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Tag: modernist movement

A Brief History of the Streamline Moderne Movement

Posted on by Hunter

At Optima, we have a deep appreciation for architectural movements that have shaped our surroundings. Today, we’re taking a closer look at Streamline Moderne, an influential style born from the Art Deco movement, celebrated for its embodiment of speed, efficiency, and the modern era.

Origins of Streamline Moderne

Emerging in the 1930s, Streamline Moderne was a testament to the rapidly evolving technological landscape of the time. Influenced by aerodynamic design and born from the advancements in transportation and manufacturing, the movement represented a shift from the ornamental flourishes of Art Deco to a sleeker, more functional aesthetic. It mirrored the streamlined shapes of airplanes, ships, and automobiles, encapsulating the era’s romance with speed and progress.

Los Angeles’ Pan-Pacific Auditorium, Plummer, Wurdeman and Becket, 1935, Photo from Floyd B. Bariscale
Los Angeles’ Pan-Pacific Auditorium, Plummer, Wurdeman and Becket, 1935, Photo from Floyd B. Bariscale. CC BY-NC 2.0 Deed

Architects and designers, inspired by the sleek, aerodynamic lines of the modern machine age, began incorporating these elements into buildings, household appliances, and even consumer products. This shift marked a distinct move towards simplicity and efficiency, a response to the economic constraints of the Great Depression.

Streamline Moderne in Architecture

The Streamline Moderne movement left a profound impact with several notable examples still celebrated today. Among these, the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles stands out with its sweeping, streamlined façade and stylized pylons, epitomizing the movement’s love for fluidity and motion.

The slew of Streamline Moderne hotels living on Miami’s Ocean Drive, Photo from State Archives of Florida

Another classic example is the Coca-Cola Building in Los Angeles. Its curved corners, elongated horizontal lines, and nautical elements like porthole windows perfectly illustrate Streamline Moderne’s aesthetic principles. These structures not only embodied the technological advancement of the era but also represented a desire for a design that was both functional and visually appealing.

In Miami, the Streamline Moderne movement found particularly fertile ground, with Ocean Drive hotels showcasing the style’s quintessential features. The smooth curves, chrome accents, and pastel colors of these buildings have become synonymous with Miami’s diverse architectural identity, drawing visitors and architecture enthusiasts from around the world.

Today, these structures stand as elegant reminders of an era captivated by the future. In Streamline Moderne, we find a celebration of simplicity, functionality, and beauty – principles that resonate with our approach at Optima. Streamline Moderne is a testament to design’s power in shaping not just buildings, but the character of entire cities and the imagination of generations to come.

The Villa Savoye in Poissy

Posted on by Hunter

At Optima®, we have a deep appreciation for remarkable architectural creations that capture the essence of their time. Today, we voyage to Poissy, France, to explore the famous Villa Savoye – a residence that stands as a symbol of the Modernist movement and a testament to the genius of the Swiss-born architect, Le Corbusier.

Inaugurated in 1931, the Villa Savoye encapsulates Le Corbusier’s vision of what a home should be: a “machine for living,” embodying functionality, form, and harmony with the surrounding environment. Distinctly modern, yet timeless in appeal, Villa Savoye is the quintessential realization of Le Corbusier’s Five Points of Architecture.

The free designing of the ground plan, a central tenet of Le Corbusier’s philosophy, is showcased brilliantly in Villa Savoye. The open layout creates a fluidity of movement within the house, each room transitioning seamlessly into the next. The façade, free from structural constraints, features an elegant composition of horizontal windows, providing abundant natural light and stunning panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

The villa also embodies the principle of free design of the façade, resulting in a strikingly minimalist exterior that foregoes decorative excess in favor of simple geometric forms. The ramp and the roof garden, other key aspects of Le Corbusier’s Five Points, add layers of functionality and aesthetic interest. The ramp provides a gentle, processional path through the villa, while the roof garden reclaims the green space sacrificed by the building’s footprint.

Villa Savoye Interior
Interior of Villa Savoye. Photo: Timothy Brown, Flickr Creative Commons

At the heart of this architectural marvel is Le Corbusier’s concept of architectural promenade – the notion that architecture is best experienced moving through space and time. The journey through Villa Savoye is a continuous narrative, each room a chapter, each view a verse, unfolding the poetry of Le Corbusier’s architectural vision.

