The Roots of Simple, Sophisticated Design

Form Follows Function. Less is More. God is in the Detail. How many times have we heard these expressions without understanding where they came from or, more importantly, what they mean? As someone who has his fair share of quotes (just ask my wife and daughters) I’ve always been curious about who coined them and what inspired such profound words. 

In Architectural and Design Schools those mantras are the foundation for much of their teachings. I’ve carried these principles throughout my Architectural career and believe them to be as important today as the days they were first said.

For examples of all three you can turn to Chicago, the birthplace of modern Architecture where countless Architects flocked following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 to rebuild the city. Louis Sullivan, a Chicago native and influential Architect of the late nineteenth century, considered the “father of skyscrapers” and the “father of modernism” is credited with “Form Follows Function.” It is directly attributed to the high-rise architecture Sullivan was designing at the time. Its meaning is simple -- the shape of a building or object should relate to its intended function or purpose. At the time technology, taste and a burgeoning economy were all converging, making it possible and necessary for Architects to break from familiar styles driven by pattern books. Something had to influence the form and according to Sullivan it had to be the purpose of the building thus “Form Follows Function.” 

Sullivan’s protégé Frank Lloyd Wright adopted and professed the same philosophy. Fast forward to 1937.  Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Director of the Bauhaus, Germany’s preeminent Art School immigrates to the United States fleeing Nazi Germany.  He settled in Chicago and planted the single largest footprint on Chicago’s modern skyline. Mies believed in what he called “skin-and-bones” architecture. Steel structures enclosed in glass where the structure (skeleton) was clearly expressed. To Mies, structure was like logic and offered the best way to do things and to express them.  He was skeptical about emotional expressions that led to overly complicated and adorned buildings. He didn’t trust them nor did he think they would last for long. Right or wrong, “Less is More” was his mantra and every building he designed in the US prior to his death expressed it. His work in Chicago came to define the city in much the same way that Bernini’s did Rome. His second mantra, “God is in the Detail” was a simple idea: details are important and whatever one does, it should be done thoroughly. The smallest of details can have the largest impact – details matter. With the simplistic approach Mies took on all of his buildings, the details were the most important because they were an expressive part of the Architecture.  

Our firm believes that simple design is sophisticated design. The philosophy behind all of these famous quotes is an affirmation of that. From the largest mixed-use apartment complexes to the smallest SFD homes, these principles are at the root of all we do. I often use an analogy first told to me by Richard Douglas of Trumark Homes when he was Division President at Centex Homes. We were working on a cost sensitive venture together and when it came to the home designs he said you need to design a house like a dolphin. At first the room stared curiously and then he explained. A dolphin is the perfect functioning animal in the ocean. No frills, fancy tentacles, fanning fins or horrifying teeth. Just smart, fast, stealth, and beautiful. A dolphin functions perfectly in its simple design and that is how Architecture should be. It is certainly the approach we take at Bassenian Lagoni.