Oblique | Simplicity versus complexity Push aside previous norms Rejection of tradition is tradition |
M
odernist architecture usually embraces minimalism and precision. Le Corbusier, a pioneer in conceptualizing modern design, believed buildings should function as “machines for living in.” This is similar to automobiles, which he saw as “machines for traveling in.” Inevitable progress dictates that cars must replace horses, so modernist design should reject all the old classical styles derived from the past. Adhering to this machine doctrine, designers discard decorative motifs, favoring structural material distinctiveness and geometrical forms. The skyscraper is the archetypical modernist construction.
