From an architectural standpoint, every century has a stylistic history to tell. Timelines such as Adrian Meyer’s Synoptic Vision or Charles Jencks’ Evolutionary Tree of Twentieth-Century Architecture, further help us understand changes and movements in both art and design. Perhaps the greatest example of universal design addressing the future is best seen right between the 19th and 20th centuries, the latter one being the focus of both aforementioned timelines. Industrialization, rapidly growing towards the end of the 19th century, and with its many shifts in culture, economy and overall society, demanded a newly adjusted architecture to accommodate these changes, from expanding cities to rethinking spatial relationships on smaller scales, such as homes. Additionally, the world would see new design styles responding to, or even reinterpreting elements present in Neoclassicist design. However, this process was not the same everywhere; factors such as politics and culture shaped differing visions of modernism throughout the globe.
Antoni Gaudí’s work, taking place between the 19th and 20th century, became the icon of Catalan modernism, blurring the line between sculpture and architectural design. On the other hand, Mies Van der Rohe explored simplicity in design, while also being a key figure in the Bauhaus movement. While both designers are completely opposite in an aesthetic sense, much of today’s design would not have been possible without them.
Gaudí, born in Catalonia in 1852, is better known for his artistic approach and materialistic experimentation, seen in all his designs, including Barcelona’s famous Park Güell and the Colonia Güell Crypt, featuring varying brick formations and instances of colorful mosaics. The columns supporting the exterior’s left side are similar to the buttresses used in past Gothic cathedrals, but the resemblances to this period don’t end there. The interior of the crypt features the use of dramatic stained glass, which illuminate the carved pillars and the nave’s curved ceiling. This project served as a precedent for Gaudí’s largest, and most famous design: the Basílica de la Sagrada Familia, which combined Gothic cathedral typology with an added twist of Gaudí’s sculptural, Art-Nouveau inspired style. It’s worth noting that Gaudí’s creations weren’t limited to massive structures or countryside residences; he also built at an urban scale. An example of this is Casa Milá, a private residence building perfectly adapted to urban planner Ildefons Cerdá’s Barcelona plan. Also known as La Pedrera, the building features a sculpted stone fascade and Art-Deco iron sculptures outlining the balconies. Along with its contrasting colors, and not-so-hidden details, such as the building’s door handles, Casa Milá serves as an intricate scene of dream-like beaty within the city.
However, modernist design is globally recognized as a simplistic and more practical architecture; curiously, the entire opposite of Gaudí’s organically eclectic aesthetic. This new tendency towards simplicity and mass manufacture was established formally through the Bauhaus School, a multidisciplinary design movement that originated as a functional response to the Arts and Crafts movement. German architect Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe is credited as one of the movement’s most influential figures, and while much of his work was designed after the Bauhaus oficially ended, it was certainly influenced by it. Inspired by German expressionism and subtle changes in color and material to provoke the senses, Mies set out to do a lot with very little, a key point in modernism (or, to quote Mies himself, less is more). The Barcelona Pavilion, designed by Mies in 1929, is, in general terms, a juxtaposition of just three architectural elements: columns, solid walls, and glass walls. Combined with the onyx walls’ vibrant hues, and Mies’ clever use of shadows, the Pavilion relates interior and exterior in an almost seamless manner. This simplicity is seen in Van der Rohe’s latter works too, where his style is further adapted to buildings of all uses and sizes; from residences to skyscrapers. An example of this is the Illinois Institute of Technology, specifically the Crown Hall (1956), a grid-based, open-plan building with curtain wall fascades. The use of steel girders supporting the roof from the exterior only adds to the design’s structural and stylistic innovation.
While both approaches to modernism are extremely contrasting, they’re present in virtually any building that plays with notions such as transparency, order, plasticity, and intersections of art and architecture. Additionally, it’s safe to say they’re both valid postures, and may very well serve as precedents for the way we shape future architecture. Should we view all future design as an embellishment, or a reimagining, of the past, as did Gaudí, or should we redirect design towards today’s digital society and the practical fulfillment of its needs? Surely, both must be considered.
References:
Mies in Berlin: MoMA. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/167
Richman-Abdou, K., & V. (2020, September 08). Bauhaus: How the Avant-Garde Movement Transformed Modern Art. Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://mymodernmet.com/what-is-bauhaus-art-movement/
Richman-Abdou, K., T., & V. (2017, September 09). Magnificent Art Nouveau Architecture of the Great Antoni Gaudí. Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://mymodernmet.com/antoni-gaudi-architecture/
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