Architecture is an art form that reflects how we present ourselves across the earth’s landscape, and, like other expressive mediums, it changes with styles, technologies and cultural adaptations.

21st Century Architecture

The Greek order of columns, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian, are some of the more identifiable elements of classical architecture. These guidelines were followed by Roman architects, with the Corinthian being the more favoured style used in many Roman buildings.

Contemporary architects work in several different styles, from postmodernism, high-tech architecture and new interpretations of traditional architecture to highly conceptual forms and designs, resembling sculpture on an enormous scale.

Bauhaus

• Dessau Bauhaus / Walter Gropius.
• Gropius House / Walter Gropius.
• Fagus Factory / Walter Gropius + Adolf Meyer.

Modernism in architecture The style became characterised by an emphasis on volume, asymmetrical compositions, and minimal ornamentation. In Britain, the term Modern Movement has been used to describe the rigorous modernist designs of the 1930s to the early 1960s.

Although many different styles are encompassed by the term, there are certain underlying principles that define modernist art: A rejection of history and conservative values (such as realistic depiction of subjects); innovation and experimentation with form (the shapes, colours and lines that make up the work) with a …

Like International style, Brutalism is sometimes classified as its own distinctive subtype, though it is considered a variant of post-war modernism. It is essentially a style based on the shaped and molded forms of concrete, a thick, masonry variation of modernist architecture.

The term originates from the use, by the pioneer modern architect and painter Le Corbusier, of ‘beton brut’ – raw concrete in French. Banham gave the French word a punning twist to express the general horror with which this concrete architecture was greeted in Britain.

Brutalist buildings are expensive to maintain and difficult to destroy. They can’t be easily remodeled or changed, so they tend to stay the way the architect intended. Maybe the movement has come roaring back into style because permanence is particularly attractive in our chaotic and crumbling world.”

Bru·tal·ism. An architectural style of the mid-20th century characterized by massive or monolithic forms, usually of poured concrete and unrelieved by exterior decoration. Bru′tal·ist adj.

Concrete certainly has a special place in many an architect’s heart owing to its appearance, versatility, tactility and durability and its starring role in the Modernist and Brutalist movements.

1 : a mass formed by concretion or coalescence of separate particles of matter in one body. 2 : a hard strong building material made by mixing a cementing material (such as portland cement) and a mineral aggregate (such as sand and gravel) with sufficient water to cause the cement to set and bind the entire mass.

This wonderful material is renowned for its strength and durability as well as being abundant. While the concrete that the Romans used to build their structures is very different from the type that we use today, concrete is still consistently the prime choice for builders throughout the ages.

For modernists, concrete was a futuristic material that could fulfil their utopian dreams of mass housing and urban renewal. It was flexible yet solid, malleable yet permanent. Unrefined concrete was an honest expression of their intentions, while plain forms and exposed structures were similarly sincere.

Is cement stronger than concrete? Cement is not stronger than concrete. On its own, in fact, cement is prone to cracking. When combined with aggregate materials and water and allowed to harden, however, cement—now concrete—is extraordinarily strong.

Brutalism was generally characterised by its rough, unfinished surfaces, unusual shapes, heavy-looking materials, straight lines, and small windows. Modular elements were often used to form masses representing specific functional zones, grouped into a unified whole.

The most popular material of brutalism was concrete, followed by brick, stone, sheet metal and wood. A whole range of concrete textures were used in the mature phase of brutalism – from untreated béton brut to corrugated and bush-hammered concrete.

Stalinist architecture

Brutalist designs became most commonly used in the design of institutional buildings, such as universities, libraries, courts and city halls. The popularity of the movement began to decline in the late 1970s, with some associating the style with urban decay and totalitarianism.

Brutalism in digital design is a style that intentionally attempts to look raw, haphazard, or unadorned. Both in architecture and in digital design, brutalism is seen as a reaction against artificiality and lightness. Proponents praise it for its honesty and daring.

The term Brutalism originally applied to a type of roughly finished, monolithic architecture originating in the mid 20th century, but has since been applied to jewelry as well. The hallmark of Modernism is uniqueness; most exceptional pieces of Modernist jewelry are one-of-a-kind creations.

London

Anti-Design was a design flow and style art movement originating in Italy and lasting from the years 1966 – 1980. The movement emphasized striking colours, scale distortion (ie. giant chairs that make you look small), and used irony and kitsh.