Mock, US 3

Unit three was about explorations in design from culture to culture. Each designer sought out to create the top modern building, they each tried to go above and beyond and do something different. The design was more about pleasure and enjoyment, one quote in particular describes this unit best—“ The right question to ask, respecting all ornament, is simple this: was it done with enjoyment?” by Ruskin.

The world’s fairs were about competing to be the best. Each country thought they had the best designers and the best buildings. The fairs were about festivities, exhibits, expositions, and expos. Their purpose was to be commemorative, commercial, collaborative, and celebrate modernism. They celebrated relationships between art and culture, big business, industry, design, social interests, inventions, and change. The buildings were made to be temporary, which translates to this day and age, objects now have a purposeful short life span because new innovations are always coming along. As innovations came along, materials changed—they used to be glass and iron, but overtime the exterior had a classical style, while the interior was traditional. These designs translated into many designs, many designers began to mix materials. They would have traditional designs mixed with modern objects to balance each other out. The Guaranty Building in New York is an example of mixed styles. It had the modern geometry on the structural part, but for the decorations it mixed classical design it had motifs of nature incorporated on the border.

The Ward-Willets home by Frank Lloyd Wright was a prairie style home; it used a fluid and open plan. It also had the chimney in the middle rather than on the side of the house. His style was all about is original, totality, and pen floor plans. Other houses by Wright, such as the Robie House, had interesting floor plans. The Robie house was narrow and skinny, but it was also in the Prairie style. It was built to fit the landscape, instead of building the landscape around the house. The sides of the house hid the front door. It was all about horizontal and parallel lines.

Technology, history, and locality all influenced modernism. The new innovations that came about shaped design through the years, but the history still played an important role in the fundamental basics of design. Modernism depended on regionalism however. An example of modernism challenging history is the pyramid at the Louvre. The pyramids were obviously meant to contrast with the beautiful building, it was meant for a gathering space. It completely takes away from the courtyards at the Louver.  Modernism can be seen as something original and common, as each designer seeks to be both original and modern. However, modernism can contrast with classical and fundamental design.