HSTARC2: International Style

International style is an architectural style that emerged from 1920s to 1930s in Europe and United States. Common characteristics of this style include International Style buildings which have rectilinear forms, light, taut plane surface that has no applied ornamentation and decoration in order to emphasize a building’s horizontal aspect. The style focuses more on the stylistic aspects of Modernism namely: volume rather than mass; balance rather than symmetry; and no ornaments should be applied.

In Europe, the common characteristics of the International Style include a radical simplification of form, steel and concrete as preferred materials, and transparency of buildings. The machine aesthetic and logical design concept support building function in order to create buildings beyond historicism.

In North America, International Style originated on 1932 during the exhibition at the Museum of Modern art. Some of the common International Style high-rise buildings have square or rectangular footprint, simple cubic forms, windows in horizontal rows and façade angled at 90 degrees.

Houses and buildings are often defined in the International Style by features such as:
• Rectilinear forms
• Asymmetrical
• Cylindrical surfaces
• Smooth wall surfaces mostly glass and steel
• A cantilevered balcony/upper floor
• Open interior spaces
• There is a series of repetitive elements
• Flat roofs
• Metal window frames, sliding windows