Modernism had its moments

Although here in England its reputation is often marred by and associated with that most detested form of architecture, the brutalist tower block, modernism really did come up with some stunning architecture during the course of the last century. Recently Tom Ford's A Single Man reminded us that modernism could be sleek, stylish and sexy, when he chose to use this house as the setting for much of the film.

The Schaffer house, designed by John Lautner for the mother of an employee, is situated in Glendale California, and like much modernist architecture uses glass as a prominent feature to create a spacious and light filled living space. Lautner studied under Frank Lloyd-Wright and was one of the leading modernist architects, designing other such icons of the West Coast as The Chemospere House in the Hollywood Hills:

and the Elrod Residence in Palm Springs, which apparently makes an appearance in the James Bond film Diamonds are Forever:

California, and in particular Los Angeles, is home to much celebrated modernist architecture, helped in a large part to become iconic by the photographer Julius Shulman, who devoted a career to photographing such modernist landmarks as Pierre Koenig's Case Study House No. 22 in Los Angeles:

As you can see the ethos of the designs was to be bold and daring, following the modernist intent to create something that completely shunned the past and tradition in favour of brash, uncompromising design. Many of the views afforded by these designs were rather incredible, where you would often be overlooking stunning vistas of the urban sprawl that is LA.

This is a house by Frank Neutra, again photographed by Shulman. Neutra was another of the leading figures of the Californian modernist movement. Like Lautner he worked for Frank Lloyd-Wright, and went on to design over three hundred houses in California, including this one, made famous in the film LA Confidential.

I'm always going to dream of the perfect Georgian townhouse or a seventeenth century country farmhouse, but as far as escapism goes these modernist utopias will always have a lasting legacy, there's just something quite special about their angular lines and minimalist chic, even if the reality of living in a glass box would be a little impractical...