Essay Sample on Architectural Styles and Movements of the 20th Century

Introduction

Architecture refers to the artistic practice of designing and constructing buildings. It has had change over time with new styles developing from the older ones in forms of smooth continuums, with new and most appealing features to architects and the people of the time. Architectural styles have their characteristic features of identification and historical notability of buildings such as form, types of building materials, regional taste and methods of construction - modifying their uniqueness. In twentieth century, there have been a number of architectural styles, composing both the modernism and postmodernism architectural styles, such as Revivalist Architecture (1900 - 2000), New York School of Skyscraper Architecture (1900 - 1930), Early Modernist Architecture (1900 - 1930), Constructivism Architectural style (1930s - 1930s), Expressionist Architecture (1910 - 1925), De Stijl Architecture (1917 - 1930) and Art Deco Architecture (1925 - 1940) (Cernichov, et al. 2013). In the paper, details on the development, architects, examples, and contemporary texts of Art Deco Architectural style and Constructivism Architectural art are exhausted, comparing their forms, due to their emergence and development in the same decade (1900 - 1930), enabling their comparability. They both also fall under modern architectural styles.

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Art Deco Architectural style refers to art and fashion that was popular in America and Europe in the 1920s to 1940. It emerged from a name given to an international design show held in Paris, France, in 1925. The sole aim -to architects, artists, and designers - for its invention is to create and introduce a modern age style without the tastes and characteristics of the past architectural styles. It celebrated the modern-day world and art industry. It had a semblance of sophistication, featuring the surfaces which were smooth and bold colors with high contrasts. It received influences from the art movements such as Cubism in which shapes were portrayed as though they were fragmented, bearing multiple perspectives at the same time. Art Deco style also has the characteristic angle-shaped, hard-edged, geometry with a stepped outline in most cases. On the other hand, Constructivism architectural style refers to a form of modern architecture which developed in the Soviet Union in the year 1920s. As opposed to Art Deco Architectural Style which was inspired by the past styles, it was inspired by the Bauhaus styles and those other constructivism styles in Russia. It was characterized by a combination of engineering methods, modern technology and socio-political ethics of communism (Petric, V. et al. 2010).

Additionally, Art Deco Architectural style had its first appearance in Chicago in 1922 where an architect named Eliel Saarinen drew an architectural style in a contest where the best design was required for the building of a headquarters of Chicago Tribune. From then, although he failed in the contest, his style was widely appraised and received a lot of publicity hence inspiring other architects like Claud Beelman, Raymond Hood, and Erich Mendelsohn to explore the new bold style (Petric, V. 2010). It was later in 1924 where the architect Raymond Hood designed the American Radiator Building in the New York City using the Art Deco architectural style, enabling him to win the contest. The building has from then usually been regarded as the first Art Deco building in America. From then, Art Deco style gained popularity among the Americans, especially in the large cities, which were hen experiencing a high rate of building hence employing the style. Some of those structures became notable land marks. They include, in the New York City, the Rockefeller Center built in 1935, Empire State Building built in 1931 and Chrysler Building built in the year 1930 (Goss, J., & Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, N.Y. 2014). The buildings in Europe built using the Art Deco Architectural styles are found in cities like Berlin, Lisbon, London, Portugal and Lithuania and Kauna. Constructive Architectural style, on the other hand, began in the year 1921 following the deadly Russian revolution of 1917which rendered the country economically incapacitated and buildings destroyed. The Avant - Garde School of architects started an initiative to inspire and encourage architects and urban planners with ambition who will revive the spaces and monuments of their new socialist utopia. It was aimed at reconciling the economic reality of the Soviet Union and se the built environment to initialize the societal changes and in imbibe the Avant - garde in everyday life. It was used in building the utilitarian projects for workers and creative projects like the Flying City, an archetypal template of an airborne housing. Constructivism was characterized by the application of a 3D cubism, objective and abstract elements. It incorporated various styles such as cubes, cylinders, rectangles, straight lines while merging modern day elements such as concrete frames, tension cables, radio antennae and steel girders. Other modern materials employed include the steel frames that corroborated large areas of glazing which were exposed as opposed to the concealing of building joints, sun decks and balconies.

Besides, Art Deco architectural style is characterized by its striking and unique look. The materials used in the construction using the Art Deco style are stucco, concrete, stainless steel, chrome, opaque plate glass, glass block, and aluminum. On the other hand, the materials employed in the constructions using the constructivism architectural style are steel girders and frames, glasses and concrete frames. In art Deco architectural style, there is an emphasis on vertical orientation of buildings. Buildings point up. There are also surface decorations more especially seen on top of skyscrapers as well as above doors and windows, done under low relief so that there were combined patterns of figures and geometry. Such a feature can be observed in relief panel in the lobby of daily express structural building in London (Welch, R. (2012). The contrasting tones of silver and gold display the angular characteristic of the Art Deco style. Hence, the central figure of the style is the verticality of buildings. On the other hand, constructivism architectural style is characterized by buildings with horizontal emphasis. The buildings are also solid, rectangular and large with touches of glass and circular shapes to offset the solid blocks. The structures in constructivism are also in the form of hammer and sickle buildings. The popular elements of in Art Deco are the geometric shapes like the pyramids, and lightning bolts. Stylized images from nature like sunrise, palm tree leaves and waterfalls are also employed in Art Deco, as observed at the top of Chrysler building in New York City where there is an arched figure like sunrise at the top. Constructivism usually has square windows wrapped around the entire building (Charles, et al. 2013). It also explores contrast of different surfaces as well as the opposition between different forms.

Conclusion

Cumulatively, the Art Deco and Constructivism architectural styles - which developed in the same decade - are seen to manifest different paths of origin, adoption, regions of the application as well as characteristics. Art Deco originated from Europe and got adopted in America by 1925 for modernization whereas Constructivism originated from the Soviet Union and was aimed at the reinstatement of the ruined cities for economic stability. Also, Art Deco was characterized by the use of glasses, steel girders and frames, and concrete frames. It also incorporated various styles such as cubes, cylinders, rectangles, straight lines. Art Deco had vertical emphasis as seen in skyscrapers such as Chrysler building in New York City while Constructivism had buildings with a horizontal orientation which are rectangular with a touch of glass and circular tops.

References

Cernichov, J. G., & Chmelnickij, D. S. (2013). Architectural fantasies in Russian constructivism. Berlin: DOM Publ.

Charles, V., & Carl, K. H. (2013). Art Deco. New York: Parkstone Press International

Goss, J., & Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.). (2014). French art deco. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Petric, V. (2010). . T. J., & Zarate, M. (2011). Arquitectura y virtualidad: Architecture and virtuality. Barcelona: Edicions UPC.

Petric, V. (2010). Constructivism in the film: A cinematic analysis: the man with the movie camera. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Welch, R. (2012). Art Deco and Geometric Stained Glass Pattern Book. Dover Publications