Architecture

Second Century Modernism

“In Second Century Modernism, John Jennifer Marx, AIA, advocates for a fundamental change in the way architects design, with the intention of rebalancing modernism toward an architecture of emotional abundance, rather than its current singular focus on an architecture of ideas and abstraction.”

Has Modernism failed us? It could be said that Walter Gropius laid the cornerstone of modern architecture in 1919 by founding the Bauhaus. As a result, modern architecture is now over 100 years old. This first century of Modernism has come to a close with a mixed review. Enthusiasm for its achievements goes hand in hand with a discontent about a sizeable portion of its outcome, as well as its effect on the natural and built environments. The most vocal suppor ters of these modernist ideals crafted epic claims that Modernism was bound to deliver progressive and humane environments. Alas, the follow-through of those promises was uneven at best.

Can we update this ideological framework, establishing a new outlook that is both open ended and operational? If the first century of Modernism can be considered an architecture of abstraction and ideas, then what might we design if we turn our attention, in this second century of modernism, to an architecture of emotional abundance? Second Century Modernism creates an architecture of richness and community by placing a higher priority on emotional meaning, through a shift in the design process that balances the rational with the intuitive, and a “Less + More” approach to expanding the range of cultural values we can inclusively balance in our environments. It welcomes you to embrace the paradoxical qualities of human existence.