Thoroughly Modern Architecture Quiz

Answer: Blobitecture

Blob buildings appear to be taking over the world! The blob-like architecture, or blobitecture, includes undulating and free-flowing lines in its design. Other odd-looking buildings with geometric designs can also fall under the umbrella of blobitecture. Canadian born architect Frank Gehry and English architect Peter Cook have both been known to use this style of design in their buildings.

The image shown is that of The Sage in Gateshead, England. Other examples include the Experience Music Project in Seattle, the Gugenheim Museum in Bilbao, Kunsthaus Graz in Austria and the Golden Terraces (Złote Tarasy) in Warsaw.

Answer: Brutalist

Brutalist buildings are cheap to build as they normally incorporate pre-cast concrete slabs with unfinished surfaces. The style of architecture became popular during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, where we saw an increase in concrete-built shopping centres and high-rise housing. The term 'brutalist' is not taken from the English word for brute, but taken from the French words 'beton brut' which translates as 'raw concrete'.

The image shows Habitat 67, a housing development in Montreal, Canada, designed by Moshe Safdie and opened in 1967 during the World Fair.

Answer: De Stijl

De Stijl, or neoplasticism, was a Dutch artistic movement which became popular after its inception in 1917. It featured plastic art which incorporated the primary colours red, blue and yellow, as well as grey, black and white. The abstract designs featured squares and rectangles, and only straight horizontal or vertical lines.

The Rietveld Schroder House was built in 1924 and can be found in Utrecht, Netherlands. It features upstairs and downstairs living quarters with moveable partitions which allow the space inside to be opened up. The building became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

Answer: Art Deco

The Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs, a World Fair held in Paris between April and October 1925, was where the term Art Deco originated. Popular during the 1920s and 1930s, the Art Deco style is characterised by strong and bold shapes with geometric and angular lines. It also includes circles, prisms, chevrons, lightning bolts, zigzag and plenty of sunbeams.

One of the most recognised Art Deco designed buildings is the spire of the Chrysler Building in New York City. There are many other Art Deco buildings throughout the world, including the Central Market in Kuala Lumpur, Luhrs Tower in Phoenix and the BBC Broadcasting House in London.

Answer: Constructivism

Constructivism was a style of architecture which started in Russia during the 1920s. The term was coined by architect Vladimir Tatlin, who was influenced by political ideology combined with engineering and technology of the era. The initial design which started the movement, Tatlin's Tower, was never actually built. With rotating spirals, cubes and pyramids, it would have been taller than the Eiffel Tower had it been finished.

The majority of constructivist buildings are made from glass and steel, some of them with machine-made parts, but with the whole appearance resulting in a sense of movement. The image shows the Dancing House in Prague, but other examples include Sukhov Tower and Rusakov Workers' Club, both in Moscow.

Answer: Coal fire

Burning of any fossil fuel, such as coal, natural gas or oil, has proved to be harmful to the natural balance of the atmosphere because it emits carbon dioxide. Some people have moved towards sustainable, or green, architecture with inbuilt devices to capture energy through solar, wind or hydro power. Architects use natural building materials such as rock, stone, wood and baked earth in their designs.

Answer: Urban planning

Le Corbusier (1887-1965) lived during the time when many cities needed to be redeveloped after both World War I and World War II. His dream of designing "green parks and gardens at the feet of clusters of skyscrapers" met with disdain when he was asked to draft plans to rebuild the slums of Paris, but his modernistic approach took him elsewhere instead.

He designed the new city of Chandigarh, also known as The City Beautiful, after the independence of India in 1947. Included in this was the Palace of Assembly as shown in the image.

Answer: Organic modernism

"I'd like to have a free architecture. I'd like to have architecture that belonged where you see it standing, and was a grace to the landscape instead of a disgrace," once quoted Frank Lloyd Wright, who was an advocate of organic architecture. One such building was Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, the 1930s built house he designed which took on the natural form of a surrounding waterfall.

Other examples of this style of architecture include the shell-like Guggenheim Museum in New York and the wing-like structure of Dulles Airport.

Answer: Desert modernism

Desert modernism was found throughout southern California, and none better than the area surrounding Palm Springs. Hollywood was thriving, and actors including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby all favoured living close to the studios.

A style of house was developed which would capture the warmth and beauty of the area and the style of design included open plan living, expansive glass walls, wide overhangs and outdoor living spaces. Large boulders and trees were incorporated in the outside landscape.

Answer: International Space Station

The name Zarya in English means 'sunrise'. It was the first module of the International Space Station to be launched from Kazakhstan on 20th November 1998. It's technical name is Functional Cargo Block, and it houses the main propulsion, communications and electrical power source. The original launch was shortly followed by other modules Unity, Zvezda, Harmony and Tranquility, which were attached to the main module.

Although space architecture is a term used loosely to describe space-age buildings on earth, it is also a term used to describe the building of a structure in outer-space, the components of which are built on earth and then constructed in outer space by trained astronauts. This is not to be confused with space engineering or astronautics.