History of Architecture III - Exam 2

Paimio Tuberculosis Sanatorium (including interiors and furnishings)

Alvar Aalto

1929

Paimio, Finland

humanizing modernism; color therapy; ergonomic furniture; integrated design. Demonstrates Nordic Modernism’s warmer, more organic approach compared to stricter German functionalism

Jyvaskyla Workers’ Club

Alvar Aalto
1924

Jyvaskyla, Finland

Represents Finland’s transition from National Romanticism to the early adoption of European functionalism. Demonstrates architecture as a social instrument—mirroring working-class empowerment in early 20th-century Finland.

Vyborg Central Library 

Alvar Aalto

1927

Vyborg, Russia

Aalto refines international modernism into a regional, human-centered vocabulary. Sets precedent for “soft modernism.”

Villa Mairea 

Alvar Aalto

1937

Noormarkku, Finland

One of the strongest early examples of regional modernism. Critique of cold machine aesthetics; shows modernism can be sensual and vernacular.

Paul Poiret Bedroom

Paul Poiret (fashion designer entering interior aesthetics)

1924

Illustrates crossover between haute couture and interior design. Influential in defining Art Deco luxury.

1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs 

Establishes modern decorative aesthetic celebrating craftsmanship + industry. Launchpad for designers like Ruhlmann and Rateau. World’s fair defining the Art Deco style

Grand Salon, Pavillon d’un Collectionneur 

Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann

1925

Represents the peak of French Art Deco. Demonstrates tension between handcrafted luxury and emerging mass production.

Pavilion de L’Esprit Nouveau

Le Corbusier

1925

Manifesto for the International Style. Introduces “machine for living.” Corbusier’s critique of Art Deco excess.

Bedroom for Jeanne Lanvin

Armand-Albert Rateau

1925

Brone furniture, stylized classical motifs. Fusion of classicism and Art Deco

Maison de Verre 

Pierre Charea

1932

Glass block facade. Hybrid industrial materials and delicate details. Early high-tech interior transparency

Salon de Verre 

Eileen Gray and Paul Ruaud

1932

Mirrored surfaces, chrome, lacquer. Feminine modernism; challenge to male-dominated field

Chrysler Building

William Van Alen

1930

New York skyscraper race. Stainless-steel crown, sunburst pattern. Icon of American Art Deco verticality.

Irving Trust Banking Hall 

Ralph Walker

1932

Sculptural Art Deco interior. Early corporate modern identity.

Dining Room at Irving Place 

Elsie de Wolfe

Pastels, lightness, French neoclassical revival. Founder of modern interior decorating profession.

All-White Room

Syrie Maugham

1920s

Emphasizes light, luxury, purity. Influences Hollywood Regency.

Beistigui Apartment

Le Corbusier, Terry

1929

Surrealist penthouse in Paris. Blends high modernism with fantastical set-like interiors.

Quitandinha Hotel

Dorothy Draper

1946

Rio de Janerio, Brazil

Dramatic color palettes, Brazilian Baroque exuberance. Defines Draper’s bold American modern glamor.

Friedrich Strasse Office Tower Competition Entry

Mies van der Rohe

1921

two pioneering, unbuilt glass skyscraper designs anticipating international style

Cartesian Skyscraper

Le Corbusier

1938

design concept that used structural rationalism + urban clarity.

Emigration of Mies van der Rohe & Walter Gropius to North America

After the rise of Nazism and the closure of the Bauhaus (1933), many leading modernists fled Europe. Mies and Gropius—two of the most influential—reshaped American architectural education and helped establish the U.S. as the new global center of modernism.

Harvard Graduate School of Design

Walter Gropius

1937

Appointed chair of the architecture department.

Reorganized the curriculum around modernist principles: functional planning, rational structure, interdisciplinary collaboration.

Merged Bauhaus ideals with American educational methods.

Trained an entire generation of postwar architects who carried modernism into corporate, institutional, and residential design (e.g., The Architects Collaborative). Harvard GSD and IIT became epicenters of modernist education, producing architects who led postwar corporate modernism, International Style skyscrapers, and institutional buildings.

Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)

Mies van der Rohe

1938

Chicago

Became head of the architecture school and directed the redesign of the IIT campus. Introduced a disciplined, minimalist design pedagogy: “less is more,” structural clarity, grid rationalism. Elevated American architectural aesthetics toward pure form, material honesty, and industrial precision.

