International Style
noun
1
: a style in European art of the 14th and early 15th centuries marked by sinuous line, rich color, and decorative surface detail
2
: a style in architecture developed in the 1920s that uses modern materials (such as steel, glass, and reinforced concrete), expresses structure directly, and eliminates nonstructural ornament
Examples of International Style in a Sentence
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Just 39 miles north of New York City and set on 1.7 acres in a sunny clearing at the end of a tree-shaded drive sits an exemplary International Style glass pavilion with views of the Hudson River from every room.
—
Tori Latham, Robb Report, 15 May 2025
Popular with the public in its day, Art Deco was rejected by the art and academic community in favor of the International Style, a sleek, minimalist sensibility seen in the works of practitioners like Richard Neutra and Philip Johnson, curator of a landmark 1932 MoMA show on the subject.
—Jordan Riefe, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2025
Leave a comment View Comments The architectural tides also shifted drastically as the International Style architectural movement swiftly rose to prominence in the 1930s, prizing functionality in its blocky concrete forms with no decor — the antithesis of its predecessors.
—Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2025
Architects Bregman and Hamann designed it in the International Style.
—Jeffrey Steele, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
This presentation at Lever House, a 1952 jewel of midcentury International Style, is a temporary correction, the first of Oldenburg’s work in New York since his death here in 2022.
—Max Lakin, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Taniguchi’s design—his first in the US—unified the museum’s original 1939 International Style building as well as Philip Johnson’s 1964 addition, including the sculpture garden, which Taniguchi recast as MoMA’s hub.
—News Desk, Artforum, 30 Dec. 2024
Farnsworth House Feud Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, is an icon of the International Style of architecture, but its construction also sparked a legal battle.
—Elizabeth Stamp, Architectural Digest, 25 Dec. 2024
The birthplace of international diplomacy, the United Nations became the first major building in New York to represent International Style architecture.
—Linne Halpern, Architectural Digest, 21 Nov. 2024
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Tori Latham, Robb Report, 15 May 2025
Popular with the public in its day, Art Deco was rejected by the art and academic community in favor of the International Style, a sleek, minimalist sensibility seen in the works of practitioners like Richard Neutra and Philip Johnson, curator of a landmark 1932 MoMA show on the subject.
—Jordan Riefe, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2025
Leave a comment View Comments The architectural tides also shifted drastically as the International Style architectural movement swiftly rose to prominence in the 1930s, prizing functionality in its blocky concrete forms with no decor — the antithesis of its predecessors.
—Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2025
Architects Bregman and Hamann designed it in the International Style.
—Jeffrey Steele, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
This presentation at Lever House, a 1952 jewel of midcentury International Style, is a temporary correction, the first of Oldenburg’s work in New York since his death here in 2022.
—Max Lakin, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Taniguchi’s design—his first in the US—unified the museum’s original 1939 International Style building as well as Philip Johnson’s 1964 addition, including the sculpture garden, which Taniguchi recast as MoMA’s hub.
—News Desk, Artforum, 30 Dec. 2024
Farnsworth House Feud Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, is an icon of the International Style of architecture, but its construction also sparked a legal battle.
—Elizabeth Stamp, Architectural Digest, 25 Dec. 2024
The birthplace of international diplomacy, the United Nations became the first major building in New York to represent International Style architecture.
—Linne Halpern, Architectural Digest, 21 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“International Style.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/International%20Style. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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