3 THE MASTERS OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE FROM 1900 TO 1970 Are there any buildings where you live that can be considered modern ? What are its/their main characteristics? The UN Headquarters is located in an international territory in Manhattan. It is 154 m. tall and was designed by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier. Surf the net to get more information about Oscar Niemeyer. ONLINE RESOURCES Art Deco in America availability: disponibilità lack: mancanza matter: questione organic: organico, naturale Historical overview 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. The Big Five By the 1930s, the most important figures in modern architecture had established their reputations. The Big Five are commonly recognized as Frank Lloyd Wright in the USA, Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Germany, Le Corbusier in France and Alvar Aalto in Finland. General characteristics 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 Einstein Tower, Posdam, Germany 306 HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE Seagram Building the concept that form follows function . The most commonly used materials were glass for the fa ade, steel for exterior support and concrete for the floors and interior supports. The key event Modern Architecture: International Exhibition is the title of an exhibition that took place in 1932 at the MoMA in New York City. The exhibition introduced an emerging architectural style characterized by simplified geometry and a lack of ornamentation, known as the International Style . While this innovative style was never dominant in residential buildings, it became the only acceptable design solution in institutional and commercial architecture from 1932 to the mid 1970s. The style became most evident in the design of skyscrapers such as the United Nations Headquarters and the Seagram Building, both in New York City. Organic architecture During the middle of the 20th century, some architects began experimenting in organic forms that harmonized with the natural landscape. Frank Lloyd Wright, Oscar Niemeyer , Alvar Aalto and Eero Saarinen were three of the most prolific and important architects and designers in this movement called Organic Modernism .