Wars, decolonization, economic crises, civil movements, and industrial-technological revolutions: the 20th century was a period of radical and far-reaching transformations. These upheavals reshaped societies and redefined how people expressed their evolving aspirations, with architecture leading the way. Machines and industrialization promised technological progress and modernization, advocating for a clean break from the ornamented, historically rooted styles of the past while embracing a vision focused on functionality, efficiency, and innovation. This shift, embodied by modernism, introduced new concepts, methods, and material uses—all shaped through experimentation.
https://www.archdaily.com/1026242/formal-and-material-experimentation-key-lessons-from-modernist-architecture-pioneersEnrique Tovar
Examining the houses that architects designed for themselves can provide insight into their design process, priorities, and philosophy. While often reduced in scale, these personal residences offer a peek into the architects' mindsets and the way in which they translate their ideas into lived spaces without having client-imposed restrictions on the end result. The structures also reflect their creators' personal values, lifestyles, and aesthetic preferences.
These projects are often experiments and testing grounds for their own design principles, pushing the boundaries of architectural expression. From Ray and Charles Eames, who ended up spending their lives in an experimental house created for prefabrication, to Frank Gehry, who used his Santa Monica Dutch colonial house to test out the ideas of deconstructivism that would later come to define his career, these projects represent showcase a different face of the design process of world-renowned architects.
Videos
Courtesy of Architecture & Design Film Festival
A journey through the legacy of Eileen Gray and her most famous house in the French Riviera, "E.1027 – Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea," by directors Beatrice Minger and Christoph Schaub, invites viewers into the layered legacy of the pioneering Irish architect and her unique vision of modernism. Designed in the late 1920s, the villa not only embodies Gray's architectural genius but also bears the shadow of an uneasy narrative involving Le Corbusier and Jean Badovici. Through their docufiction, Minger and Schaub illuminate Gray's groundbreaking work and critique the prevailing narratives of male dominance in modernist history.
Big meeting: Le Corbusier's LC4 Chaise Longue meets Eileen Gray's Adjustable table, Alvar Aalto's Stool 60, Verner Panton's Flowerpot pendant and Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona chair
The 20th century is almost certainly the most important period when it comes to interior design icons. The list of protagonists who have contributed to making this era of design such a great one is certainly too long to truly do justice to all of them and their classic furniture designs. For this reason, here we present just a small selection of architects and designers such as Eileen Gray, Le Corbusier and Verner Panton, who have written design history over the past century, and which still continue to make an impression to this day – all of whom can be found on the Architonic Platform. Our journey includes extraordinary talents from all corners of the world: A look back at the furniture world of yesterday, which was then of tomorrow, and today still shines as brightly and timelessly as ever.
Association Cap Moderne have announced that the restoration of Eileen Gray’s modernist villa E-1027, along with other projects on the Cap Moderne site, such as Le Corbusier’s Cabanon and Unités de Camping, and l’Etoile de Mer restaurant, have been completed and are now open to visitors. The site is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is considered as one of the must-see places to discover in the region, welcoming more than 10,000 visitors a year.
Taller de Arquitectura Carmelina&Aurelio, by Tuxtla Gutiérrez in Mexico, has launched a coloring book with illustrations of famous architectural works. Due to the success of the first edition, the studio has just published the second volume of the series, with illustrations of works by Zaha Hadid, Kengo Kuma, Rozana Montiel, BIG, and Eileen Gray. The digital book in PDF format is available for free on the studio website.
Looking back on architectural history, you could be forgiven for thinking that women were an invention of the 1950s, alongside spandex and power steering - but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Big names like Le Corbusier, Mies, Wright, and Kahn often had equally inspired female peers, but the rigid structure of society meant that their contributions tended to be overlooked.
