COMPARATIVE

PRESENTATION OF VARIOUS
ARCHITECTURE
MOVEMENTS
ARCH124- THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE
GENERAL INFORMATION
Movement Period/ Start Movement Moniker/ Identifying Phrase Origin
1. Art Nouveau Between 1890-1914 International Curvilinear Design France

2. Art Deco 1920s – 1930s One of the first truly international France*
styles

3. Cubism Early 20th Century Most influential art of the 20th century;
faceting of form, spatial ambiguity,
France*
(claimed to be Czech)
transparency and multiplicity

4. Bauhaus 1919-1933 Most influential modernist art Germany

school of the 20th century

5. Brutalism 1950s - mid-1970s Honestly raw, anti-bourgeois and Sweden

rugged

6. Constructivism 1920s – 1930s Art in the service of Revolution Russia

7. Deconstructivism 1980s (although there are signs Fragmentation and non-rectilinear France*
that started long before 1980s)

8. Organism 1920s Harmony between human habitation

and nature
United States

* In contention Source: Review of Architectural Movement by A. Malicc

GENERAL IDENTIFYING CHARACTER
MOVEMENT CHARACTER
1. Art Nouveau Inspired by natural forms and structures particularly the curved lines of plants and flowers

2. Art Deco Smooth lines, geometric shapes (patterned and rhythmic), streamlined forms and bright,
sometimes garish color
3. Cubism Dissolution and reconstruction of three-dimensional form using simple geometric shapes,
juxtaposed without illusion of classical perspectives
4. Bauhaus Functionality and simplicity… every elements has function; the building depicts simple
geometric juxtapositions
5. Brutalism Massive, raw or exposed concrete, (rugged brickwork and concrete in the case of brick
brutalists), utility and purveyor systems sometimes become aesthetic elements.
6. Constructivism simple geometric elements; ‘space and rhythm’, combined with advance technology and
engineering
7. Deconstructivism Fragmented and rectilinear, absence of harmony, continuity or symmetry

8. Organism No specific geometric character, more of philosophy to harmonize building with nature
ROOF PLANE
MOVEMENT CHARACTER
1. Art Nouveau No distinct

2. Art Deco No distinct

3. Cubism No distinct

4. Bauhaus Generally flat looking, but still the identifying factor may not strongly be attributed
to Bauhaus.

5. Brutalism No distinct

6. Constructivism No distinct

7. Deconstructivism No symmetry, freely flowing lines or platonic solids

8. Organism Most of the time jibes with the location, nature and peripheral geometries