The potential for new building materials and technologies to revolutionise architecture was evident in the late 1800’s with the use of cast iron and cast plate glass at the Crystal Palace (1851) in London; the first house built of reinforced concrete in St Denis, France (Francois Coignet, 1853); the ten-story, steel-framed Home Insurance Building in Chicago (1885 William Le Baron Jenney); and the Eiffel Tower (1889) in Paris.

The Modernist architectural movement which was born at the start of the twentieth century, combined innovative construction technologies, particularly the use of reinforced concrete, glass and steel, with a minimalist design ethos, as a reaction against the decorative ornamentation of preceding styles.

Whilst Early European Modernism (1900-1914) included some stylised ornamentation with designers such as Charles Renny Mackintosh with the Arts and Crafts, and Art Nouveau Movements, a more austere and functional design language developed. Examples include, the AEG Turbine Factory (1909) by Peter Behrens and the Fagus-Werk Factory (1913) by Walter Gropius and Adolf Meyer.

At the same time, Early American Modernism (1900-1914) was dominated by Frank Lloyd Wright, who despite having no formal architectural training, was working in Chicago with Louis Sullivan on the pioneering steel-frame high-rise office buildings. He went on to develop highly original design concepts and challenge traditional design rules with his series of Prairie and Block houses for example. His philosophy that ‘form and function should be one’ was also applied to houses, office buildings, as well as church buildings and a warehouse, all of which used innovative construction technologies and simple, geometric design elements.