Deconstruction/ Green Design Review

I first read Allison's blog and she focused on Frank Gehry. I liked the examples of his work that she showed. She made it a point to state that this movement was about creating pieces that we wouldn't normally see. I never thought about it that way. She said the main goal was t use materials in ways we wouldn't see them used and make shapes that we don't see everyday to make masterpieces out of buildings. This is a neat way to put it, in my opinion.

I also looked at Nicole's blog. Nicole talked about contemporary design being hi-tech and how the U of I depicted this. She mentioned a lot of designers including louis I. Kahn, Richard Buckminster Fuller, and the New York Five. Her current applications did a great job at showing the style as well as bringing in the hi-tech aspect of the seating with the i pads built in.

Deconstruction/Green Design

Green design caught my attention very early on. When I was in high school, I was able to participate in a job shadowing experience. I was able to visit an architectural firm here in Bloomington, Normal called Farnsworth Group. I followed around an interior designer for the day and absolutely loved it. She took me to Heartland Bank in uptown Normal since their firm designed the whole building. The very top floor was still being completed so I got to see some of the construction process as well. The designer explained how green design was used for the building and I was immediately intrigued.

The Building is certified silver in LEED accreditation. Different amounts of points are rewarded based on green and efficient construction processes, materials, and many other criteria. Based on the number of points that are rewarded, the building will then be classified in to silver, gold, platinum, and bronze certification groupings. 

The Children's Museum in Uptown Normal is also an example of a LEED certified building in this town and is classified as gold. 

In Contemporary design, design has developed in to becoming high-tech. Based on technology, designs started including materials like steel, concrete, and glass. A group of five New York City architects, referred to as The New York five were known for a huge part of the post-modern movement in contemporary design, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graces, Charles Gwathrney, John Hejduk and Richard Meier were all part of this group. Out of these, Michael Graves is a very prominent figure having designed products for Target, healthcare accessories, and commercial and residential buildings. Below are some examples of his work. 

At this point in time with design, there is an increased speed of communication. The internet, magazines, and television are spreading design ideas. It is becoming more popular with the HGTV shows, and even on internet sites like Pinterest & Houz. Interior Design is now considered an important fad in pop culture and society. People love it. 

These pictures show some homes that are done in a contemporary post-modern style.

Intro to LEED Certification

This video helps to show information on LEED Certification

The Emergence of Modernism Review

I got the chance to look at Megan's blog. I specifically liked how she talked about the international style. She made it a point to describe characteristics of that style and how they played in to forming the modern style. She also focused on Meis Van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright who I thought were the most intriguing architects.

I also looked at Flor's Blog. I liked how she showed floor plans drawn by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was different than all the other house and structure examples of his work. I feel like the floor plans are rarely looked at for inspiration. I also liked her current applications. They were definitely inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Emergence of Modernism

The emergence of modernism was an extremely exciting time in the history of interior design. What was once thought of as design and style would be totally flipped around as a new era was introduced. This was thought of as the new direction of design. Ideas were brought forth that had never been seen before by the human eye or drawn out by a designers hand.

Being one of the first major modern architects, and one of my favorite architects of this movement was Frank Lloyd Wright. I have always been interested in his work. I have only had the opportunity to have gone to one of his houses, The Mary Thomas house in Springfield, Il, but would love to get to visit other of his creations. I was so impressed with all the detail he put in to his work. I remember standing in the house and thinking about how much time, work, and thought it must of took to reach his final products. He was an incredible architect and designer and a genius from my perspective. It also amazed me how he designed all the furniture and even light fixtures in his houses and buildings as well. He had visions and knew there was only one way to get to those visions, if he considered every detail of the design and was a part of the whole process until the end. During his lifetime, he designed over 1000 structures and completed 532 of those. He was highly inspired by Japanese design which can be seen in numerous pieces of his work.

In terms of his residential design, he was known for adding in separate private and public areas of the houses. His clients at the time favored being able to entertain as well as being able to have more intimate space for just the family.

 The above picture is the Metropolitan Museum of Art but designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is a great example of all of his furniture that he designed too. You can see the Japanese inspiration in lamp designs as well as in the ceiling.

The above picture is Falling Waters that Frank Lloyd Wright designed. It is amazing how he designed the house to fit perfectly in with the scenery of the land around it.


