Designs of the time: The most famous art school of modernity In a fleeting fourteen year period, sandwiched between two world wars, Germany s Bauhaus school of art and design changed the face of modernity. With utopian ideals for the future, the school developed apioneering fusion of fine art, craftsmanship, and technologyto be applied across painting, sculpture, design, architecture, film, photography, textiles, ceramics, theatre, and installation.As much an intense personal community as a publicly minded collective, the Bauhaus was first founded byWalter Gropius (1883 1969), and...

Visual impact: Nothing says modernist perfection like an Eames design The creative duoCharles Eames (1907 1978)andRay Kaiser Eames (1912 1988)transformed the visual character of America. Though best known for their furniture, the husband and wife team were also forerunners inarchitecture, textile design, photography, and film.The Eames work defined anew, multifunctional modernity, exemplary for its integration of craft and design, as well as for the use of modern materials, notablyplywood and plastics.The Eames Lounge Chair Wood, designed with molded plywood technology, became a defining...

God s architect: Gaudi s ravishing symbiosis between built environment and natural world From the toweringSagrada Familiato the shimmering, textured facade ofCasa Batlloand the enchanting landscape ofPark Guell, it s easy to see whyAntoni Gaudi (1852 1926)gained the epithet God s architect . With fluid forms and mathematical precision, his work extols the wonder of natural creation: columns soar like tree trunks, window frames curve like flowering branches, and ceramic tiling shimmers like scaly, reptilian skin.With this outstanding attention to natural detail, his inspirations from both...

That s Wright One of the greatest pioneers in the history of architecture Acclaimed as the father of skyscrapers, the quintessentially American iconFrank Lloyd Wright (1867 1959)was an architect of aspiration. He believed in giving cultivated American life its fitting architectural equivalent and applied his idealism to structures across the continent, from suburban homes to churches, offices, skyscrapers, and the celebratedGuggenheim Museum.Wright s work is distinguished by its harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he calledorganic architecture, and which found its...

Feats of design and engineering: The work of an unparalleled architectural engineer Santiago Calatravais not only one of the world s most prominent architects, but is also an engineer, sculptor, and painter. His reputation as an unparalleled architectural engineer was cemented with hisnumerous bridges for cities around the world. With more recent projects such as the stadium for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and the railway station in Liege, Belgium, he has unarguably made his name in Europe and continues to look further ahead.Calatrava s work is closely related to his own drawings of the...

Landmarks: An impeccable blend of building and environmentIn the architecture of Richard Neutra (1892 1970), inside and outside find their perfect modernist harmony. As the Californian sun glints off sleek building surfaces, vast glass panel walls allow panoramic views over mountains, gardens, palm trees, and pools.Neutra moved to the United States from his native Vienna in 1923 and settled in Los Angeles. He displayed his affinity with architectural settings early on with the Lovell House, set on a landscaped hill with views of the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica Mountains. Later projects...

Modern minimalism with a Japanese touch: Discover Tadao Ando s completely unique aestheticPhilippe Starck describes him as a mystic in a country which is no longer mystic. Drew Philip calls his buildings land art that struggle to emerge from the earth. He is the only architect to have won the discipline s four most prestigious prizes: the Pritzker, Carlsberg, Praemium Imperiale, and Kyoto Prize. His name is Tadao Ando, and he is one of the world s greatest living architects. Combining influences from Japanese tradition with the best of Modernism, Ando has developed a completely unique...

Let there be light: The work of celebrated American architect Richard MeierAs one of the most important contemporary architects, Richard Meier (b. 1934) is a key figure in TASCHEN s updated Basic Architecture series. His brilliant career ranges from elegant family homes to dazzling institutional buildings like the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art. This work gives an insight into the development of his oeuvre starting with the early designs and culminating with his latest buildings, exploring his combination of precisely calculated proportions and high quality materials, resulting in...

Space age architecture: Going back to the future with the visionary West Coast architect

Michigan-born architect John Lautner (1911 1994) was behind some of the most striking and innovative architectural designs in mid-20th-century America. Designing homes and commercial buildings primarily in Southern California, Lautner s innovative work captured the pioneering optimism of 1950s America, a time of space-age technology, economic growth, and affluence. Today, several of Lautner s houses are labeled Los Angeles Historic-Cultural...