# the "modern" look



## duburban (Apr 10, 2008)

why are "modern" houses usually defined by flat or shed roofs? 

is it merely because it hasn't been done much in the past?


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## VinylHanger (Jul 14, 2011)

If you are talking Mid-Century Modern, it is based off of the minimalist designs of the 50's and 60's.


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## duburban (Apr 10, 2008)

I'm seeing most of this stuff in "dwell" magazine. I'm about to enter my 1st year of Arch school so hopefully i'll be more engaged in the terminology.


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## ohiohomedoctor (Dec 26, 2010)

Modern means a plain white and black box..


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## duburban (Apr 10, 2008)

god i hope not!


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## VinylHanger (Jul 14, 2011)

duburban said:


> I'm seeing most of this stuff in "dwell" magazine. I'm about to enter my 1st year of Arch school so hopefully i'll be more engaged in the terminology.


Dwell magazine rocks. However, just be a ware that most of the really cool interior stuff in there wouldn't pass code in any conceivable way. The exterior stuff that does pass code is very, very expensive.


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## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

ohiohomedoctor said:


> Modern means a plain white and black box..


Nah, far from it. It's simple, clean lines, basic, but with STYLE!


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## J L (Nov 16, 2009)

RobertCDF said:


> Nah, far from it. It's simple, clean lines, basic, but with STYLE!


I always seem to want to add trim to those clean lines. :laughing::laughing:


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## NINZAN STUDIO (Jan 10, 2012)

duburban said:


> why are "modern" houses usually defined by flat or shed roofs?
> 
> is it merely because it hasn't been done much in the past?


Modernity in architecture was a response to the removal of unnecessary decoration (form follows function). This happened well before mid-century (post WWII). Read up in Adolf Loos, a Czech architect who criticized ornamentation.

Check out the Schroeder house by Rietveld built in 1924. Pretty much looks like a Dwell magazine house. I stopped reading Dwell after subscribing for a few years simply because it got really boring, same types of projects over and over.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rietveld_Schröder_House


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

*Dwell*



NINZAN STUDIO said:


> Check out the Schroeder house by Rietveld built in 1924. Pretty much looks like a Dwell magazine house. I stopped reading Dwell after subscribing for a few years simply because it got really boring, same types of projects over and over.
> 
> http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rietveld_Schröder_House


 I do not read Dwell,mainly because i have to admit I'M not a fan of modern architecture. With that said,if the projects are the same over and over then Dwell truly missed the mark. Reason being,much of the ideas of modernism was that no building should look like any other.


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## OKMrazor (Aug 8, 2009)

I understand the concept of stripping ornamentation - but I've always thought the "form following function" thing was an overreaching statement. Modern Architecture oozes form and rarely lets you forget it.

I also used to read Dwell before becoming frustrated at the redundancy of it. 

Now I pick it up in the Barnes and Noble and flip through (without heading to the checkout). Still the same, years later; like checking out pictures of old friends, smiling, and realizing there's no real reason to go back there.

I've read Architectural Digest for well over a decade, and have never felt that.

I've also been a fan of Modern design for many years, and never felt it any more redundant than countless classic and transitional homes I've worked in.

I wonder if Dwell's alliance with Empyrian as a home builder end's up directing their content toward the "approachable and attainable" / mass market Modern. Nothing in it seems to PUSH aesthetically, it just is. Perhaps Dwell's style is truly form following function - from a long way back.


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## stringer (Aug 14, 2012)

To add to Ninzan's accurate response..."modern" is also a reply to the new technologies available that freed designers from having to work with nature to being able to "conquer" it. For example: giant walls of glass that are insufferable heat collectors can be offset with giant AC systems, flat roofs made possible by waterproof membranes etc.


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