As we continued to learn about design and its history, we came to a point of many, many design conversations. Thus continuing the thought of WHICH WAY IS BEST, we learned about everything up until modern-day.
This unit began with the introduction of the World's Fairs. Talk about "which way is best", everybody had something to say! World's Fairs were commemorative, commercial, collaborative, and celebratory and everybody had one. Some celebrated world events, others showed off technological advancements. Each fair was based on national pride and showed that their country had the latest big idea/advancement. While most of the fairs and their buildings were temporary a few left us with major landmarks such as the Crystal Palace (until it burned down) from the very first World's Fair in London, the Eiffel Tower from the Exposition Universelle in Paris, the Space Needle from the 1962 World's Fair and many more. These fairs were just like what happened along trade routes and during the major time of exploration way back in the day: people traveled from all over, learned new things, and took them home and either kept them the same or put their own spin on it and made it better.
While this was going on, the Arts and Crafts movement was also happening and a major question was being asked: hand craft or machine? For the Arts and Crafts folks, it was definitely NOT machine. William Morris wanted to revive the medieval world and doing things by hand. "...that Gothic architecture was good because it was handmade by workmen who took joy in their work..." (Roth 493) He worked on his own house, now known as the Red House, with Philip Webb. They kept everything simple and hand-made...all the way down to the wallpaper and rugs. Though the things of the Arts and Crafts movement were simple, they weren't able to be reproduced cheaply enough to reach the masses and the movement ended for the most part.
While THIS was going on, more movements were happening.
Everybody had something to say and everybody's way was best. Some looked to the past for inspiration which led to Renaissance, Chateau, Beaux-Arts, and Classical "city beautiful" Revivals. Also looking to the not so distant past was the Aesthetic Movement. It was inspired by William Morris's hand-made designs as well as Japanese art. It was "art for art's sake" and focused on the nature-inspired, fashionable side of things.
Looking ahead, the Art Nouveau movement came about in Europe. With a nod to Rococo architecture Victor Horta designed buildings in this new style with a rejection of historical styles and a usage of ornamental motifs in metal and glass with nature in mind. The curvilinear forms, heavy detail, and mixed materials proved too expensive to mass produce and the Art Nouveau ended much like the Arts and Crafts did.
With the rise of industrialism and all of the new technological advancement modernism was on the rise. Cast iron, glass, and steel were being used to make buildings. Skyscrapers were also showing up and a "stepped in" approach was taken, making them able to be taller and taller. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright was also working on making buildings modern. He had a very clean-lined approach and paid just as much attention to the exterior as he did to the interior.
Expressionism and Cubism were also new forms of design that took new looks at the way things were shaped and formed. Many also took attempts at modernism like le Corbusier who pushed the limits of concrete. He believed in self-contained cities that would later turn into apartment complexes. Wagner created "building tattoos" that replaced classic ornamentation and decoration.
While all of these conversations were going on and everyone was declaring which way they thought was best, there was much criticism going around as well. This criticism led to the simplistic, functional, affordable design of the Scandinavians. With designers like Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen, they moved forward with modernism into a serious movement that's still seen today.
A clear declaration of WHICH WAY IS BEST has never, and probably will be made. As Patrick has stated in class, ever since the Renaissance we've been trying to figure things out and it's apparent today. As you look through neighborhoods you see bungalow, Victorian, and maybe a couple modern houses. These mixes are from different people and their different opinions. With so many different conversations going on today one can only really choose to accept and possibly celebrate them. Diversity is the spice of life, right?
