Rationalism

RationalismRevisionThe movement known as Rationalism gathered the most important personalities of 20th centurys architecture. Their work and their theory are individual but they have in common the simplicity of the forms because each form belongs to a function.They use highly industrialised materials, especially concrete. The decorative elements disappear in favour of the straight and nude form. There is a worry about proportion, simplicity and asymmetry. The internal space is based of the free plan with interior walls that curve and move freely, adapting to the different functions. Adolf LoosAdolf Loos(December 10, 1870-August 23, 1933) was one of the most influential European architects of the late 19th century and is often noted for his literary discourse that foreshadowed the foundations of the entire modernist movement. As an architect, his influence is primarily limited to major works in his home country ofAustria,but as a writer he had a major impact on the development of 20th century architecture, producing a series of controversial essays that elaborated on his own architectural style by decrying ornament and a range of social ills.Adolf Looss minimalist attitudes are reflected in the works ofLe Corbusier,Mies van der Rohe, and many other modernists and led to a fundamental shift in the way architects perceived ornamentation

Mies van der RoheMies van der Rohe, was linked to the Bauhaus and is one of the best representatives of Rational architecture. His work was revolutionary from the very beginning, when he started designing an office building in Berlin (1919). After that he designed houses and in 1929 he built the German Pavilion for Barcelonas Universal Exhibition. In this building he demonstrated the right use of modern materials, with clear volumes and the wall as a curtain instead of the traditional wall.

Le CorbusierLe Corbusier was born in Switzerland even if a majority of his work was developed in France. He learnt the use of concrete and soon he began with the series production. He also designed cities for a concrete number of inhabitants (about three million). In 1926 he made one of his most representative works Ville Savoye, that consists of a concrete structure of Mediterranean inspiration.

DE STIJL

SYNOPSIS

The Netherlands-based De Stijl movement embraced an abstract, pared-down aesthetic centered in basic visual elements such as geometric forms and primary colors. Partly a reaction against the decorative excesses ofArt Deco, the reduced quality of De Stijl art was envisioned by its creators as a universal visual language appropriate to the modern era, a time of a new, spiritualized world order. Led by the paintersTheo van Doesburg andPiet Mondrian- its central and celebrated figures - De Stijl artists applied their style to a host of media in the fine and applied arts and beyond. Promoting their innovative ideas in their journal of the same name, the members envisioned nothing less than the ideal fusion of form and function, thereby making De Stijl in effectthe ultimate style.

The Schroder HouseThe Schroder House is the only building that was designed in complete accordance with the De Stijl style, which was marked by primary colors and pure ideas. Founded in 1917, the movement was named after a periodical that became the most influential voice for the ideals of modern art and architecture inthe Netherlands; other famous people of the movement include Piet Mondrian and J.J.P. Oud. The group of artists and architects sought for the universal, as the individual was losing its significance abstraction, precision, geometry, striving towards artistic purity and austerity.