How Modern Design Began. Modernism is a philosophical movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, categorized by abstract thinking that deviated from realism, romanticism, and renaissance beliefs in previous eras. Modernism in art and architecture, in particular, was popular during the 1940s to 1980s.

Modernism first emerged in the early twentieth century, and by the 1920s, the prominent figures of the movement – Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe – had established their reputations.

Modernism in architecture grew from the Bauhaus, a German architecture and design school established in 1919 by Walter Gropius along with Mies, Marcel Breuer, Wassily Kandinsky, and Paul Klee. Bauhaus combined art with technology, crafts with industrial production to revitalize design for everyday life.

The styles of the Modern Movement, Art Deco, Moderne and International, began in Europe and spread to the United States in the 1920s. Inspired by the Cubism of modern art in Europe, the boxy shapes of International style buildings embodied a new social theory of architecture as well.

Georgia O’Keeffe, known as the “Mother of American modernism”, has been a major figure in American Modernism since the 1920s. She has received widespread recognition, for challenging the boundaries of modern American artistic style.

The 9 best cities for modern architecture enthusiasts

1. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It’s a tough competition between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but Dubai has the edge.
2. Helsinki, Finland.
3. Mexico City, Mexico.
4. New York City, United States.
5. Tokyo, Japan.
6. Toronto, Canada.
7. Melbourne, Australia.
8. Bilbao, Spain.