IIT Campus Plan

Mies van der Rohe

1939

Designed almost the entire campus—an unprecedented opportunity for a single architect. Rectilinear grid plan reflecting Mies’s belief in order and clarity. Steel-and-glass buildings with exposed structure, high modularity, and curtain walls.

Crown Hall

Mies van der Rohe

1956

The masterpiece of the IIT campus. Houses the architecture school; called the "temple of modernism." Clear-span structure: roof supported by external steel girders, creating an uninterrupted interior studio space. Embodies Mies’s idea of "universal space"—adaptable, open, luminous.

Seagram Building & Four Seasons Restaurant & Four Seasons Restaurant

Mies van der Rohe, Philip Johnson

1958

New York City, NY

Bronze façade, plaza, rigorous grid. Mature high modernism; luxurious corporate minimalism.

Lever House and Union Carbide 

SOM

1952

reflects the shift toward clean, rational, glass-and-steel corporate architecture. It helped establish New York as the global postwar center of architectural innovation.

General Motors Technical Center

Eero Saarinen

1949

Landmark corporate campus in Warren, Michigan.

Known for International Style modernism: flat roofs, curtain walls, modular planning.

Landscape collaboration with Thomas Church and interiors by Florence Knoll.

Represents postwar optimism, tech-driven design, and the rise of corporate modernism.

Farnsworth House

Mies van der Rohe 1945

Plano, Illinois

A paradigmatic glass-and-steel pavilion; “less is more” embodied.

Extreme minimalism, floating platform, transparency, and connection to nature.

Issues: Over-budget, not suited to flooding conditions → tensions with client Edith Farnsworth.

Glass House 

Philip Johnson

1949

New Canann, CT

Inspired by Farnsworth/Mies but with Johnson’s own interpretations.

Transparent glass walls, minimal partitions, emphasis on landscape design.

Part of a larger estate with multiple experimental buildings.

Miller House 

Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard

1957

Columbus Indiana

A precise modernist plan with a central hearth.

Girard created vibrant interiors, textiles, sunken conversation pit → iconic midcentury interior.

TWA Terminal

Eero Saarinen

1962

JFK Airport

Symbol of the Jet Age. Dramatic sculptural concrete shell evoking a bird in flight.

Sweeping curves, fluid spaces, intuitive circulation.

Example of expressive, neo-futuristic modernism

Guggenheim Museum

Frank Lloyd Wrigth

1959

New York City

Spiral ramp gallery → challenges traditional museum display.

Organic form, reinforced concrete.

Initially controversial; now iconic.

Eames House - Case Study House No. 8

Charles and Ray Eames

1949

Pacific Palisades, CA.

Modular prefabricated steel frame; colorful panels.

Designed as a living laboratory for creativity.

Interior: playful, “collage”-like, filled with objects → break from strict minimalism.

Pop Art and Consumer Culture

Richard Hamilton and Eduardo Paolozzi

British founders of Independent Group → early Pop Art.

Hamilton: “Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?” (1956)

Commentary on mass media, advertising, consumer objects.

Paolozzi: Collages using ads, comics, tech imagery → critique + celebration of consumer culture.

Florence Knoll

Architect/designer; transformed corporate interiors.

Introduced the “Knoll Look”: clean lines, modern materials, holistic design offices.

Designed iconic furniture: sofa, credenzas, planning tables.

George Nelson

Director of design for Herman Miller.

Developed the Action Office, Coconut Chair, Marshmallow Sofa.

Advocated for design as problem-solving and communication.

House of the Future

Alison & Peter Smithson

1956

A futuristic, plastic modular home shown at the Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition.

Showcased automation, built-ins, synthetic materials.

Influenced visions of postwar domestic life.

Robin Hood Gardens

Alison & Peter Smithson

1972

Example of Brutalism + “streets in the sky” housing concept.

London social housing project; controversial and eventually demolished.

Represents debate over postwar public housing.

Ministry of Education and Health

Rio

Lucio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer

1936

Early modernist icon in Latin America.

Corbusian pilotis, brise-soleil sunshades, roof garden.

Collaboration with Le Corbusier (consultant).

São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP)

São Paulo

Lina Bo Bardi,

1968

Suspended glass volume held by two iconic red beams.

Open plaza underneath → democratized public space.

Radical display system using glass easels.