We revel in the opportunity to celebrate this modernist gem, designed by a pioneer of the movement, Le Corbusier, as an embodiment of innovation, artistic expression, and the timeless human desire for harmony between our creations and the world they inhabit. Just like Villa Savoye, Optima® is committed to creating spaces that respect and enhance their environment, thus contributing to the enduring legacy of architectural excellence.

 

Chicago Sculpture Spotlight: Ceres by John Bradley Storrs

Posted on by Hunter

At Optima®, we have a keen appreciation for the confluence of form and function in architecture. It is with this sense of admiration that we turn our spotlight to a piece of Chicago’s history that is as breathtaking as it is groundbreaking. This iconic gem, standing sentinel over the city, is none other than the Ceres sculpture, an embodiment of Modernist art and a testament to the vision and talent of Modernist American sculptor, John Bradley Storrs.

Born in Chicago in 1885, John Storrs was a sculptor who left an indelible mark on the world of American Modernism. Schooled at some of the finest art institutions, including the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Académie Julian in Paris, Storrs’ work blends the classical with the modern, and the human with the industrial.

His contribution to the Modernist movement was unique in its ability to bridge contrasting worlds. His work was firmly grounded in the traditional forms of sculpture, yet boldly embraced the dynamism and aesthetic of the burgeoning machine age. His sculptures captured the soul of a society caught in a transformative period with the comforts of the old world, giving way to promises of the new.

John Bradley Storrs. Photo: Chicago History Museum

Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in Storrs’s iconic Ceres sculpture. Perched atop the Chicago Board of Trade Building, rising majestically at the southern end of the LaSalle Street canyon, Ceres is a tribute to the Roman goddess of agriculture — a fitting emblem for a building that was home to the largest grain exchange in the United States.

This 31-foot figure, however, is no ordinary depiction of a goddess. Storrs deviated from the typical portrayal of deities in classical realism. Instead, he rendered her in a form that was abstract and streamlined, reflecting the popular Art Deco style of the 1930s. This faceless figure, devoid of any discernible features, was a deliberate departure from tradition. Storrs recognized that from the ground, the details of Ceres’s face would be lost. In response, he sought to create a silhouette, an impression, something that would be striking against the backdrop of the Chicago skyline.

 

Initially, the abstract representation of Ceres drew mixed reactions. However, over the years, it has come to be celebrated as an integral part of Chicago’s architectural landscape — a symbol of the city and a beacon of the Art Deco era.

We are endlessly fascinated by the harmonious architectural aesthetics and symbolic functionality found in Ceres. This beloved Chicago icon remains a timeless testament to Storrs’ profound creativity, encapsulating the spirit of Modernism, standing as a monument to an era that dared to redefine the rules of art and architecture.

A Brief History of Architecture in the Expressionist Movement

Posted on by Hunter

Although many know expressionism for its evocative poetry and painting, expressionist architecture was also a subsect of the Modernist Movement. While coexisting with the minimalist rigor of the Bauhaus, this avant-garde style allowed designers to explore new, radical perspectives, gifting to the world some of the most dynamic, expressive architecture of the 20th century. 

Origins of Expressionism

Expressionism originated in the late 1800s from a small group of artists based in Germany. The artists who founded the movement felt that 19th-century impressionism – which commanded the art world – was out of touch with the social climate of the times due to the various changes that came with the Industrial Revolution. This feeling of detachment helped inspire what would soon be known as expressionism.  

Acclaimed painters like Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Edvard Munch and Francis Bacon all contributed remarkable works of art throughout the movement, but artists who worked with other mediums also adopted the ideals that expressionists held close. Because of the vivid colors and distorted lines and angles associated with expressionism, German cinematography, in particular, took advantage of the moody standards. 

Einstein Tower by Erich Mendelsohn. 1921
Einstein Tower, Erich Mendelsohn, 1921. Credit: H. Raab on Flickr Creative Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Deed

After more than 30 years of commanding the art world itself, expressionists became banned from showing and selling their work in Germany, where the majority of the artists lived. The result left many artists suppressed, eventually leading to various radical movements, including Abstract Expressionism, Pop-Art, Minimalism and in the late 20th century, Neo-Expressionism. 

