Form and Function

Stage 1 Lecture

Contextual and Critical StudiesAndrea Peach

Modernism

Dominant ideology throughout

western industrialised world in art,

design and architecture for most of

the twentieth century

How things used to look …

Adolf Loos 1928

Essay on Ornament and Crime:

“Evolution is synonymous with

the removal of ornament from

objects of everyday use”

Adolf Loos 1901

Armoire - Vienna, Austria

“A plain piece of

furniture is more

beautiful than all the

inlaid and carved

museum pieces”

Adolf Loos 1928

Steiner House - Vienna, Austria

Louis Sullivan 1896

“It is the pervading law of all things

organic and inorganic, of all things

physical and metaphysical, of all

things human and things

superhuman… that form ever

follows function, This is the law …”

Form and Function

Louis Sullivan1896

“Form and function are one …”

Guarantee Building, Buffalo New York, 1895

Modernism

USE should determine the FORM of

an object

If an object is made to function well it

will by definition be beautiful

(also referred to as Functionalism)

Rules of Modernist Design

Objects should be:

• simple, honest and direct

• Well adapted to their purpose

• No ornament

Rules of Modernist Design

• Standardised

• Machine-made

• Reasonably priced

• Expressive of their structure and

materials

Marcel Breuer 1926

Nickel-plated steel and lacquered wood

Nesting TablesGermany

Mies van der Rohe 1927

Chrome-plated tubular steel, oil cloth

Cantilever ChairGermany

Howell ‘Chromasteel’ USA

1946

“Here is gay, sparkling furniture that brings new beauty and charm into your kitchen … it’s the kind that seems to stay new looking indefinitely”

Greta von Nessen 1952

Aluminum and enameled metal

‘Anywhere lamp’Germany

Ocean - Bianco Table / Gamma Chairs - chromed tubular steel frame

2006 …

Modernism

A term used to refer to the principle

that nothing is included in a design

that does not enhance the

object’s purpose

Marianne Brandt 1924

Tea infuserGermany, Bauhaus

Deutscher Werkbund 1929

Die Form =

The Form

Die Wohnung Stuttgart 1927

Weissenhof Seidlung 1927

Mies van der Rohe

Walter Gropius / Marcel Breuer

Giso lights 1928

RotterdamThe Netherlands

Machine Age 1920s

“Machines are replacing

hand work; the spheres are

smooth; the cylinders have

the kind of precision only

attainable in theory:

without fuss, the machine

produces surfaces which

are faultless.”

Machine Age 1920s

Russian Constructivist printed textile

Marcel Breuer 1931

“This metal furniture is intended to be nothing but a necessary apparatus for contemporary life”

Le Corbusier 1929

“Metal plays the same part in furniture as cement has done in architecture. It is a revolution.”

John Gloag 1929

“Metal is cold and brutally hard... It gives no comfort to the eye”

“Modern carpet

designs may provide

endless entertainment

for your friends”

Heath Robinson 1936

“De Staalstoelophoon”

1934

Functionalism, Yes, But.

The Titanic - PhotomontageStanley Tigerman, 1978, USA

Alessandro Mendini 1978

“Redesign of Modern Movement Chairs” Wassily by Breuer, Italy

1925

Functionalism, Yes ...

Mies van der RoheBarcelona Chair 1929

Functionalism, Yes ...

21st century

1929

Functionalist DesignGeorge MarcusPrestel 1995

Form Follows FunctionSusan LambertV&A Museum 1993