Brasília

Lucio Costa + Oscar Niemeyer

1957–60

Costa’s plan shaped like a cross/airplane.

Superquadras: standardized residential blocks.

Monumental Axis: government + cultural buildings.

National Congress: twin towers + domes (one convex, one concave).

Cathedral of Brasília: hyperboloid structure.

Use of concrete for sculptural, expressive forms.

Itamaraty Palace (Palácio dos Arcos), Brasília

Niemeyer

1970

Headquarters of Brazilian Ministry of External Relations.

Monumental arches surrounding a glass box → modern + classical.

Interiors include grand stair, reflecting pools, lush landscape by Burle Marx.

Farnsworth House (Mies) vs. Glass House (Johnson)

Similarities

• Both built 1940s–50s as glass-and-steel modernist residences.

• Radical transparency → dissolve boundary between interior/exterior.

• Minimal structure, flat roof, open plan.

• Influenced by Miesian International Style.

Differences

• Farnsworth: extreme minimalism, elevated, white, rural, very restrained.

• Glass House: part of a larger estate, uses brick cylinder core, more playful, Johnson added multiple “folly” buildings.

• Farnsworth feels clinical; Glass House is curated + scenographic.

Farnsworth House (Mies) vs. Eames House (Case Study 8)

Similarities

• Postwar modernist experimentation with domestic space.

• Steel-frame technologies.

• Strong connection to landscape.

Differences

• Eames House: colorful, modular, filled with objects → “collage” aesthetic.

• Farnsworth: radical reduction, uniform materials, no ornament.

• Eames celebrates domestic life; Mies suppresses it.

Glass House (Johnson) vs. Eames House (Eames)

Similarities

• Iconic American modern houses.

• Both integrate architecture + landscape.

Differences

• Glass House: transparent box, minimal.

• Eames: playful, patterned, filled with textiles/objects.

• Johnson references European modernism; Eameses create a uniquely American, humanist modernism.

Miller House (Saarinen/Girard) vs. Eames House

Similarities

• Vibrant, personalized interiors.

• Collaboration with designers (Girard textiles vs. Eames objects).

• Postwar modern domesticity.

Differences

• Miller House: formal, geometric, sunken conversation pit, high-end luxury.

• Eames House: more informal, modular, lived-in.

• Miller House is deeply programmed; Eames is flexible + experimental.

GM Technical Center vs. TWA Terminal

Similarities

• Both Saarinen projects.

• Show the evolution of his design language.

• Integrate architecture + new industrial technologies.

Differences

• GM Center: rectilinear, modular, International Style corporate campus.

• TWA Terminal: sculptural, expressive concrete shell.

• GM = order + rationality.

• TWA = emotion + movement.

TWA Terminal vs. Guggenheim Museum (Wright)

Similarities

• Highly sculptural forms.

• Concrete used expressively.

• Challenge conventional circulation.

Differences

• Guggenheim: continuous ramp, organic geometry.

• TWA: evokes flight, branching plan, dramatic vaults.

• Wright = organic; Saarinen = futuristic.

MASP (Lina Bo Bardi) vs. Itamaraty Palace (Niemeyer)

Similarities

• Bo Bardi’s attention to social purpose.

• Integration of interior + exterior.

Differences

• Glass House: domestic, light, nestled in landscape.

• MASP: massive urban presence, heavy red beams, public museum.

• Scale: intimate home vs civic monumental landmark.

Brasília (Niemeyer + Costa) vs. Robin Hood Gardens (Smithsons)

Similarities

• Both attempt utopian social planning.

• Responses to postwar societal needs.

Differences

• Brasília: top-down, monumental, civic symbolism.

• Robin Hood Gardens: bottom-up social housing theories (“streets in the sky”).

• Brasília celebrates the state; RHG addresses low-income residents.

• RHG was criticized → demolished; Brasília is UNESCO listed.

Seagram Building vs. Lever House

Similarities

1. International Style Modernism

• Both use glass-and-steel curtain walls.

• Both emphasize structural clarity, minimal ornament, and clean geometry.

2. Urban Corporate Headquarters

• Designed for major corporations (Seagram → liquor company, Lever House → Lever Brothers).

• Located on Park Avenue, influencing the corporate identity of the avenue.

3. Public plaza + set-back innovation

• Lever House introduced the idea with its open ground-level and raised slab.

• Seagram refined the concept with a major plaza that set a new standard for zoning.

