Blog Three - Modernist Interiors

1. Find a photographic example of one Modernist interior from any online design museum and connect it with a link to your blog.

Living Room from Highpoint 2, Highgate, London

Designer: Berthold Lubetkin 1936-38

Photo Source: Allan, J. Berthold Lubetkin Merrell Publishers Ltd London 2002

2. Can you identify formal design features associated with a Modernist aesthetic in your chosen interior?

Concerning interior design, the modernist aesthetic can be summarized with this quote about Le Corbusier and Adolf Loos: “(they) rejected the overly decorated and feminized interiors of bourgeois society as antithetical to modern living.“ (Edwards and Gjertson, 15) Le Corbusier is quoted as saying “One can see these same business men, bankers and merchants, away from their businesses in their own homes, where everything seems to contradict their real existence — rooms too small, a conglomeration of useless and disparate objects, and a sickening spirit reigning over so many shams — Aubusson, Salon d’Automne, styles of all sorts and absurd bric-à-brac …” (Edwards and Gjertson, 15)

Lubetkin’s interior is simple, spacious and practical. It seems consistent with Le Corbusier’s dictum that a house is a “machine for living in” in the sense that the human needs for relaxation, socializing, eating together can be easily accommodated without crowding or clutter.

The interior is aesthetically a radical departure from the both the dark and cluttered Victorian style, the feminine curvaceous style of Art Nouveau and the machine and ocean liner aesthetic of Art Deco.

There is a lot of wood used in the furniture (Norwegian yew, sand-blasted paneling) and cowhide on the chairs. All of the materials used are kept in a natural state, in accordance with the modernist idea of expressing the qualities and beauties of the materials. The interior has a combination of lightweight plywood furniture (Eames style) but also very heavy looking rustic furniture. The former is consistent with Modernist principles about the use of new technology especially plywood to make light comfortable but sturdy furniture but the latter, less so.

There is no unnecessary ornamentation in the design of the furniture although the walls are highly patterned. In the choice of patterns Lubetkin shows some subversive spirit as they include theatrical prints from Pollock, timber paneling and blown-up photographic images of microscopic marine life. Wilk states that “In its furnishings, Lubetkin's Penthouse displayed a distinct Surrealist sensibility within the rational shell of Modernist architectural design.” (Wilk, 84) This is consistent with statements that Lubetkin made about the potential for modernist architecture to loose its soul. Lubetkin warned of “architecture’s increasing anonymity, disregard of history, and loss of human resonance” (Allan 9) Lubetkin interior is full of human resonance.

3. Is the designer/designers of this interior part of the Modernist movement? Does this movement have a manifesto?

Lubetkin was born in Russia where he trained under famous Russian constructivists Rodchenko, Popova and Tatlin. These teachers emphasized the idea of the “artist engineer” - industrial techniques being used to make “socially useful” objects. Later he moved to Paris where he worked for a radical architect who had been taught by Le Corbusier and was involved in the design of a building in the International Style. In 1931 he moved to Britain where he joined other émigrés in the emerging British Modern Movement. (Allan)

In 1928 the Congres Internationale d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) created the La Sarraz Declaration - a manifesto of the modernist movement led by Le Corbusier. The focus was on creating “healthy living quarters” for the population. They gave importance to “… the general economy of the dwelling, the principles of property and its moral significance, the effects of sunlight, the ill effects of darkness, essential hygiene, rationalization of household economics, the use of mechanical devices in domestic life, etc.” (CIAM manifesto quoted in Edwards, J and Gjertson, G. 2008)

The Modern Architectural Research (MARs) group (the English wing of CIAM) also prepared a manifesto – the Modern Plan for London in July 1942. This was mainly about town planning, transport and social factors. However, it also mentioned the need for communal housing: “Housing. In order to provide the liberation of as much land as possible, flats of 20 storeys should be provided, concentrated in parkland, to provide the advantages of the garden and city, and avoid their disadvantages by wasting transport and community necessities. 80% of the existing dwellings are designed to be let at the lowest possible rents” (Korn, Fry and Sharp 165)

4. Try to find an example of your chosen architect or designer’s critical writing (in the form of a manifesto or public declaration) or select another artist’s Modernist manifesto for the same time period, which relates to your chosen example.

“We have to choose which tradition to follow since they now exist in parallel. Back to romantic melodrama, mortgaged, all electric manor houses with phony chimney stacks, and the pre-slump semi-Tudor villas screened by pretensions or the sober eloquence of regularity with its sharp-edged space and lucid geometry. Architectural design can be either a metaphor for the world to come or an epitaph of the one that has gone, never to come back again.” (Lubetkin's speech at the Royal Institute of Architects, 1982, quoted in Allan, 50) This quote shows Lubetkin’s commitment to “giving a new face to our age”.

5. How are Modernist ideologies manifested in this design?

Allan lists the three key aspects of modernist ideology: the vision of architecture as means of creating social progress, the importance of the application of new technology and materials and the pursuit of a radical design aesthetic. To this list I would add an emphasis on the role of architecture in promoting public health and hygiene.

Lubetkin’s ideas about architecture were heavily influenced by his left wing political commitment. It is ironic that a designer of such strong left wing sensibilities ended up designing for wealthy clients. “Highpoint I soon became luxury flats leavened with a few units let at low rents, even though the project started life as a scheme for worker’s housing for Zigmund Gestetner, the office machinery manufacturer. “ (Gold, 44) 
 

In the downstairs Lubektin provided a space that Allan says he had hoped would provide an opportunity for people of different classes to socialize. In practice, this did not happen. However, new technology and materials were used in the design of the Highpoint building as they were one of the first examples in Britain of communal housing in a garden setting. Allan states that they provided crucial technical ground for many post war schemes. This is consistent with the Modernist belief in addressing the need for major post war re-building by building blocks of housing.

The buildings certainly incorporated a radical design aesthetic, although has Powers has pointed out there was a “big difference between Lubetkin’s Highpoint 1 (1933-35) a pure structure of monolithic concrete and Highpoint II (1936-38) a framed structure with varied textures and colours and an overall symmetry. (Powers 28) Highpoint 1 represented severe Modernism, Highpoint II, a more relaxed, playful aesthetic. Highpoint II also incorporated radical features like double height voids, brick glass walls, floating balconies and a beautiful central staircase of travertine and terrazzo. (Wilks)

The Highpoint building also promoted the modernist idea of health and the outdoors. It featured cross ventilation and open views.

Works Cited

Allan, J. Berthold Lubetkin Merrell Publishers Ltd London 2002 Print

Edwards, J and Gjertson, G. “La Maison de Verre: Negotiating a Modern Domesticity” Journal of Interior Design Volume 34 Issue 1 September 2008 Web.

Gold, J. “In Search of Modernity: The Urban Projects of the Modern Movement 1929-39” in Modern Britain 1929-39 – Edited by James Peto and Donna Loveday Design Museum 1999 London Print.

Grieve, A. “Isokon” in Modern Britain 1929-39 – Edited by James Peto and Donna Loveday Design Museum 1999 London Print.

Korn, A., Fry, M. and Sharp, D. “The M.A.R.S. Plan for London” Perspecta, Vol. 13/14 (1971), pp. 163-173 The MIT Press on behalf of Perspecta Web.

Powers, A. Modern – The Modern Movement in Britain Merrell Publishers Ltd London 2005 Print

Wilk, Christopher Modernism: Designing a new world edited V&A Publications London 2006 Print.