Modern Architectural Elements
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
2010s Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Concrete, Steel
2010s American Modern Architectural Elements
Bronze
2010s American Modern Architectural Elements
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Architectural Elements
Oak
2010s American Modern Architectural Elements
Aluminum
2010s Australian Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
2010s American Modern Architectural Elements
Bronze
2010s American Modern Architectural Elements
Bronze
2010s European Modern Architectural Elements
Ceramic
2010s European Modern Architectural Elements
Ceramic
2010s Chinese Modern Architectural Elements
Other
2010s Chinese Modern Architectural Elements
Other
2010s Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Concrete, Steel
2010s Chinese Modern Architectural Elements
Other
2010s Australian Modern Architectural Elements
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Steel
2010s Chinese Modern Architectural Elements
Other
2010s Chinese Modern Architectural Elements
Rock Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
2010s Dutch Modern Architectural Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
2010s European Modern Architectural Elements
Ceramic
2010s Chinese Modern Architectural Elements
Other
2010s Chinese Modern Architectural Elements
Other
2010s Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Aluminum, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
2010s Japanese Modern Architectural Elements
Stone
2010s Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Concrete, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
2010s Australian Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Art Glass
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Architectural Elements
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Art Glass
2010s Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Steel
1980s French Vintage Modern Architectural Elements
Lava
2010s Australian Modern Architectural Elements
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
2010s French Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
2010s French Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
2010s French Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
2010s European Modern Architectural Elements
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Art Glass
2010s Indian Modern Architectural Elements
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble, Carrara Marble
2010s Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Australian Modern Architectural Elements
Aluminum
20th Century European Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
2010s Chinese Modern Architectural Elements
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble