Fathers of Modernist Architecture

In the early twentieth century, material shortages and the upheaval of war pushed designers to explore new practices. Many began to prioritize the function of a building and strip away ornament, all asking the same question: can this medium be taken somewhere beyond expectation?

Architecture had stayed steady for many years, often because of scarce resources and the need for form to follow function. But some refused to let their dreams stay in their imaginations. By pushing the boundaries of materials and new technologies, and combining art with an increasingly connected world, they built the new modernist one.

Of the early pioneers of modernist design, few names are as recognized as Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. These fathers of modern architecture blazed the trail for many of the themes that became synonymous with modernism, and their fearless devotion to pushing boundaries still inspires designers today. Here's a look at each of them and what they brought to the movement.

Walter Gropius

Born in Germany, Gropius grew up in a family of architects and joined Peter Behrens' architectural firm in 1908. It was there that he met and worked alongside fellow pioneer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

His first major work was the Fagus factory (Fagus-Werk), which made shoe lasts. The design impressed its owner, Carl Benscheidt, and laid the foundation for a career that would bring Gropius's ideas to nearly every kind of residential and commercial building.

In 1919, Gropius became head of the Grand-Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts in Weimar and soon turned it into the famous Bauhaus, a place where aspiring artists, architects and designers came to study and bring their ideas to life. Political pressure forced the school to move to Dessau in 1925, and Gropius eventually left Germany, settling in the United States in 1937.

Near Boston, he built his family home, the Gropius House, using typical New England materials like wood and brick alongside modernist features such as long ribbon windows and industrial materials like steel, glass, acoustic plaster and chrome. It stood in stark contrast to the Colonial homes around it, and its custom furniture carried through the Bauhaus philosophy of total art.

Gropius later helped design Harvard University's Graduate Center, one of the first modernist buildings at a major American university and a turning point in the acceptance of modern architecture in the US. There he combined steel and glass with limestone and brick to create courtyards and covered walkways that defined the spaces and strengthened the connection between building and landscape.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Mies van der Rohe was considered something of a savant of modernist architecture because he had no formal architectural training. His designs left no room for doubt. He rose through the ranks of German architecture, and his Barcelona Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona became one of the most famous buildings of the movement, along with homes like the Villa Tugendhat in Brno, Czech Republic.

His philosophy was built on the idea that less is more. Clean lines and wide-open spaces appear in nearly every one of his designs. For Mies, the basic structure of a building could offer the same beauty and inspiration as anything added to it.

One of his lasting legacies is the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Its gleaming glass, steel and brick buildings offer a window into the ideas that drove one of modernism's earliest leaders.

Le Corbusier

The final member of the early modernist trio was Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier. A Swiss-French architect and author, he built his very first house in 1907, at just 20 years old.

Travels across Europe led him through a series of apprenticeships, including time at Peter Behrens' firm, where he may have crossed paths with Gropius and Mies van der Rohe. He drew inspiration for his buildings and urban designs from modern engineering, including airplanes, ocean liners, automobiles and grain silos. In his most famous book, Toward an Architecture (Vers une architecture), he argued that "a house is a machine for living in."

His work shows the influence of geometric forms and spatial elements, with an emphasis on concrete construction and landscaping. He defined five points of a modern building:

1. A structure raised on concrete columns (pilotis)
2. An open floor plan
3. A free facade of non-load-bearing walls, placed wherever the design needs them
4. Ribbon windows that fill rooms with natural light
5. Roof terraces and gardens for practical use

Le Corbusier's influence reached beyond architecture into furniture. His LC Collection used leather, fabric and chrome tubing to create modernist pieces shaped around the human form.

Modernist Inspiration in Modern Times

Open floor plans, clean lines, honest materials and a focus on how people actually live: the ideas these three pioneered still shape contemporary homes, including the kitchens and interiors we build today.

Planning a space with modernist roots? Request a free consultation.