Modernism: Two Phases Of The Modernist Period

It can be argued that there were two phases within the Modernist movement; the first being the pioneer phase and the second the International Style. The first phase began after the First World War, setting the ideologies and key ideas of the movement. As Greenhalgh suggests the ideologies were designed to question human awareness and improve the conditions of the building. During this period the key thinkers of the time wrote manifestos and built prototypes explaining their thoughts and ideas of this modernist style. The second phase was the ‘International style’ which lasted until the 1970s, this phase didn't focus as heavily on ideas and thoughts but rather the styles of the time, representing itself through a wide variety of buildings and objects (Greenhalgh,1990,2).

The modern project was developed during the beginning of the modernist era, this was a development of the main ideas and manifestos of the time.Habermas describes modernist ideas and theories in his writing,“To develop objective science, universal morality and law, and autonomous art according to their inner logic” (Habermas,1983,9). This shows how modernism aimed to create universal standards which created a framework for all design. It has been argued that “ "modern" is a project, active, forward-looking, constructive, building a better world” (Earl, 2014). Furthermore this shows how the modernist era produced a complete new set of theories ultimately revolutionising design of the time, leading to a shift in the ideas of design and the methods used. Conclusively, this idea of the modern project shows how the modernist era had a strong influence on today’s architecture, the new thinking brought to light fresh and modern ideas in design, moving away from the his...

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...n, the building does not follow the function of the building it has ornament and decoration on the outside for aesthetic purposes only, they are not necessarily needed on the building but are used to look appealing to the eye and create an impressive sculptural architectural statement.I“Venturi creates so-called theory of "decorated shed". It says that a purpose of any building shall not conclude on the basis of its actual function, but on the basis of its external appearance”(WorldMuseum, ????).This shows how there has been a shift to creating buildings without a strict outline and making something which isn't only purposeful for its function and that alone.Moving toward the idea of creating something which is eye catching and sculptural with little relevance to the buildings actual function, moving away from the modernist theory that ‘form follows function’.