In the process of researching the pluralities of Modernism and defining the regional qualities it became obvious that not all Modernisms that existed in the United States can fall into these four clean categories. While there are numerous ways to sort out American Modernism two additional areas that I would like to explore are what I will call Tract Modernism and Urban Modernism.
The earliest ideals of Modernism sought to build homes in a practical, affordable way on a mass scale for ordinary people whose lives would be improved by good design. Many one-off, prototype houses were constructed, but the United States also saw the boom of the housing development and the tract house. 13 million dwelling units are constructed in the United States in the post war boom between 1950 and 1960. 11 million of those units were in the suburbs, which grew six times faster than the urban centers; Washington was supporting decentralization as protection against a nuclear attack.
The polar opposite of the tract home development is the skyscraper. Chicago introduced the world to the skyscraper in 1884 with the 10-story Home Insurance Building by William Le Baron Jenney. Chicago and New York would continue to be the frontrunners in global skyscraper technologies and designs.
Tract Modernism William Krisel
Best known as a prolific designer of the postwar boom, Palm Springs based designer William Krisel can be credited with bridging the building industry with the early ideals of Modernism. Most modern architects had the pleasure of producing one-off prototypes to fulfill the theory that people’s lives could be improved through good design. Krisel was able to see his designs realized on a large scale, effectively translating affordable good design to the masses in large-scale housing developments.
By his own estimate Krisel’s designs were translated into more than 40,000 residences nationwide. Krisel trusted experienced contractors to execute his designs, which were impeccably detailed right down to the cabinetry, without his supervision. Krisel was a developer’s architect. In the 1960’s his office employed 60 people and he declined any commission for fewer than 50 dwelling units.
The success of his first tract of modernist houses in 1956, Twin Palms, executed in collaboration with the Alexander Construction Company led to the design of more than 2,000 Alexander tract homes in Palm Springs alone. Alan Hess describes this ‘Alexander Tract’ as the largest Modernist housing subdivision in the United States.
Urban Modernism Chicago and New York
Post war finance and business launched a ‘systems’ revolution. Peter Drucker, the economist and management consultant, became highly influential when he published his book, The Concept of the Corporation, in 1946. Drucker applied military strategy to businesses, arguing for a rational model of centralized management and decentralized operations. The term ‘planned obsolescence’ was coined in 1954 as financial and marketing specialists calculated ways to create continuous growth and people and units became interchangeable parts within the corporate whole. At the same time, human relations experts began identifying efficient ways to keep employees.
Prestigious architectural firms translated these goals into impressive results that could not have more perfectly resonated with the statistical efforts of the time. The corporate Modern skyscraper was born. Generic modern structures had high capacities and the advantage of ‘flexible space.’ A new brand of designers catered to the needs of the corporation, helping to balance a strong image with efficiency in ordinary offices.
Architects tended to obsess with facades and translate those rationalities throughout the building. The intricacies of the curtain wall were used to express structural concepts and the honest order of the building. Both Mies van der Rohe and SOM set precedents in tall building design.
The Lake Shore Drive Apartments, completed in 1951, may have been comprised of residential units, but nonetheless rank among the most important of Mies’ work, setting a precedent for his future commissions. One of the popular criticisms of the towers is that they do not fully adhere to Mies’ philosophy of structural expression that he would later achieve with such grace in Crown Hall. The problem originates with Chicago’s building code which requires fire-proofing of a steel structure more than one-story in height. Mies arrived at a clever solution and described it in an interview in Architectural Forum in 1952, “… first I am going to tell you the real reason for those mullions, and then I am going to tell you a good reason by itself. It was very important to preserve and extend the rhythm which the mullions set up on the rest of the building. We looked at it on the model without the steel section [I-beams] attached to the corner columns and it did not look right. That is the real reason. Now the other reason is that the steel section was needed to stiffen the plate which covers the corner column so this plate would not ripple, and also we needed it for strength when the sections were hoisted into place. Now, of course, that's a very good reason-but the other one is the real reason."
SOM had its successes as well. Elegant curtain walls and open, grid-based interiors became their trademark. The Lever House, completed in 1952 in New York, sealed their reputation for prestigious corporate statements. The transparent facades, celebrating the symbolism of the cleanliness of soap, were an instant success and glass revolutionized a district previously defined by limestone. SOM quickly established four regional offices and high-status corporate commissions. Walter Netsch, in Chicago, re-imagined the corporate floor plan and moved the service core, with its elevators and HVAC system, to an attached box which both braced the building and allowed an entirely open floor plate. The gleaming stainless steel exterior of the Inland Steel Building celebrated the tower’s unusual form. Fortune magazine contended that ‘SOM took Mies’s stainless steel standard, warmed it up and sold it as a prestigious package to the US businessman.”
