Among the important pioneers of modern architecture and design,
Marcel Breuer (1902 – 1981) occupies a very special position. By
1976, on the occasion of his receiving the Grande Medaille d'or
from France's Academie d'architecture, Breuer was called “the last
living landmark of the Bauhaus international school of architecture”,
when he died five years later, he was recognized as the last modernist
icon related to Bauhaus, school of design.
Furthermore he was heaped with architectural honors and awards
according to his 150 structures accomplished on four continents was
named as one of the form-givers of the twentieth century, and
described as a “monumental figure among modern architects”.
Breuer, in his design from the first chair to his most recent house,
has always insisted upon giving equal weight, clarity, and expression
to each important element – and to create a vibrant architecture
of many contrasts of schizophrenic modern life by balancing the
transparency and solidity in each project. His design manner as
an icon of early modernism has influenced the contemporary architecture
regarding the innovative theories of architectural culture, the
creation of unique, fluid space, pure but varied organizations of
regular geometry, encouraging the production of artificial,
construction of industrial - modulated elements and their successful
applications in sensitivity of a sculptor.
This paper's aim is to redefine and prove the existence of the
traces of Breuer's design in the contemporary architecture in the
context of modernism. In this context, the paper's preferred method
is to find out the influences of Bauhaus school in Breuer's design
concepts, to make a comparison between Antonio Gaudi and Marcel
Breuer as two icons of traditional and modern architecture, to
analyze Breuer's geometrical application methodologies and to
discover the connections between Breuer and the contemporary
architects regarding modern design theories.