Architectural movement

Countless art and architectural styles developed over the centuries. Many were in one way or the other a continuation of earlier schools or were inspired by previous styles. Around 1920 a movement emerged that professed to have created a style utterly unrelated to any preceding styles. This international art movement fell back on basic line patterns and shapes and the use of modern materials. Abstraction of forms governed by geometry and the use of primary colours are also typical. An early example of this movement is that of the ‘De Stijl’ journal. Artists who came together in this circle frequently worked with planes and lines, but in architecture only one building was constructed in line with the ‘De Stijl’ movement. Functionalism, a related movement, had more followers with respect to architecture. Examples of the ‘Modern Movement’, as it is referred to, were built at several locations in the Netherlands during the 1920s and 1930s. This movement attached great importance to functionality, space, light and air. This was achieved through the application of new materials and modern construction methods, such as steel, reinforced concrete, flat roofs and diagonal constructions.