My other favorite architect when merging into the modern movement, was Mies Van der Rohe who's motivation was "less is more." He had an International reputation with abstract work of art.

My favorite house that he did was the Farnsworth House in Plano, Il. Not only is there a dramatic love story behind the house, I love how it combines it's surroundings of the beautiful wooded scenery of the Fox River. I would love to visit this glass house and be able to experience walking through it enjoying all of the elements. Like Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies Van der Rohe also designed the furniture that would be put in his space as well.

 The above picture in the Farnworth house. You can see his suggestion that less is more. The bottom pictures are pieces of furniture that he designed.

Below are some designs that I think Meis Van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright would definitely approve of.  It shows the idea of less is more as well as keeping with that modern element.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Samara

This man still lives in his house he commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build!

Deutscher Werkbund Review

I first looked at Sammy's blog for this movement. It was very informative. She also talked about the Vienna Sucession and some of the designers in that period. Gustav Klimt and Otto Wagner were mentioned as well as Adolf Loos and Koloman Moser. I liked how she put a focus on the designers and showed their work.

I also got to look at Paige S.'s blog. I love her modern applications and how she picked designs and directly connected them back to certain designs of the movement. She did this with the kubus chair and a modern club chair. She also showed the resemblance of Koloman Moser's patterns and a modern retro flower pattern.

Deutscher Werkbund

The Deutscher Werkbund movement originated in Germany. In German, it means German workshop. Founded in Munich, Germany. it was set in place to advance the quality of industrial design. The purpose twas to raise the standards of design in Germany's mass produced products and be more even with the British and United States of America. It was founded as a German government organization that was to bring designer and manufacturer together.

The glass pavilion was designed by Bruno Taut as the Werkbund exhibition.

The Deutscher Werkbund movement produced several different styles of chairs. Perhaps my favorite chair of the movement was the Kubus chair. It was square and angular and a fully upholstered lounge chair repeating the cube shape. Joseph Hoffman is the designer. It is pictured below. 

Below are some current applications of the movement. You can see the use of metal, organic art, natural materials, and curved furniture with geometric design. The colors are white and clean as well. 

Art Nouveau Reviews

I was able to look at Rachael's Blog for the Art Nouveau period. She talked a lot about the iron work and was able to show that in modern design as well. The iron work itself and the curves in it are perfect examples of the Art Nouveau movement. Additionally. she chose to talk about Victor Horta who's designs I really enjoyed too.
I also was able to look at Natalie's blog. She pointed out Henry Van de Velde as a designer and how he designed his own house complete with furniture, table silver, and kitchen cookware. She also showed pictures of the many chairs that he designed too. I really enjoyed looking at her modern applications as well.

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau means New Art. The Art Nouveau period was during a time of the turning of the century. Belgium and France were the leaders of the movement. It is said that the movement was the first style to stop looking at the past for inspiration. Stemming as a rejection of Victorian styles, modern materials, techniques and even electrical lighting were introduced. To me, this is what makes this movement one of the most interesting. New ideas were being brought forth as economic growth in the world was making it possible for new experimentation in design. Art Nouveau took inspiration from nature and what designers experienced in their surroundings. These natural elements were reflected in fabrics and wallpapers. There was also a lot of influence on Japanese Art.   In terms of color, soft, muted colors were used often. Curvilinear forms were dominant .

One of my favorite designers of this period was Hector Guimard who was the most significant figure in Paris. His work reminds me of Sleepy Hollows. The way his style is so organic and almost has an eerie feeling, He is most famous for his work with the Paris Metro Subway Station on the entrance kiosks and detail elements. He was great with use of organic forms and incorporated this in to architecture, furniture, and other design products. I love his style, how it is so different than most other designs. I love the curves and unique decorative elements he uses. His work is truly the defintiton on Art Nouveau.

Above are some pictures of his work and the bottom is Hector Guimard himself working among some of his pieces.

Above are some modern takes on the art nouveau movement. You can see the Japanese inspiration as well as the curvlinear forms.

The Arts & Crafts Period

The arts and crafts period stemmed from the vision of workers to be proud of their arts and craftsmanship. It wanted to steer away from the reality of daily factory workers. Mass production was becoming all too common and the idea of individual craftsmanship became the new interest. Beautiful products were made for the common folk and jobs that became available for the craftsman were much better than factory conditions at the time.

