Contemporary Design

Frank Gehry is one of the most well-known Deconstructivists. Deconstructivism is postmodern architecture that began in the 1980s. Not only has Gehry designed some of the most amazing buildings during this design movement, but he has received many awards for his work. 

Gehry House

One of his most famous works is actually his own house in Los Angeles, California. It was renovated from 1978-1988 and was originally built as a bungalow home in the 1920s. He wanted to explore new options with the materials he was already using. He chose to wrap the house in a new material but still have the old material showing. Most of the neighbors were not happy having such an odd looking home in their neighborhood.

Guggenheim Museum

Another one of his famous pieces is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. When presented with the project, Gehry was told to make it daring an innovative. One thing that really stands out are all the curves. Gehry wanted this all to be random, and used them mostly to catch light. The museum is made of glass, titanium, and limestone.

The main goal during this design period was to use materials in ways that we normally wouldn't use them, to make shapes that we normally wouldn't see on buildings, and to make pieces of art out of buildings. You can see in this two other buildings that are similar to Gehry's pieces, that all architects have the same concept in mind.

Rise of the Interior Decorator

In the past, interiors were put together by the architect. Throughout time though, home owners were wanting more of a professional to focus on good use of space and the user's well being. It was mainly just the upper class that would use Interior Decorators. There are 3 people that really founded the career and made it what it is today from their expertise and style. 

The House in Good Taste - 1913

Elsie de Wolfe was one of the first Interior Decorators. She was educated in New York and Edinburgh. She originally wanted to be an actresses and then pursued Interior Design. Her speciality was restoring Victorian interiors into light and bright spaces using French furniture. The picture above is from one of her most famous homes, "The House in Good Taste"

The Braziliance Commode - 1939

Dorothy Draper styled traditional furniture in non-traditional ways. Her style was very fun and appealing, she was known for her dramatic use of black and white on walls, flooring and upholstered pieces. Her friends encouraged her to design other homes after she had styled her own. She used clear vivid colors and designed like the modern baroque movement. The above home was designed for The Quitandinha, a resort near Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Garden in Hell - 1955

Another famous designer that helped start the career was Billy Baldwin. He used a restricted color scheme and used more of a clean-cut, hard-edged look. He mostly designed for the middle class but he did have some famous clients. The above home is Diana Vreeland's Park Avenue home where he paired with Diana to find bold furniture to match the apartment.

Peer Discussions: 

I read through Ali's blog and I really liked how she focused on Dorothy Draper. It really showed me
Dorothy's sense of style throughout her different designs.

I also liked how Paige showed a chair from this time and current applications of the chair.

Modernism in America

The founding fathers of modernism all eventually moved to the US. Even though modernism was not very accepted in the US at the time, now we look at their designs as monumental. At the time it was almost a futuristic look and people didn't really go for it. In Illinois though we see a lot of work from Frank Lloyd Wright because he worked out of the Chicago Suburbs. By the 1920s and 1930s though, he was so known around the world that he started branching out and building houses elsewhere. 

Interior of the Hollyhock House

The Hollyhock house was built right when he returned from Japan in the 20s. You can tell in the stylign of the home that Japan had a huge impact on how he designed. This home was built in Los Angeles, California. This is different form his normal work, but still ties in well.

The Millard House

The Millard House was built in Pasadena, California. Just like with the Hollyhock house, Wright was moving away from the Prairie Style homes and moving more into the Textile Block homes. He used concrete as his new building material.

This is a current modern Japanese inspired home. I'm comparing it to the Hollyhock house. Even though a lot of the shapes and things they use are different, you can see a similarity in colors. 

This is a current modern concrete house that we might see today. Concrete houses are becoming more popular because not only are they more durable, but they are actually cheaper to build. Even though concrete homes were introduced long ago, they still are "modern" and therefore, most people are refusing the accept the style and sticking with wood framed housing. Modern nowadays is know as "cold".

Peer Discussions: 

I reviewed Nicole's blog. I really liked how she showed furniture that she felt looked modern, and not just furniture we were shown in class.

I also viewed Flor's blog and I liked how she added what she liked about each of the spaces.

Art Deco

Art Deco became a very popular style after WWI in France. You can spot Art Deco by noticing it's rich colors and different diagonal patterns. By WWII Art Deco was becoming popular in other countries. It was influenced by Art Nouveau, and like Art Nouveau, people were very hesitant to become accepting of this particular design because of how different it was. 

