THE MASTERS OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE FROM 1900 TO 1970 Answer these questions. a. Are there any buildings where you live that can be considered modern ? b. What are its/ their main characteristics? c. Do you prefer geometrical or round-shaped buildings? Wall Street, NYC 1. MoMA: Museum of Modern Art in New York. Last century saw dramatic changes and an astonishing diversity in architecture, although the exact characteristics and origins of modern architecture are still open to interpretation and debate. Many architectural historians see modern architecture as based mainly on technological and engineering developments and the availability of new building materials, such as iron, steel and glass, which led to the invention of new building techniques. Other historians consider modern architecture a matter of taste, a reaction against the eclecticism and stylistic excesses of the Victorian Age and Art Nouveau. By the 1920s, the most important figures in modern architecture had established their reputations. The Big Four are commonly recognized as Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Germany, Le Corbusier in France and Frank Lloyd Wright in the USA. Modern architecture is usually characterized by the principle that materials and functional needs determine the result, by an emphasis of horizontal and vertical lines, the creation of ornament using the structure of the building, the simplification of form and elimination of unnecessary details and the concept that form follows function . In 1932, the important MoMA1 exhibition, the International Exhibition of Modern Architecture, drew together many distinct trends, identified them as stylistically similar and having a common purpose, and consolidated them into the International Style. While Modern Architectural Design never became a dominant style in residential buildings and in institutional and commercial architecture, it became the only acceptable design solution from about 1932 to mid 70s. The most commonly used materials were glass for the fa ade, steel for exterior support and concrete for the floors and interior supports. The style became most evident in the design of skyscrapers. Perhaps its most famous buildings include the United Nations Headquarters (Le 266 Module 8 FOUNDATIONS United Nations Headquarter, NYC Seagram Building in 1954 3