International Style

After the closing of the Bauhaus school in Germany, designers such as Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius emigrated to America and continued their landmark work. They continued trying to communicate their idea of combining functionality with technology. Designers such as Ray and Charles Eames (yes, Ray was a woman) combined the Modern Movement's ideals with methods of industrial production in order to create a better idea of Good Design.

Le Corbusier's Chaise Lounge is still a design icon to this day 

During the 20s and 30s the International architectural style was heavily affected by Art Deco's geometric inspirations, however some designers took the functionalism ideals so seriously that they created an extreme of design called Brutalism where they did away with everything they considered ornamental even smooth concrete surfaces and hiding pipes and structural components.

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe's
Barcellona Chair

This International Style was particularly useful in the years after and between the two World Wars when every country and council was embarking on large scale housing projects in order to try and return to normal the lives of those people who had ended up homeless due to war-time bombardments. This obviously meant that they needed designs which were not only quick to complete, but also cheap. It was really a question of supply and demand I suppose. I like to think of the International style as a more simplistic side to Art Deco. Art Deco was reserved for those customers who could afford spending a little extra on ornamentation while International Style was more widely reachable.

REFERENCES:
Thomas Hauffe, 2001. Design: From the Industrial Revolution to the 21st Century (Flipguides). Edition. Dumont Monte.

Charlotte & Peter Fiell, 2012. Design of the 20th Century (25). Edition. Taschen.

, 2001. Design Classics (Architecture & Design) (English and French Edition). Bilingual Edition. Taschen.

Unknown , (2013), Le Corbusier Chaise Lounge [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.brookstone.com/webassets/product_images/700x700/728469p.jpg [Accessed 22 November 13].

Unknown , (2013), Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe Barcelona Chair [ONLINE]. Available at: http://blog.fishpools.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/mies-van-der-rohe-barcelona-chair.gif [Accessed 22 November 13].