4. Curtain Wall Construction

• Both are early and influential examples of true curtain-wall façades in the U.S.

5. Represent postwar corporate modernity

• Sleek, rational, elegant → symbolize professionalism and progress.

Differences

1. Aesthetic Expression

• Seagram Building (Mies)

• Tall, bronze-colored, uniform verticality.

• Extremely refined proportioning (Mies’s obsession with detail).

• Decorative bronze I-beams express the façade’s structural rhythm.

• Lever House (SOM)

• Light green heat-resistant glass curtain wall.

• Horizontal + vertical volumes: slab tower rising from a low base.

• Lighter, more playful early modernist expression.

2. Massing + Form

• Seagram

• Simple setback rectangular tower rising from a broad plaza.

• Strong, monolithic presence.

• Lever House

• A podium + slab composition:

• A 3-story horizontal base

• A thin slab tower above

• More dynamic interplay of shapes.

3. Plaza + Urban Influence

• Seagram

• Created a formal public plaza—a radical move that influenced NYC zoning (1961 Zoning Resolution bonus for plazas).

• Plaza becomes part of the architectural experience.

• Lever House

• While open at ground level, it does not create a formal plaza like Seagram.

• Its base volume is lifted on pilotis, creating openness but not a civic forecourt

4. Materials

• Seagram

• Luxurious: bronze, marble, travertine.

• Extremely expensive for a corporate tower.

• Lever House

• Economical: glass, steel, and aluminum curtain wall.

• Emphasizes efficiency and technology over luxury.

5. Influence + Legacy

• Lever House

• First fully glass curtain-wall skyscraper on Park Ave.

• Pioneered the typology.

• Seagram Building

• Considered the masterpiece and refinement of the modern office tower.

• Its proportions, plaza, and detailing became the gold standard internationally.

Paimio Tuberculosis Sanatorium vs. Ministry of Education and Health

SIMILARITIES

1. Early Modernist Landmarks

• Both represent major architectural shifts in their countries and become national symbols of modernism.

2. Functionalist Approaches

• Each building’s form follows its function:

• Ministry → office/administrative efficiency

• Paimio → healing environment for TB patients

3. Climatic + Environmental Considerations

• Ministry uses brise-soleil sun shading for tropical climate.

• Paimio uses orientation + natural ventilation for patient recovery.

4. Social Purpose

• Ministry symbolizes modernization and progressive governance.

• Paimio embodies public health reform with architecture serving wellbeing.

5. Incorporation of Modern Materials

• Both use reinforced concrete as a flexible modernist material.

DIFFERENCES

1. DESIGN INTENT / PRIMARY PURPOSE

• Ministry of Education and Health

• Civic/government building

• Represents Brazil’s national modernization

• Symbol of institutional power

• Paimio Sanatorium

• Healthcare facility for TB patients

• Focused entirely on healing, rest, comfort

• Human-centered and therapeutic

2. ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION

• Ministry

• Bold, urban, monumental modernism

• Strong vertical tower + open pilotis

• Brise-soleil, glass curtain walls

• Public plaza + art integration (murals, gardens by Burle Marx)

• Paimio

• Human-scaled modernism

• Horizontal wings and terraces to capture sunlight

• Soft colors, calming interiors, organic shapes

• Designed almost like a “medical machine” for healing

3. APPROACH TO CLIMATE + ENVIRONMENT

• Ministry

• Tropical adaptation of Corbusian modernism

• Brise-soleil panels adjust for sun

• Orientation for ventilation and shading

• Paimio

• Northern European climate

• Patient rooms oriented east for morning light

• Roof terrace for sun therapy

• Quiet ventilation and acoustics designed for recovery

4. ROLE OF INTERIORS

• Paimio (HUGE difference)

• Aalto designs everything:

• Paimio chair for patients

• Rounded sinks to reduce splash noise

• Warm, natural materials

• Interior = medical tool for healing

• Highly sensitive to patient psychology

• Ministry

• Interior is more conventional for office work

• Not emotionally-driven design; focuses on efficiency + public image

• Interiors support administrative function

5. RELATIONSHIP TO CONTEXT

• Ministry

• Urban landmark in downtown Rio

• Announces Brazil’s modernization to the world

• Works with city grid + tropical garden landscape

• Paimio

• Secluded forest site

• Architecture integrated with nature for recovery

• Isolation is part of the medical cure strategy