EMERGING INTERNATIONALISM

HASAN - UDDIN KHAN

The prelude to internationalism and the Project of Modernity was founded in new technologies through which earlier notions of functionalism could be refined.The new functionalism centered on both practical and aesthetic interpretations of form where all details, construction and plan served a purpose, and embellishments for the sake of ornamentation were disallowed. Hence, function and style were intimately linked in an attitude to design that itself combined modernism and the use of mass production and prefabrication.

Around 1925 the Bauhaus under Gropius and Ludwig Mies van de Rohe articulated modern architecture and developed the International Style and the internationalist concerns of architecture and design. There were, however, a number of other important figures such as Alvar Aalto in Finland, Wells Coates in England and Giuseppe Terragni in Italy, who were simultaneously working along similar lines. Most prominent among them was Le Corbusier, who made the world aware that a new "style" was coming into being through his writings and works dating from as early as 1921.

European architects at that time regarded themselves as modernists, but identified themselves under different labels. Their diverse architectures communicated a sense of newness and a feel for the future. Their social beliefs and faith in mass production led to works that they intended to be built everywhere - their attitude, in short, was one of internationalism.

Technology was behind great changes; the different parts of the world were now connected by rail, and goods and people moved between societies much more quickly. The physical reality that goods were widely available meant that different nations could benefit economically by them. Architecture no longer had to be connected to place; components of buildings could be transported anywhere. Technology appeared in the popular consciousness, as did fascination with the machine and its social impact, vividly portrayed by Fritz Lang's brilliant dystopia film of 1926, Metropolis.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 had a major impact on European consciousness as a force for international change. Songs such as the Internationale , which served a Russian agenda, came to symbolize the solidarity and links between people across nations.

In architecture, the term "internationalism" was first used by Walter Gropius in a volume entitled Internationale Architecture, which he edited for the Bauhaus in 1925. It showed a wide range of current works, and discussed the ideas of the day in essays. The volume is particularly interesting for the characterization of modern architecture as being international and unbounded by place or culture.