Mid-Century Modernism can is from the 1950s through 1960 and architecturally it can be seen with the following characteristics:

• Flat Roof
• Angular Details
• Asymmetrical Profiles
• Plentiful amount of glass walls
• Bi-Level Structures
• Clean Lines
• Open Floor Plan
• Use of Warm Earthy Nature-Inspired Color Pallet
• Trendy Colors Included: Pink, Grey, Turquoise, Black, and Yellow

With the use of a flat roof these buildings where popular in the West Coast. The reason for this is because their is no snowfall and it is capable of handling that kind of environment.

Joseph Eichler was a major designer of this time period. He created a subdivision of homes for the average American family, using this style of architecture. He like many designers used inspiration from Frank Lloyd Wright style. Impressively, this man has had over 11,000 homes built from his designs. Also, during this time the most influential furniture designers include; Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames, Ray Eames, George Nelson, and Isamu Noguchi. Some of the pieces by these designers include the Womb Chair, Tulip Chair, La Chaise, Eames Lounge chair, and many other iconic pieces still in use today.

Below are applications of this type in todays design.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3lOwDnRXjg 

Guest Speaker - Darrel Wilkinson

Darrel Wilkinson was a guest speaker for our class this week. He is an employee at Widmer Interiors out of Bloomington, and one day he "Drank the Herman Miller Kool Aid," as he says. His vast knowledge on the topic of Herman Miller is why he came to speak with us.


Unfortunately I arrived late to class, but when I did he was talking about designers Ray and Charles Eames, a married couple designing for Herman Miller. They not only were furniture designers but they were also, architects, fabric designers, and video makers. He mentioned a video to look on YouTube that they created, called The Power of Ten, which is in a link below. Many of their furniture contains layers plywood, that was inspired from one of their earlier designs, surprisingly enough a leg splint.




He also touched the topic on the fabric designer that was influential at Herman Miller, Alex Girard. Then he went into the Action Office design which changed the way offices were set up for ever. This was created by Robert Propst. This was a revolutionary creation that allowed companies to have more employees in the same amount of space, increasing the amount of work being done, later saving money. This is something that was sought after, but also made Propst angry and later not take recognition for the design.




An expensive yet iconic chair that is in many art museums is called the Aeron Chair, which was designed by Bill Stumpf. This was the first chair that utilized the mesh, and even the use of mesh being the entire support as well as the lower back support that is patented by Herman Miller. This chair is truly the symbol for ergonomics and the focus on the user, and ergonomics.


It is important to note that Herman Miller does not have its own designers but rather contracts with outside individuals so that they have a clean free mind of design. It was also interesting to add how important the environment is to Herman Miller. The amount of trash that they take out each day is small enough to fit in a grocery bag. Also, to get rid of wasps on the land of their office, they did not kill them but rather naturally removed them by bringing in thousands of honey bees.






https://youtu.be/0fKBhvDjuy0

Peer Review: Art Deco

Riann: I enjoyed readying her post, it was quick, concise and to the point. Allowing me to quickly read what she had to say while still getting enough information to understand the Art Deco Movement.

Miryam: I felt she used really good wording as well as examples to explain what the Art Deco movement was all about. She used really good visual aids as well as her description of the functionalist and decorators I felt was written very well.

Art Deco

In the 1920’s the Art Deco movement was prevalent in the design community, with its origins being France. This movement was a period of tension between the functionalists and the decorators. The functionalist was the ones that prided themselves of the efficiency and practicality side of things were mass production was key. Whereas, the decorators prided themselves on the craftsmanship and homemade aspect of things. With the sailing of the French Ocean Liner from France to the US, this movement was brought to the US.

The characteristics that can be seen in this style of design are listed below:

• Cubist/Hard lined forms
• Use of Aluminum
• Hard Angles
• Black Laquor

 

Designers that made an impact during this movement include: Maurice Dufrene, Jaques-Emile Ruhlmann, Joseph Urban, Jean Dunand, Michel Roux-Spitz, Fredrick Kiesler, Eialeen Gray, and Paul Frankl.

