International Style Building and Garden Elements
The International Style, a modernist movement within architecture and furniture design that was given its name by American architect Philip Johnson and historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock, was born during the 1920s and ’30s. It gained steam initially in Europe and then in the United States as a response to the first World War. Building projects associated with the movement, as well as vintage International Style chairs, tables and other furnishings, are minimal and pared back.
Pioneers of the International Style — architect Walter Gropius and his Bauhaus colleagues Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer, De Stijl advocate and Dutch architect J.J.P. Oud and visionary designer Le Corbusier — stripped away decorative elements and placed considerable value on functionality and clean lines, integrating the use of industrial materials like steel, concrete and large sheets of glass in their work. Quite aptly, this mode of design and architectural style coincided with an era now known as the Machine Age and became a global symbol of modernism. The primary motive of its practitioners was to address the changing needs of a rapidly industrializing society, especially the demand for office complexes and apartments in large cities, through economical, technologically advanced, yet aesthetically pleasing designs for furniture and buildings.
“Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep,” said Le Corbusier of the philosophy behind his practical modernist architecture.
The International Style’s designers and architects were inspired by the advantages afforded them by the era’s new technology and industrial machinery as well as state-of-the-art materials. Le Corbusier was fond of framing his buildings in steel but reinforced concrete made far more economic sense. He is probably most admired for the iconic private homes and commercial buildings that he designed or codesigned with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, which are spread across the world, from New York City to Paris to Chandigarh, India. Today, Breuer’s Wassily Lounge chair; the elegant LC series created by Le Corbusier, Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand; and Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair, crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich, are emblems of progressive modernist design and all make prominent use of tubular steel. Vintage originals are the prized cornerstone of collections.
“The International Style is probably the first fundamentally original and widely distributed style since the Gothic,” posited Johnson in the book that accompanied “Modern Architecture: International Exhibition,” an architectural show he cocurated with Hitchcock that featured the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Richard Neutra and others. While the term “International Style” had previously been circulating in Europe, when the show opened at the Museum of Modern Art in 1932, it yielded a much broader application of this important style of design.
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1850s French Antique International Style Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Early 20th Century French International Style Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Late 18th Century Italian Antique International Style Building and Garden Elements
Walnut
20th Century German International Style Building and Garden Elements
Maiolica
1950s Brazilian Vintage International Style Building and Garden Elements
Cement
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
Early 1900s French Antique International Style Building and Garden Elements
Iron
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
20th Century Italian International Style Building and Garden Elements
Wicker, Wood, Paint
1980s German Vintage International Style Building and Garden Elements
Marble
Mid-20th Century Japanese International Style Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Early 20th Century Vietnamese International Style Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
18th Century Italian Antique International Style Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Late 19th Century Italian Antique International Style Building and Garden Elements
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique International Style Building and Garden Elements
Wood
1950s Swiss Vintage International Style Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
1930s European Vintage International Style Building and Garden Elements
Lava
Mid-20th Century Swiss International Style Building and Garden Elements
Cement
1940s Vintage International Style Building and Garden Elements
Iron
1960s Swiss Vintage International Style Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
1950s Swiss Vintage International Style Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
Early 20th Century French International Style Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Early 20th Century Taiwanese International Style Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Late 20th Century Italian International Style Building and Garden Elements
Terracotta
Mid-20th Century American International Style Building and Garden Elements
Metal, Stainless Steel, Chrome
2010s Spanish International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage International Style Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian International Style Building and Garden Elements
Marble
Early 20th Century French International Style Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Mid-20th Century Italian International Style Building and Garden Elements
Marble
Late 20th Century French International Style Building and Garden Elements
Wood