Architecture is, sometimes, considered to be the way to express the needs of society. Thus, it is always a reflection of a certain époque and people’s perception of a better world. Observing architectural monuments, we can say in which époque it was built and what its are characteristics of it. For example, the buildings of the Gothic period are marked with strict lines and they are very high. It shows that the intention of that époque was “to be closer to God” as every detail “was trying to reach the sky”.
Modern architecture tendencies were dictated by one of the revolutionary concepts of the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries (Modern Architecture and International Architecture) that expressed new ideas in art. These styles were described by Otto Wagner at the end of the 19th century and Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson at the beginning of the 20th century. Wagner manifested a new form of style and Hitchcock and Johnson defined its principles. A common thing between those two approaches is that the architects propagated the same “philosophy of the style” giving to it different names.
So, in 1895, a new movement of Modern Architecture was manifested by an Austrian architect Otto Wagner. He described the principles of a new European movement and presented the steps of the creation of architectural buildings. It was a new interpretation of “realism” that established new ideas of using materials and architectural techniques. Wagner put forward the idea that every form of art (building or even monument) begins with the construction, and only then appears the “art-form”, “every architectural form has arisen in construction and has successively become an art-form” (Mallgrave and Contandriopoulos 2008, 94). Moreover, he insisted that the “art-form” reflects the needs of society and, consequently, it should serve these needs. He called this strategy a “modern way of building”.
Later, Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson expanded and interpreted this approach. They called a new direction in architecture the International style. They generalized the characteristics and outlined general principles of a “New Modernism”. These principles were recognized in the world and got the name “a single new style”.
In other words, it was a new version of the European modernism that had a “functional” approach: “One is the politically inspired movement they name “functionalism”” (Mallgrave and Contandriopoulos 2008, 166). At the same time, this style was characterized by one more approach to architecture called “nostalgic and sentimental” that addressed to traditions common for American architects. However, the common tendency was to generalize the principles of a new style and make them international.
In general, both styles are characterized by unimpressive and “functional” design, especially in public buildings. As it has already been mentioned, such tendencies in construction and ornaments were based on the needs of society and common tendencies of the cultural development. Many contemporary architects consider it “ugly”. However, one should not forget that this style, characterized by simple forms and called different names, was dictated by structure and philosophy of society that had to restore after social and political revolutions.
Thus, we can say that different approaches and terms used by Otto Wagner and Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson refer to single new style in architecture. The difference lies in the fact that Wagner described a new style and Hitchcock and Johnson specified it and outlined its principles.
Reference List
Mallgrave, Harry Francis, and Christina Contandriopoulos. 2008. Mallgrave’s Architectual Theory V. II: An Anthology from 1871 – 2005. Volume II. Blackwell Publishing.