Below are two examples of Art Deco from the movement period.

 

 

Current Application



 



 Click Here to see a video comparing the Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles of design.

Modernism: Peer Review

Amanda M.: Reading Amanda's post about Modernism, I enjoyed how she touch a lot of different specific individuals that were seen during this era. Her visuals also helped show us what work was done and how we see it today.

Angie: I also enjoyed how Angie discussed multiple individuals and works as well during this period. It was interesting to compare her past and present use of the Barcelona chair because I could really see how that chair has changed very minimally and can go with a lot of different interior spaces.

Frank Lloyd Wright Peer Review

Micah: I really enjoyed reading Micah's post not only for the content but the way she writes brings the reader in and allows them to experience and truly understand Wright's work. Her extra credit video on his Falling Water home was very interesting. That is a home that I have seen or read about over the years and have always had interest in it.

Morgan: I enjoyed seeing her put emphasis on the horizontal elements of Wright's designs. This is something that I feel makes the Prairie Style what it is. Also, talking about the use of manufactured materials shows what kind of era it was and the resources available.

Frank Lloyd Wright 1867-1959

Frank Lloyd Wright was the man responsible for creating an "American" style architecture and vocabulary. He more so had a focus on residential homes, however he did do work in commercial. Wright was a influence and made great contributions to the modernism movement.

After working with Louis Sullivan for an amount of time Wright left Sullivan to star his own business in Oak Park, Illinois in 1896. Here he did his many works and created Prairie Style Architecture. This style possesses the following characteristics:

• Hipped roof with a strong horizontal profile
• Integration of the materials, home, and landscape
• Focus on family for interior space
• Fireplaces were the center and focus of the home
• Built in furniture was a prominent aspect
• Design of furniture was unique based off of each homeowner as well as light fixtures
• Stained glass windows

 

 

He truly utilized and focused on the importance of designing with a lot of thought and consideration with ones environment. Since he was located in Chicago and was the designer of homes in the plains and flat lands of the Midwest, we are able to see that in his designs. He used a lot of clean horizontal framed lines, natural materials, natural colors from plants in the locations, and windows in the space to allow the richness of the wood and the colors to pop.

Below are modern practices of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie Style

 

Click Here to see a short YouTube clip explaining some issues of buying a Frank Lloyd Wright home now and with concerns on their current location issues. 

 

Peer Review: Art Nouveau

Tiziri: I enjoyed reading Tiz's blog post in reference to Art Nouveau. Her style of writing and content made it very easy for myself or any other person to understand this movement of design. We also shared a similar representation of how it is seen in design today with the stair balusters, which I think shows a great representation of this style in modern times.

Stephanie: Her post on this design style was very informative and I also enjoyed her visual representations of this style. Especially the modern living room with the stair case. I felt was one of the best ones that I saw, giving us a true understanding of this in todays design. As well as the modern chair that she provide. With the natural characteristics that we can see in the wood and seat material of leather, it also combines the look of elegance and class with the gold seat back.

Art Noveau

Previously I discussed about the Arts and Crafts Movement, which was lead by designer, William Morris. He was such a good designer that he inspired another movement in the design world. This is what is known as Art Nouveau, which was beginning to be seen in the design world from 1890-1910. Not only was Art Nouveau inspired by Morris, they also got their inspiration from artists such as Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Gauguin, and Aubrey Beardsley.

Art Noveau first began in Europe where it was in a period of peace and prosperity, the leaders of this movement being Belgium and France. It also affected other areas including Germany, Spain, and Scandinavian countries. This growth allowed for a more open mind and more open expression if design, this allowed for new and experimental directions in how they went about in one's work. When looking at this type of design we can see the interest and admiration for Japanese art. Japanese art was another one of the major inspirations for this type of design. This can be seen below in the characteristics of Art Nouveau. The European architects that were involved in this movement were accomplished furniture designers. This movement was able to do mass production/factory manufacturing of their furniture, however the quality was still seen in the final product.

