BP 11 : 4/6/11

Why is it important for people by the beginning of the twentieth century to be working so hard to be modern?

With the new century comes new design!  Modernism meant breaking away from the details and history.  Making things simple but yet still meaninful was what design focused on.  Also, with the rise of industrialization, the whole world seem to be changing, moving on so why not architecture.  Technological inventions and change in material allowed for new ways of building.  Mass-production influenced a lot of movements such as the Bauhaus, where designing with lighter materials, more geometrical shapes, and simple structures came to good use.  Although design was becoming more simple and less detailed, that does not mean buildings were not designed with purpose.  Architecture still spoke the same language however, it was new and refined to fit the new and refined world.

http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/savoye/index.htm
Villa Savoye, France by Le Corbusier

This house is an example of a house designed in the moderist time.  The house is very simple compared to earlier architectural eras with a very basic and geometric design however, through the materials used and the design layout the house still has a grand voice.