The City University International aimed to unite students and create peace after World War I by inviting students from different countries to study together. It is fitting that a school with such a diverse student population also features diversity in architecture. The building on the City University’s campus, many of which were designed by architect Corbusier, serve as documents of the movements in architecture in the early twentieth century.
An important element of modern architecture is the altered perspective of the building. In traditional architecture, it was possible to understand the structure of a building from viewing the outside. In modern architecture, an observer must walk through the building to understand it’s structure. One main reason for these changes is the building of columns below the ground to support buildings. This allowed architects more possibilities in building above ground. Modern architecture began to take on features such as large glass windows and columns, which expanded the spaces.
During the early twentieth century, cubist painters were attempting to represent multiple perspectives on a single canvas. They used geometric shapes and lines to create two-dimensional paintings that felt three-dimensional. Much like cubist painters, modern architects like Corbusier were expanding the perspectives on buildings. The increased use of glass allowed people to see through the buildings and connected the spaces effectively. Lines became important as devices to draw the eye toward aspects of the architecture.
Perhaps the most obvious influence of cubism in architecture is in the brutalist movement of architecture. Brutalist buildings emphasized their three-dimensional qualities with slabs of concrete jutting out from buildings and strong lines. Much like a cubist painting, it becomes difficult to land one’s eye on a particular feature of a brutalist building; viewing it is an overwhelming sensory experience.
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