Characteristics of Art Nouveau are as follows:

• It is a Rejection of Victorian design.
• Design based and inspired from Nature.
• Use of modern materials (iron and glass) 
• Use of modern technology (industrial production)
• Electric Lighting
• Relationship with Fine Arts including paintings and sculptures
• Curvilinear lines are a dominant trait (Whiplash)
• Abstract forms derived from: Flowers, Vines, Shells, Bird Feathers, and Insect Wings.

During this era, Victor Horta was the most influential designer. Horta was a Belgian architect, designer, and teacher. He did a lot of unique iron rails and iron work. Also, one can see a lot of stenciling on ceiling and walls, as well as mosaic tile patterns on many surfaces of a room. While all of these seem a little out there, they were all done in a cohesive way. The Horta House in Brussels is one of his iconic works. This can been seen pictured below. It has an asymmetrical façade, twisted iron balcony, large glass window frames, and curvilinear nature related details.





    Horta House                                                  Henry Van de Velde

Below are modern examples of Art Nouveau:


 

Please Click Here to see another article on Art Nouveau.



Peer Review: Arts & Crafts Movement

Alicia: I really enjoyed how in depth Alicia's post was in covering almost all aspects of this movement. Specifically I enjoyed her discussion on the design elements and characteristics we can see while looking at this style in design. The use of words and how she explained things gave a clear definition and representation of what the Arts and Crafts movement really was. Also, to support this she choice appropriate images to give good visual examples of what it was she was discussing.

Allysia: I enjoyed the content and visuals in her post on this movement. Like Alicia's it provided me with the information needed to understand what this movement was like and how I can see it in design today. Also, the YouTube video she used in her post also gave a lot of information on this era to better help in this understanding.

Arts & Crafts Movement

While the Industrial Revolution was in full throttle, between 1800s into early 1900s, designers were 19ginning to transition away from he Victorian period and into what is now known as the Arts and Crafts Movement. Specifically, William Morris was the founding designer responsible for this movement. This movement can be characterized by a few things; they pride themselves in being completely handmade, joints in the wood are visible, the designs are strongly based off of medieval/gothic design, also influence by shaker furniture, and finally the use of high grain wood is used throughout the Arts and Crafts design. This movement was born with ideal, the idea that one gets satisfaction and respect by putting time and effort in the handmade aspect of their work. This is seen by an emphasis on all elements of a product. For example the use of high grain wood, large hardware and hinges. The name in and of itself, Arts and Crafts Movement, can tell you that they put a lot of thought and consideration into their design because it was more of craft to them. 

Hill House - 1902

Morris Chair 


Later on in the design community came the second generation of this movement, by founder Charles Voysey. This generation was gothic inspired as well, however, their was along Japanese inspiration paired along side with it. The second generation can be seen possessing characteristics of; the use of void areas and negative space, as well as possessing the same characteristics as the first generation with minor changes. Some of these changes can be seen with a more delicate touch, by using the negative space discussed above, the use of Japanese inspired characteristics, emphasis on hardware is not as defined but still prevalent.

Now a days we can still see an impact on the design community because of this Arts and Crafts Movement. One of these, which was discussed in class, is that of the Green Movement. The reason what this is true is because it was desired to improve our design for the better with the resources at hand. And with new technology, this Green movement is a change for the better, using out resources. Also, we can see this in homes specifically in kitchens, dens, libraries, and also in built-ins. Finally, this movement inspired what is known as Bungalow home.   





Influence of Arts and Crafts on furniture



Modern Influence of Arts and Craft

Click here to see an informative artivle by Emily Zaiden which goes a little more I depth on this topic.