Salon des Artistes Decorateurs

Salon des Artistes Decorateurs was built in Paris in 1928. It is the essence of Art Deco design showing all types of it. Most Art Deco pieces included chevron shapes, zig-zags, folding screens, skyscraper furniture, large mirrors, and prominent light fixtures using modern materials. The space was designed by architect Michel Roux-Spitz.

Senna Chair 1925

One major step that designers thought about during Art Deco was the body and what is comfortable. You will see more chair with a slope to them to support the body better. This chair was designed by Gunnar Asplund, a Scandinavian designer. In this chair you can see the curved seat, a high back, and stubby arms. All of these characteristics were big parts of the Art Deco Movement.

In the above pictures you will see a modern Art Deco living room, and a modern Art Deco bathroom. Certain characteristics that make this Art Deco would be the large mirrors and skyscraper furniture in the living room, and in the bathroom, the tiles and mirror on the wall are big indicators. Most modern Art Deco is also black and white.

I had mentioned earlier that Art Deco was based off of Art Nouveau. If you would like more information on the big differences between them, check out this video!

Art Nouveau vs. Art Deco

The Emergence of Modernism

The Emergence of Modernism was a new direction of design. The designers wanted to use clarity and force to achieve movement. These designers felt that traditional styles were becoming outdated compared to the new environment of the industrialized world. 

One designer that was very influential in the United States during this movement was Frank Lloyd Wright. He worked out of the Chicago area for most of his career. He did projects in other states and also Japan. He was famous for his prairie style houses.

Frank Lloyd Wright's home with studio addition

This home is located in Oak Park, Illinois. When the home was bought it was much smaller, they expanded the home itself, and also with the studio addition. After the family lived here the space was converted into apartments and then restored back to it's original use. Now they give tours of the space and you can see the space as it looked when he lived there.

 Stained glass window at Dana Thomas House

Another thing that Frank Lloyd Wright was famous for was the stained glass he used for windows in his homes. This particular window is at the front of the Dana Thomas house in Springfield, Illinois. Most of his work is inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement and it is all handcrafted. 

Home designed by Taliesin West students.

When designing a modern home, some could use some of Frank Lloyd Wright's work to inspire them. Students at Taliesin West. Even though this is not a prairie style home, Frank Lloyd Wright did have some homes that looked like this, for example, the Fallingwater home in Pennsylvania. 

Fallingwater, Pennsylvania (model)

Inside of a modern home

The inside of most of Frank Lloyd Wright's homes were just like the Arts and Crafts movement, except not everything was hand crafted. This is a modern look at something that could have been inspired by either Frank Lloyd Wright or an Arts and Crafts home. You can see all the wood work and also the detailing on the ceiling and arch of the doorway. The sloped ceiling is also something that Frank Lloyd Wright would have done because all of his homes had multiple levels, some up to 6. Most of the homes however didn't look like it had as many levels as it did, so he had to get creative with the slopes and levels of the ceilings. 

Here is a computer graphics video I found of the Fallingwater house he built.

Fallingwater

Peer Discussions:

I like how Katie went through all the different designers throughout this time. Each of them had their own style so it was nice seeing the different homes/buildings they all worked on.

I also liked how Sammy N focused on the furniture that Wright created. I mentioned it briefly but he really did have his own unique style in furniture. 

Deutscher Werkbund Movement

The Deutscher Werkbund Movement was founded in Munich, Germany in 1892. By 1899, the design had spread to Vienna, Austria and Berlin, Germany as well. Deutscher Werkbund (translation German workshop) was focused on having the highest quality design to the mass produced output. We can compare this movement to the Arts and Crafts movement, but this time they chose to use machines to achieve designs. 

Stoclet Palace: Brussels (1905-1911)

Josef Hoffmann designed this home for Adolphe Stoclet. The amazing thing about this house was that Josef Hoffmann designed everything for it. Including the structure of the building its self, the interior, and also the furniture for the home.

Morris Chair (1905)

Josef Hoffmann also decided to remodel the Morris Chair that was designed by Philip Webb. This particular chair is made out of beech wood and has a ratcheted back. We can still see the high chair back design that was popular in most chairs during the Arts and Crafts movement.

This is a modern chair that resembles the Kubus Chair designed by Josef Hoffmann in 1910. Even though the original chair is coming back as a modern style, this chair has the same shape and more clean cut lines than the original. The features of the chair are that it is square and fully upholstered. 

