By Samantha Pires on February 6, 2021
From left to right: Tatlin’s Tower, or Monument to the Third International; Einstein Tower, or Einsteinturm; Geisel Library of the University of California, San Diego; Weissenhof Estate; The Glass House; Rietveld Schröder Housed; Nakagin Capsule Tower; Bauhaus Building in Dessau
Describing an architecture style as “modern” may inherently be a bit confusing. After all, a structure was modern while it was being designed and built. Why then, do so many movements and styles in the 20th-century fall under
modernism? What was so different that designers felt the need to label their work as indicative of a new future? And why did architects feel the need to outline rules for our built environment in the first place? Many of these questions have answers that are directly influenced by historic events. Others are less direct and are engrained in a long history of design styles and cultural influences.