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Marc Hyman
Mrs. DeBock
English IV Honors
March 23, 2015
Service Research Paper
Modern architecture or modernist architecture is a term applied to a large movement,
with its exact definition varying widely. The range of architects and contractors depend on the
type of house the client desires. New styles of architecture implement many new ways and
techniques of constructing that just about every contractor possess. The terms Modern
Architecture and Modern Construction are often applied to modernist movements at the
beginning of the 20th century, with efforts to bring back the principles underlying architectural
design with a quick technological advancement and the modernization of the world. Modern
architecture has shaped and formed new ways of constructing homes.
With the changes in architecture throughout the past couple of hundred years, the form of
many movements, schools of design, and architectural styles, go against another, and often
equally defying the classification. Others see Modern architecture as primarily driven by
technological and engineering developments. (Barriers of Implementing Modern Architecture)s
Still other historians regard Modernism as a matter of taste, a reaction against eclecticism and the
expensive, wealthy styles of Victorian and Edwardian architecture.
Beginning in the Industrial Revolution, the availability of newly-available building
materials such as iron, steel, and sheet glass drove the invention of new building techniques. In

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1796, Shrewsbury mill owner Charles Bage first used his 'fireproof' design, which relied on cast
iron and brick with flag stone floors. Such construction greatly strengthened the structure of
mills, which enabled them to accommodate much bigger machines. Due to poor knowledge of
iron's properties as a construction material, a number of early mills collapsed. It was not until the
early 1830s that Eaton Hodgkinson introduced the section beam, leading to widespread use of
iron construction. This kind of austere industrial architecture utterly transformed the landscape
of northern Britain, leading to the description of places like Manchester and parts of West
Yorkshire as "Dark satanic mills" (Judy Greenwald, 1).
With the collapses of many structures, the primitive ways of construction have changed
drastically, not only because modernism came into effect, but because it was just flat out un-safe.
Building codes and construction laws have been implemented more and more throughout the
changes with architecture and the extreme complexity with styles of homes. These codes and
laws are not all the same for every state because of the fact that every state has a different ground
texture, and each have their own climate. Saying this, homes in a city landscape will have more
strict enforcement of these codes because in cities homes have less land but more home, so
stability of them come into effect more than rural areas. New York is a problematic area for
construction risks because of a law more than 100 years old that has become a major issue in
today's litigious environment (Judy Greenwald, 1).
Modern architecture has shaped and formed new ways of constructing homes. With the
knowledge gained from the research I plan to learn the ropes persay of constructing modern style
homes and others as well. This research has helped me understand the everyday challenges
contractors face, and with the challenges comes great reward.

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Works Cited
"Barriers Of Implementing Modern Methods Of Construction." Journal Of Management In
Engineering 30.1 (2014): 69-77. Business Source Premier. Web. 24 Mar. 2015
Greenwald, Judy. "19Th Century Law Causes Modern-Day Headaches For Construction
Insurers." Business Insurance 48.23 (2014): 0018. Small Business Reference Center.
Web. 24 Mar. 2015.
"Modern Home - Just Metres to the Beach." Victor Harbor Times 01 Jan. 2015: 1. Points of View
Reference Center. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.