Beaux-Arts vs International Style
International Style arose as a reaction against Beaux-Arts — rejected ornament and historicism wholesale.
Beaux-Arts
A grand, symmetrical classicism taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris — monumental facades layered with sculpture, columns, and richly worked stone.
- Rigorous bilateral symmetry and axial planning
- Paired columns and grand classical orders
- Rusticated (heavily textured) stone base
- Sculptural ornament: garlands, cartouches, figures
- Prominent cornices, balustrades, and a hierarchy of stories
International Style
The austere, functional modernism of glass curtain walls and unornamented volumes — 'form follows function' built in steel and glass.
- Rectilinear, volumetric forms with flat roofs
- Glass curtain walls and ribbon windows
- No applied ornament — 'form follows function'
- Exposed structural grid; steel and reinforced concrete
- Open, flexible floor plans raised on pilotis in some works
At a glance
| Beaux-Arts | International Style | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1830s–1900s | 1920s–1970s |
| Discipline | Architecture | Architecture |
| Region | France, United States | Germany, Worldwide |
| Family | Revival, Classical | Modernism |
| Formal traits | ornamental, symmetrical, monumental | geometric, minimal, functional, unornamented |
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