Functionalism

 Functionalism, in art and architecture, is an aesthetic doctrine developed in the early 20th century out of Louis Henry Sullivan's aphorism that form ever follows function. Functionalist architects and artists design functional structures in which the interior programme dictates the outward form.

By the 1920s the most important figures in Modern architecture had been recognized: Le Corbusier in France, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius in Germany. Mies van der Rohe and Gropius were both directors of the Bauhaus. 

Bauhaus is a German expression meaning house for building. In 1919, the economy in Germany was collapsing after a crushing war. Architect Walter Gropius was appointed to head a new institution that would help rebuild the country and form a new social order. Called the Bauhaus, the Institution called for a new "rational" social housing for the workers. Bauhaus architects rejected "bourgeois" details such as cornices, eaves, and decorative details. They wanted to use principles of Classical architecture in their most pure form: without ornamentation of any kind.

Bauhaus buildings have flat roofs, smooth facades, and cubic shapes. Colors are white, gray, beige, or black. Floor plans are open and furniture is functional.

The Bauhaus school broke up when the Nazis rose to power. Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and other Bauhaus leaders migrated to the United States. The term International Style was applied to the American form of Bauhaus architecture.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 – 1959), the greatest American architect of all time, had a career (he built more than Mies, Le Corbusier and Gropius combined) which parallels and influences the work of the European modernists, particularly via the Wasmuth Portfolio (plans and perspectives of buildings from 1893-1909 by Wright, published in Germany in 1910), but he refused to be categorized with them claiming that "they" copied his ideas. Wright was a major influence on both Gropius (founder of the Bauhaus) and van der Rohe, however, as well as on the whole of organic architecture.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886 – 1969) was a German-American architect, considered one of the pioneering masters of Modern architecture. He sought to extablish a new architecturel style. The style he created was based on extreme clarity and simplicity and was very influential indeed. His buildings made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces.  He called his buildings "skin and bones" architecture. He is often associated with the aphorisms "less is more" and "God is in the details.

Villa Tugendhat is considered a masterpiece, designed by the German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Built between the years 1928-1930 in Brno, for Fritz Tugendhat and his wife Greta, the villa soon became an icon of modern architecture.

It is a classic example of functionalism. Mies used the revolutionary iron framework which enabled him to do without supporting walls and arrange the interior in order to achieve a feeling of space and light. He also designed all furniture (two types of armchair designed for the building, the Tugendhat chair and the Brno chair, are still in production). There were no paintings or decorative items in the villa but the interior was by no means plain and sober due to the use of naturally patterned materials such as the fascinating onyx wall and rare tropical woods. The onyx wall is partially translucent and changes appearance when the evening sun is low. The architect also managed to make the magificient view from the villa an integral part of the interior.

The cost of building the villa was very high due to the unusual construction method, the luxurious materials, very modern technology of heating, ventilation, etc. It is also quite large for a family house, a fact which may escape casual visitors since the elegant simplicity of the rooms used by the family is compensated by a very large space occupied by various utility rooms.

Fritz and Greta Tugendhat, who were Jewish, left Czechoslovakia with their children in 1938, shortly after the Munich Agreement. They never returned. The house was used for various practical purposes for several decades after World War II and in 1992 the political leaders of Czechoslovakia met there to sign the document that formally divided the country into the present separate states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Since 1994 the villa has been open to the public as a museum.

Villa Tugendhat was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001.

Other examples of functionalistic buildings in Brno:

Hotel Avion (The Avion Hotel), Husův sbor na Botanické ulici (Jan Hus Congregation), Výstaviště (The Exhibition Centre), Městské krematorium na Ústředním hřbitově (municipal crematorium at the central cemetery), Městské lázně v Zábrdovicích (city spa) Kolonie Nový dům v Žabovřeskách, and many others.

(source. wikipeadia)

Translucent – průsvitný

Eaves – okap

Define – přesně vymezit

Cornice – římsa

functional – účelný, praktický

Influential – významný, mající vliv

Utility – užitkový, užitek

Bourgeois – měšťácký

Pioneering – průkopnický

Clarity – jasnost, srozumitelnost

Smooth – hladký, jemný

Crushing – zdrcující, drtivý

Sober – střídmý, decentní, střízlivý