Famous architects are often seen as more enigma than person, but behind even the biggest names hide the scandals and tragedies of everyday life. As celebrities of a sort, many of the world's most famed architects have faced rumors and to this day there are questions about the truth of their private affairs. Clients and others in their studios would get a glimpse into an architect’s personal life, but sometimes the sheer force of personality that often comes with creative genius would prevent much insight. The fact remains, however, that these architects’ lives were more than the sum of their buildings.
Osborne Samuel gallery is pleased to announce the first UK exhibition of paintings by the Irish designer and architect Eileen Gray (1878 - 1976). A leading pioneer of Modernist design, she is widely regarded as one of the most influential architects and designers of the 20th century. The exhibition will feature over 60 paintings and photographs from the 1920s - 1960 that will be for sale, and will include some of the artist’s personal ephemera and letters.
At long last, after over a decade of project mismanagement and controversial repairs that ignited concerns over historical integrity, restorations have been completed on E-1027, Eileen Gray’s 1929 masterpiece on France’s Côte d’Azur. The house, which heavily influenced the work of Le Corbusier and became an object of his jealous fixation, has a traumatic past that nearly resulted in its loss to history.
The controversial renovation of Eileen Gray's E1027 on the Côte d’Azur is complete. Once a "lost legend of 20th-century architecture," the quaint holiday home has been brought back to life and is now open to the public. Announcing the news, The Guardian author Rowan Moore has recounted the cliffside project's turbulent past, reciting its significance as Gray's first architectural project.
To celebrate International Women's Day, we asked the Brazilian non-profit group Arquitetas Invisíveis to share with us a part of their work, which identifies women in architecture and urbanism. They kindly shared with us a list of 48 important women architects, divided into seven categories: pioneers, "in the shadows," architecture, landscape architecture, social architecture, urbanism and sustainable architecture. We will be sharing this list over the course of the week.
Yesterday we brought you The Pioneers, and today we present the women architects that have lived in "the shadows" of the some of the great names in the architecture world.
"I cannot, in whole conscience, recommend architecture as a profession for girls. I know some women who have done well at it, but the obstacles are so great that it takes an exceptional girl to make a go of it. If she insisted on becoming an architect, I would try to dissuade her. If then, she was still determined, I would give her my blessing–she could be that exceptional one." – Pietro Belluschi, FAIA from the 1955 New York Life Insurance Company brochure, “Should You Be an Architect?”
The Architects’ Journal as named Teresa Borsuk of Pollard Thomas Edward “Woman Architect of the Year 2015.” The prestigious title, awarded last year to Mecanoo’s Francine Houben, is being presented to Borsuk for her “remarkable” ability to improve equality within her practice.
Borsuk was chosen over an impressive shortlist of women architects. Find out 10 facts about Borsuk and see why the jury consider her to be an ideal role model for future generations, after the break.
In a public interview, director Mary McGuckian speaks with Shane O'Toole of DoCoMoMo Ireland about her soon-to-be-released film, "The Price of Desire," a biopic about the influential Irish modernist Eileen Gray - narrated from the perspective of Le Corbusier, no less. McGuckian explains how the film and the extensive research behind it went far beyond the usual remit of a biopic. Indeed, not only did it spawn an accompanying documentary ("Gray Matters", directed by Marco Orsini) and book, it even played a pivotal role in the restoration of E1027, Gray's seminal house design, to a point where it was possible to film on location.
The Wall Street Journal recently detailed the complex history of E-1027, the house which Eileen Gray designed with her lover Jean Badovici in Southern France: from the murals which Le Corbusier painted on the walls (without Gray's permission) to the murder that happened there in 1996 to the restoration that has been going on for over a decade (a supposed "massacre" of the original). You can read the full article here.
As we've mentioned before, Irish designer Eileen Gray was undoubtedly one of the most influential, and most overlooked, designers of the 20th century. However, a new Kickstarter campaign aims to put that right once and for all. The campaign is seeking funds to help renovate Gray's seminal house, E-1027, for the production of a feature film about the architect.
