Form and Function Stage 1 Lecture Contextual and

Form and Function Stage 1 Lecture Contextual and Critical Studies Andrea Peach

Modernism Dominant ideology throughout western industrialised world in art, design and architecture for most of the twentieth century

How things used to look …

Adolf Loos 1928 Essay on Ornament and Crime: “Evolution is synonymous with the removal of ornament from objects of everyday use”

Adolf Loos 1901 “A plain piece of furniture is more beautiful than all the inlaid and carved museum pieces” Armoire - Vienna, Austria

Adolf Loos 1928 Steiner House - Vienna, Austria

Louis Sullivan 1896 “It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic, of all things physical and metaphysical, of all things human and things superhuman… that form ever follows function, This is the law …”

Form and Function Louis Sullivan 1896 “Form and function are one …” Guarantee Building, Buffalo New York, 1895

Modernism USE should determine the FORM of an object If an object is made to function well it will by definition be beautiful (also referred to as Functionalism)

Rules of Modernist Design Objects should be: • simple, honest and direct • Well adapted to their purpose • No ornament

Rules of Modernist Design • Standardised • Machine-made • Reasonably priced • Expressive of their structure and materials

Marcel Breuer 1926 Nesting Tables Germany Nickel-plated steel and lacquered wood

Mies van der Rohe 1927 Cantilever Chair Germany Chrome-plated tubular steel, oil cloth

1946 “Here is gay, sparkling furniture that brings new beauty and charm into your kitchen … it’s the kind that seems to stay new looking indefinitely” Howell ‘Chromasteel’ USA

Greta von Nessen 1952 ‘Anywhere lamp’ Germany Aluminum and enameled metal

2006 … Ocean - Bianco Table / Gamma Chairs - chromed tubular steel frame

Modernism A term used to refer to the principle that nothing is included in a design that does not enhance the object’s purpose

Marianne Brandt 1924 Tea infuser Germany, Bauhaus

Deutscher Werkbund 1929 Die Form = The Form

Die Wohnung Stuttgart 1927

Weissenhof Seidlung 1927 Walter Gropius / Marcel Breuer Mies van der Rohe

Giso lights 1928 Rotterdam The Netherlands

Machine Age 1920 s “Machines are replacing hand work; the spheres are smooth; the cylinders have the kind of precision only attainable in theory: without fuss, the machine produces surfaces which are faultless. ”

Machine Age 1920 s Russian Constructivist printed textile

Marcel Breuer 1931 “This metal furniture is intended to be nothing but a necessary apparatus for contemporary life”

Le Corbusier 1929 “Metal plays the same part in furniture as cement has done in architecture. It is a revolution. ”

John Gloag 1929 “Metal is cold and brutally hard. . . It gives no comfort to the eye”

“Modern carpet designs may provide endless entertainment for your friends” Heath Robinson 1936

“De Staalstoelophoon” 1934

Functionalism, Yes, But. The Titanic - Photomontage Stanley Tigerman, 1978, USA

Alessandro Mendini 1978 1925 “Redesign of Modern Movement Chairs” Wassily by Breuer, Italy

Functionalism, Yes. . . Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Chair 1929

Functionalism, Yes. . . 1929 21 st century

Functionalist Design George Marcus Prestel 1995 Form Follows Function Susan Lambert V&A Museum 1993