Bart Canapé Chair - designed by Barb Schilder. 2012.

This modern chair reminds me of the Palais Stoclet chair. It goes against the cube shape of normal chairs and has the angular back just like the Palais Stoclet chair used in the Great Hall.

The Vienna Secession was a movement to protest against Historicism but not using Art Nouveau. The group of designers that followed this movement were Joseph Olbrich, Gustav Klimt, Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, Josef Hoffmann, and Koloman Moser. The Secession Building was designed by Joseph Olbrich and was designed to symbolize "proto-modern". It was built in 1897. Here is a video I found of some detailing of the outside of the building. 

Secession Building

Peer Discussions: 

I like how in Sammy's blog she showed different patterns being used against each other in her modern picture of a bedroom. Different patterns were something huge with some designers.

I also like in Ali's blog, the 2nd "Today's Applications" picture she used. I see a lot of different pieces of furniture that were modernized from this movement, that were used for different things. This picture brings all of those pieces together.

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau was a style of architecture and design that was popular between 1890 and 1910. Belgium and France started the movement and Germany, Spain, and the Scandinavian countries followed. They rejected Victorian styles, used more iron and glass, used painting and sculptures, and also used industrial production (unlike the Arts and Crafts movement).

Victor Horta was known for his design in Art Nouveau. He also stenciled walls and ceilings. This picture is of the Horta house that was built between 1898 and 1901. This was the former home and studio of Horta in Brussels.

Horta also is known for his construction of Hôtel Tassel in Brussels in 1892-1893. Hôtel Tassel was one of the first examples of Art Nouveau. The above picture is the stairwell where you can see many curved lines and unique iron railings. The designs on the wall give the area a nature feel.

You can still see the Art Nouveau style today in Paris. Hector Guimard designed the Metro Subway signs that are seen outside in the city. As well as with Victor Horta's design, you can see many curved lines. Its all made out of iron or metal, and the lights look like flower buds which help with the nature feel.

You can also see Art Nouveau in this modern bathroom between the style of the sink, the floor, and the walls. You will probably only see this particular design in higher end homes, mainly because of how much detailing there is. 

I found it cool how in class we were shown Art Nouveau in not only Interior Design but in fashion as well. Here is a video of a fashion show at London Fashion Week in 2012/2013. All Art Nouveau inspired. 

London Fashion Week

Peer Discussions:

I was really interested in the pictures Rose found for her blog of modern applications. One of her pictures looked like it belonged in a story book.

I also looked at Justine's blog and liked how she showed Art Nouveau in each of the countries it was popular in. 

Arts and Crafts

The Arts and Crafts Movement was a period where designers could show their individualism in craftsmanship and design. The period emerged during the late Victorian period as a revolt against industrial life. Arts and Crafts designers wanted to improve standards of decorative design.

You can see from this picture that there was a lot of heavy woodwork that went into making an interior complete. William Morris led this movement and not only was he a designer, he also produced textiles and wallpaper.

"Pink and Rose" designed in 1890 as a single color design. In 1893 adapted as a polychrome pattern.

William printed his wallpapers by hand using a pear-wood block.

The Morris Chair was developed around 1866. A designer from William Morris's firm, Morris and Company designed this. His name was Philip Webb. This chair has a reclining back and high arm rests. The original Morris Chair had dark woodwork, turned spindles and decorated upholstery.

The Arts and Crafts Movement can be seen today in design, still having the heavy woodwork feel to it. The U.S. does use machines though to create the furniture, so you won't see as much detailing. The upholstery and wall coverings are also bare, not showing too much design.

The Morris Chair is also still seen today in homes. Like with the rooms, you won't see as much detailing in the woodwork or the upholstery. 

Not only does the Arts and Crafts Movement take up the interior of a house but it can also show on the outside. Here is a link to a modern Arts and Crafts home video. It will show pictures of the outside and inside. 

Arts and Crafts Home

Peer Discussions: 

I looked through Alex's blog and I love the picture she found for her modern Arts and Crafts picture. I like how it shows a lighter woodwork being used instead of the very dark wood we see in most designs. 

I also read through Flor's blog and absolutely loved how she compared William Morris's wallpaper to Lilly Pulitzer designs. Even though we don't see the flower wallpaper today, we still do see the designs in other places such as purses, bags, clothing, etc.