Expressionism in Architecture

Expressionist architecture took advantage of the many characteristics associated with the movement’s other works of art, including distortion of form, themes of romanticism, expression of inner experience and the conception of architecture as a work of art, among others. Much of the movement’s builds featured Gothic, Romanesque and Rococo affinities. 

Glass Pavilion’s interior featuring the seven-tiered waterfall. Public Domain photo.

Bruno Taut’s Glass Pavilion is one of the earliest examples of expressionist architecture. The structure was built in 1914 as a feature of the Cologne Deutscher Werkbund Exhibition. Constructed using only concrete and glass, the exterior of the pavilion showcases a vibrantly colored prismatic dome and a grand staircase. The interior of the building featured a kaleidoscope of color from the crown above it and a seven-tiered cascading waterfall.

The Einstein Tower is another striking example of expressionist-style architecture. The observatory was built by German Architect Erich Mendelsohn from 1919 to 1921 and was envisioned to hold a solar telescope. Mendelsohn designed the building to reflect the radical theories formed by Einstein – specifically his theory of motion. The structure is built with brick but covered with stucco to give it its smooth, tidal-like exterior. 

More recent examples of expressionist-style architecture include Walt Disney Concert Hall designed by Frank Gehry in Los Angeles, the Lotus Temple designed by Fariborz Sahba in Delhi, and Zaha Hadid’s Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein. 

Women in Architecture: Lilly Reich

Posted on by Hunter

As part of our ongoing “Women in Architecture” series, we’re spotlighting an often overlooked contributor to the Modernist Movement, Lilly Reich. Popularly known for being a close confidant and collaborator of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Reich was a spearhead of the times in her own right, contributing many acclaimed designs that are still prominent today. Learn more about her extraordinary life and work below:

The Life of Lilly Reich

Lilly Reich was born on June 16, 1885, in Berlin, Germany. Throughout her childhood and early adult life, many of her interests belonged to the arts and crafts, specifically embroidery. At 23 years old, Reich traveled from Germany to Vienna, Italy, where she found work at Josef Hoffman’s visual arts production company. Reich continued to explore her passion for embroidery in Vienna, and thanks to the many other artists and designers who worked with her, she eventually discovered new mediums, including textile, clothing, and even designing store windows. 

In 1911, Reich returned to her home in Berlin, where she was determined to find a career. Less than a year after moving back, she became a member of the Deutscher Werkbund, or German Work Federation. After shifting her design focus from textile and clothing to other forms of design like furniture and interiors, Reich’s professional reputation quickly blew up. And, in 1920, after eight years in the Deutscher Werkbund, she became the first woman elected to its governing board. 

A tubular steel footed daybed designed by Lilly Reich and Mies van der Rohe
A tubular steel footed daybed designed by Reich and Mies for a client, 1930, Courtesy of MOMA

Reich was working at Frankfurt’s Trade Fair Office in 1924 when she first met Mies. They immediately formed a connection that sparked a decades-long period of collaboration between the two. Continuing her dominance in design at the time, Reich became the creative director for Germany’s contribution to the Barcelona World Expo in 1929. The Expo’s most notorious contribution included the Barcelona Chair, which was designed by Mies and Riech respectively. Reich and Mies continued collaborating until his emigration to the United States in 1938. 

The Work of Lilly Reich

Reich’s ambition and adaptability also carried over into her career. While working with Mies, Reich designed several furniture series of tubular steel – one of the only women doing so at the time besides Charlotte Perriand. Inspired by the modern technology and materials of the time, she contrasted the coolness of steel with warm materials such as wood and leather – a staple of her creations. The furniture designs included everything from chairs and tables to bed frames and day beds. 

A design sketch of a cooking cabinet that takes the appearance of a closet.
Designs for Apartment for a Single Person, Lilly Reich, 1931, Courtesy of MOMA

Reich’s contribution to interior design expanded beyond furniture. In 1931, for the German Building Expo in Berlin, she embraced the ideals of domestic reformers of the time and designed Apartment for a Single Person. A radical idea for the time period, the design featured a cooking cabinet that took the appearance of a closet. However when opened, it revealed a sink, shelves, drawers and plenty of counter space. 

As a woman in her field during the early 20th century, Lilly Reich found a way to break traditional barriers and establish herself as a leader of the Modernist Movement. Whether collaborating with other visionaries like Mies or contributing her own ambitious designs, Reich always found a way to leave her mark on society, securing a legacy few can achieve.

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