In terms of aesthetics, Medieval guilds, Islamic sources, and Japanese influence all were brought in to the arts and crafts period. The forms of the arts and crafts style were rectilinear and angular with stylized, decorative motifs.

Below are some modern day arts and crafts interiors.

The Americas Peer Review

I had the chance to see Dana's blog on the Americas. She mentioned that she liked the style of houses alot and showcased the Gonzales-Alvarez house as well as a Luoisiana plantation house. Both are very different, but from the same period in time. She also talks about how many different styles were introduced in this time, as she describes them; " The Early American/ Colional Period, Georgian Period, Post Colonial or Federal Period, Greek Revival Period, and Victorian Period." 

I also looked at Lindsey's post for this section. She chose to talk about the Dutch style home, with it's steep roofs, and doors with top and bottoms. They can be found in the Hudson River Valley. She also talked about the French style homes which were one of my favorite designs of the chapter. They were raised to avoid flooding. She goes on to mention the Spanich style and German and Swedish style. I liked how she was able to mention a lot of styles, being able to compare one to another. 

Victorian Etiquette

I like this take on looking at Victorian etiquette. Much different than today.

The Americas

I chose to write this blog on the Victorian period. Ever since I was young, it has always been one of my favorite times in history. Growing up around here, I can say I have probably been to the local David Davis mansion of at least a total of 7 times. The house I grew up in in my hometown, was a old Victorian style home. It all intrigues me so much. I also chose to do the day in the life presentation on this as well.  The Victorian time was named after Britain's Queen Victoria. Americans replicated the ways of their mother country, in the way the decorated their houses, the way they acted, and even dressed.

To start off, the typical Victorian house included a front of the house and back of the house. The back was more for the maids, where their rooms were and the kitchen where they worked. The front of the house was for the family for private living as well as entertaining. The men had a room where they would entertain in and smoke cigars while there was a more feminine room for the women to hang out in.

Some of the characteristics of a Victorian home are decorated roof lines and slates, bay and sash windows, patterned brick, porches, and terraces. There were also no garages because at the time there were no cars. I love all the characteristics that are put in to the home. Today most homes are not built like this, they are much more simple. Another feature of the Victorian home would be barge boards. These were decorative wooden panels on the gable ends of homes or the triangular end section on a pitched roof.

Current Day Applications

Peer Review for English Periods

I had the chance to review Ariana's blog. She brought up some interesting points on how England was the last to jump on the renaissance bandwagon since they were isolated from Europe. Most of their work during this time came from influence from other counties. However, they were the first to develop the Tudor style home. She gives an example of the most popular example, the Anne Hathaway house which I found very interesting. Every time I see a Tudor home today I will think of this house!

I also got to look at Dana's blog for this time period. She talked about it being interesting that the late English renaissance  was split up into three different periods. She also shows a picture of the Syon House which was designed by Adams himself who I wrote about in my blog. Her current day applications show relevant pictures of Hepplewhite inspired chairs. Chippendales sideboard is also referenced. She also hints that the sideboard was purposefully designed for a dining space for extra room to put the food, but now can be seen in any living space. This is very true and I never thought of that.

English Periods

From the English Period, I chose to focus on the late Renaissance Neoclassic. The main designers of this time were Chippendale, Adam, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton. My favorite in particular was Robert Adams, an architect, interior designer, and furniture designer. He was willing to share his theories and ideas with others seeing as he wrote the book, "The Works in Architecture."  He was very good at planning and working out every detail and every inch of a space. Seeing as he was serious about the revival of classical design, he often times implemented architectural elements in to his interiors like columns and naves. Other effects came in to play with entablatures, arch forms, domes, and panels with classical motifs. Another great characteristic of his designs was the fact that the ceiling detail matched the floor usually. Adam used furniture, light fixtures, floor coverings, textiles, silver, pottery, and metal work all together to achieve a finished space. It was also interesting that the focal point was not the fireplace with his designs. He was famous for creating the sideboard too. It is a wide table with drawers created to be placed in the dining room for serving. Below are many of his interiors. You can see why he is my favorite from this time period.

Here are some current day applications of the Neoclassic style that could have been inspired by Adam style. They very much relate to his work.