Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s observation that “less is more” has come to define the Modernist doctrine in architecture, whereby buildings and their components are reduced to simple forms expressed by geometry, largely devoid of ornamentation.
What to look for in a Modernist building:
Asymmetrical and geometric forms, rectangular or cubist shapes
Minimal or an absence of ornamentation
Steel frames and/or reinforced concrete
Flat roofs
Large windows
Open plan
Explore these galleries from the RIBA Collections illustrating the main features of Modernism.
NOTES: The city of Brasilia was planned and developed in 1956 with Lucio Costa as chief urban planner and Oscar Niemeyer as principal architect. It formally became the capital of Brazil in 1960 and is the seat of all three branches of the Brazilian government.
NOTES: The station was designed by W. R. Headley who was the regional architect for the London Midland region of British Rail. The symbol and the 'British Rail' logotype were designed by the Design Research Unit.
NOTES: This, the D10 Building, is noteworthy for its use of reinforced concrete and glass cladding. It is the earliest example of such a structural system in a large scale industrial building in England. It was Grade I listed in 1971.
NOTES: Weissenhof, located on a hillside overlooking Stuttgart, was an experimental housing settlement designed by sixteen leading architects of the Modern Movement for the 1927 exhibition 'Die Wohnung' (The Home).
NOTES: Built on the marshy tidelands of Idlewild Golf Course, this airport was originally known as Idlewild. It was renamed John F. Kennedy, on 24 December 1963 in honour of the recently assasinated American president. This image is a scan of an original negative.
NOTES: Carl Legien Wohnstadt is a large housing estate in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district. It was developed from 1928-1930 by Bruno Taut in collaboration with Franz Hillinger from the design office of the GEHAG (Gemeinnutzige Heimstatten-Spar-und Bau-AG). It was named after the German trade union leader Carl Legien. It is also one of the Berlin settlements of the 1920s on the UNESCO World Heritage list.