How modernism has changed architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How modernism has changed architecture - Essay Example The word â€Å"modernism† is used as the synonym to the â€Å"modern architecture† or as the name of the style (in English literature- modern). The style is characterized by free and natural forms (Picture. 1). Modernism in architecture includes such branches as European functionalism of 1920-1930s, constructivism and rationalism of 1920s in Russia, the movement â€Å"Bauhaus† in Germany, the artdeco style, international style, brutalism, organic architecture. Thus, every of these phenomena is one of the branches of one tree that is called modernism in architecture. The main representatives of the modernism in architecture are the pioneers of the modern architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Adolph Georg Gropius, Richard Joseph Neutra, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier; Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto, Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida de Niemeyer Soares Filho (Crouch, 2000). Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, 1887-1965) is a French architect with Sweden origin, a pioneer of modernism, a representative of the international style of architecture, a painter and a designer. The great popularity of the work of Le Corbusier can be explained by his universal approach and social meaning of his propositions. It is impossible not to mention his contribution, which revealed free forms in architecture. He stated: â€Å"modern life demands, and is waiting for, a new kind of plan, both for the house and the city† (cited in Le Corbusier). Under the influence of his projects and the buildings he designed the perception of architects changed and they start using free forms in architecture more frequently. One of the buildings, which perfectly reflect his ideas, is Villa Savoye (Picture 2): â€Å"Villa Savoye is Purist to the extreme–a stark white floating box pierced by symmetrical horizontal window openings. The house is devoid of decoration a nd visual interest is created by the play of