Each era in history is represented by grandiose structures, however, it is the architecture of the 20th century that is characterized by the fact that it has reached completely new heights - from soaring skyscrapers to innovative design structures. It began at the turn of the 20th century with one of the first trends known as modern, combining functionalism with aesthetic ideals, but rejecting the classical commandments. He tried to combine the principles underlying architectural design with the trends of rapid technological progress and the modernization of society as a whole.
In general, the architecture of the 20th century is a comprehensive movement that has taken the form of numerous design schools, trends and diverse styles. Among the important names of people who have become reformers in architectural art and paved the way for original designs and cutting-edge innovations are Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies
van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan,
Oscar Niemeyer and Alvar Aalto.
So, first of all, the architecture of the 20th century is represented by a movement known as architectural modernism and covering the period from the 1900s to the 1970-1980s (in European countries and Russia). It includes several areas (functionalism and constructivism, brutalism and rationalism, organic architecture , the Bauhaus and Art Deco, an international style), but all of them share common characteristics.
Architectural modernism sought to create a house design that followed outside of classical ideas and was inspired by the location, the functions of future structures, and their environment. “Form follows function” (words by Louis Sullivan, meaning that the design idea should be based directly on the functional purpose of the construction object). For example, Frank Lloyd Wright was known for the fact that when designing houses, he primarily focused on the place on which they were going to build the building. He said that it should be “together with the earth”, that is, be one whole.
The architecture of the beginning of the 20th century also includes the following unifying characteristics for the above-mentioned areas - this is the use in construction of the latest technologically advanced building materials (for example, reinforced concrete), the absence of decorative details, in other words, no historical reminiscences in the appearance of houses that should have simple clear forms.
The architecture of the 20th century in Russia was popularized in the form of constructivism, which especially flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. Constructivism combined advanced technology and new aesthetics with communist philosophy and the social goals of a state under construction. One of the founders of the movement is Konstantin Melnikov, who designed the famous Melnikov House in Moscow, which is a symbol of constructivism and the Soviet avant-garde in general. Although the movement was divided into several competing schools, many remarkable buildings were built during its existence until it fell out of favor with the leaders of the USSR around 1932. But constructivist effects can also be found in later Soviet architecture.
Since the early 1980s, architecture of the 20th century has been experiencing certain difficulties in terms of structural systems (services, energy, technology), and has become a multidisciplinary discipline with specializations for each individual project type. In addition, the separation in the architectural profession manifested itself in the architect-designer and designer, guaranteeing that the future construction project meets all the necessary technological standards. But, of course, the main and dominant problem that has deeply affected modern architecture is its environmental sustainability.