design, (DAAP Building,
University of Cincinnati, Peter Eisenman, 1996
part of the new age of architects using logarithmic
equations to design
four stories tall
looks like building is slipping…
…like it is not stable
“spine” connects three different buildings
•interiors mimic exterior
haphazard nature
•columns don’t seem to
support large mass
geometries collide violently
•almost intentionally making
occupants feel uncomfortable
•human form is now nothing
more than a “lab rat”—
compare to age of the
Vitruvian man
•angles sometimes even
appear to decapitate users
Aeron Chair,
Donald Chadwick
and William
Stumpf, 1992
•combines distinctive looks with
pioneering ergonomics
•adapts naturally and adjusts
precisely to fit people of all sizes
and postures doing all kinds of
activities, all day long
•recycled aluminum and fiberglass
reinforced polyester frame and
base with polyester mesh seat
and back