The International Style which was developed in the 1920’s and 30’s grew out of three phenomena which confronted architects towards the end of the nineteenth century and into the 20th century. These were the need for economic creation of large scale office buildings and other commercial, residential and civic buildings to serve a rapidly industrializing society, the development of new building technologies based on the use of iron and steel, reinforced concrete and glass and finally the architectural professions increasing annoyance at the continued use of stylistically eclectic buildings which used elements from various periods and styles and bore no logical connection to the buildings purpose or function.
From these three phenomena a new architecture which was honest, economical and utilitarian was sought. This new architecture needed to make use of the new materials and satisfy society’s new building needs while still appealing to aesthetic taste. The International Style was born of these needs.
The International Style was formed under the dictate that the form and appearance of modern buildings should naturally grow out of and express the potential of their materials and engineering. A harmony between artistic expression, function and technology would thereby be attained. Basically the International style grew out of the machine aesthetic. Where the idea of mass producible objects was expressed in an international architecture.
A good example of the International style is le Corbusiers Ville Savoye.