Modern Architecture: Everything You Need to Know

Jun 13, 2023

By Katherine McLaughlin

Despite what it might sound like, modern architecture is not buildings or structures designed within the last few years. “Modern architecture comes from a historical moment,” explains Andrew Heid, founding principal of the New York–based firm No Architecture and member of the AD Pro Directory. “In the history of architecture, modern architecture begins in the 17th century and extends until the mid 20th century, ending in about the 1950s.” Even so, the movement remains one of the most notable and popular architectural styles of the present day. In this guide from AD, learn about the origins and history of modern architecture, visit famous examples, and discover the lasting impact of modern architects.

Modern architecture is the architectural style that dominated the Western world between the 1930s and the 1960s and was characterized by an analytical and functional approach to building design. Buildings in the style are often defined by flat roofs, open floor plans, curtain windows, and minimal ornamentation. Architects of the time were guided by the “rule” that “form follows function,” which prompted designers to consider what a building should achieve for the user before what it should look like. The aesthetic look of modern buildings was heavily correlated with a set of social-political philosophies including the idea that buildings could be the answers to deep-rooted social inequalities. The style is also often called the international style or international modernism.

The National Gallery, designed by Mies Van der Rohe

“For me, modern architecture is most succinctly summarized by Peter Blake, who was the former chief curator of architecture design at MoMA, in the introduction to a book he wrote in the 1970s called The Three Master Builders,” says Heid. “He argued that modern architecture came into existence in the 19th century when the modern metropolis created new functions and new typologies that never existed before—for example, the stock exchange, the prison, the railroad station, or the hospital—and therefore required new form or expression or style.”

The emergence of modernist design is largely credited to a group of European architects, most notably Swiss French architect Le Corbusier and German American architect Walter Gropius. Gropius founded the Bauhaus school in Germany, which taught the design style and school of thought that heavily influenced modernist design. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, another powerhouse of modern architecture who also taught at the Bauhaus and worked as its third and final director, was also heavily influential. “[Modernists] eventually fled Germany and came to the US because of the Nazis, and that’s really how modernism came to the United States and then made its way from the East Coast to West Coast,” explains Joe Dangaran, cofounder of Los Angeles–based Woods + Dangaran and member of the AD Pro Directory.

Farnsworth House, a modernist glass structure, designed by Mies Van der Rohe

By the 1930s the style spearheaded by these men was spreading throughout the United States, and American architect Philip Johnson curated an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York called “Modern Architecture: International Exhibition,” which showcased the new style or architecture defined by geometric forms and minimal ornamentation. From here, both the terms international style and modern architecture were born, and the exhibit expressed the fundamental principles of modern design. Louis Sullivan, an influential Chicago School architect and mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, coined the term “form follows function” in 1893, which ultimately became an important tenement for the modernist movement. “A big part of modern design was making homes more comfortable and healthy,” explains Dangaran. At the time, plenty of natural light and open space weren’t a given, and the modern style sought to include these elements in order to make the people living inside feel happier and healthier. “Indoor-outdoor connection, connection to the landscape, to natural light…that was really modernism that brought that into architecture,” Dangaran says.

The interior of Farnsworth House. A core principle of modern homes was an open floor plan.

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Mayer Rus

With these aesthetic elements also came structural developments, many of which are still used in contemporary architecture to this day. “The structural innovation of modernism is that they started using either thin concrete, reinforced concrete with steel, or just a steel structure themselves, and they brought the structure off of the envelope of the building, so walls were no longer needed to hold up the building,” Dangaran says. Prior to this most buildings were designed with thick load-bearing walls, and this evolution allowed for greater experimentation with the layout and form of a building. Along with this change came the opportunity for curtain windows and other large openings, fully transforming what was previously possible. “With the invention of this structural steel frame, that was the big breakthrough,” says Heid. “You could fill it with glass, and that’s really what the international style and modernist buildings are about to me.”

In the early 1920s, Corbusier published a manifesto titled the “Five Points of Architecture,” originally appearing in a publication the architect cofounded, L’Esprit Nouveau. In the seminal essay, Corbusier explored five key elements of design that he believed should be the foundation for this new architectural style—many of which concern the structural change Dangaran and Heid noted—and went on to be extremely influential during the modern movement. The principles were as follows:

Buildings are raised on a set of reinforced pilots (or pillars) for ground floor circulation and to make room for cars or gardens.

Essentially an open floor plan, this principle related to a structural development and the removal of load-bearing partition walls, allowing flexibility of the interior living spaces.

The structure is separated from the walls, allowing for more flexibility for windows and openings.

Horizontal ribbon windows extend along the facade, offering a more balanced lighting and a greater sense of space.

Modern homes should include roof gardens, which are flat roofs that allow for additional living space.

Villa Savoye

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Mayer Rus

No building exemplifies these ideals quite like Villa Savoye, designed by Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret. Located on the outskirts of Paris, the home follows Corbusier’s five points and features pilotis made from reinforced concrete, horizontal windows, a free floor plan and façade, and a roof garden.

A contemporary home designed by Andrew Heid featuring many elements seen in modernist homes including floor-to-ceiling windows, a flat roof, and connection with nature.

In many ways, modernism was the built expression of a series of utopian social ideas, many of which were based on the ideas that buildings could improve and change social inequalities. Postmodernism rejected this idea, and rather sought to explore architecture from an eccentric and sometimes humorous perspective. As Owen Hopkins, an architectural writer and curator and author of multiple books including Postmodern Architecture: Less Is a Bore, told AD about the emergence of postmodern design, “The idea that one could simply build a better world had very much run its course.”

The Eames House, the home and studio of pioneering designers Charles and Ray Eames

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Mayer Rus

To better understand modern architecture, consider the following elements often seen in this style of design.

This home, designed by Woods + Dangaran, takes inspiration from modernism.

In addition to the breakthrough structural advancements, there are many aesthetic components of modern design that are signifiers of the style.

In addition to Villa Savoye, the following are among the most recognizable and notable examples of modernist design:

The Seagram Building

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Mayer Rus

Designed by two of the biggest modernist architects of the time, the Seagram Building in New York is the epitome of modernism in a skyscraper. Its impact was notable from the minute it was completed, and The New York Times even went so far as to say it is one of the city’s “most copied buildings.”

The Barcelona Pavilion

The Barcelona Pavilion is noted for its use of many luxurious materials—such as onyx and travertine—in conjunction with its simple form. The structure was designed as the German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition.

Fallingwater

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Mayer Rus

A pioneer of midcentury modernism, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater is one of the most influential residential homes ever built. Though it incorporates elements of organic architecture as well, it was designed following many of the principles of modernism and can be viewed as an evolution of the style.

The Glass House in the fall

The Glass House by Philip Johnson is one of the best examples of the structural advancements that came about during the modern movement. No longer load-bearing, the glass walls are the standout feature of the property.