It is generally considered that architecture is at the present time in a "period of gestation", and that to date there has not been developed a satisfactory or consistent style springing from the various experiments since 1900 or so. The authors of this book, however, maintain that a new style has been born, and they dub it "The International Style".

Alfred H. Barr, Jr., in the preface, summarizes: "The distinguishing aesthetic principles of the International Style as laid down by the authors are three: emphasis upon volume--space enclosed by thin planes or surfaces as opposed to the suggestion of mass and solidity; regularity as opposed to symmetry or other kinds of obvious balance; and, lastly, dependence upon the intrinsic elegance of materials, technical perfection, and fine proportions, as opposed to applied ornament."

There are some ninety pages of text setting forth the principles of the new style, and eighty photographs of contemporary architecture which serve the purpose of references from the text and of showing good examples of the International Style, "the only genuine architectural style since the Eighteenth century." Most books on modern architecture so far have been great compendia of a galaxy of new architectural creations all over the world, but this well printed, attractive volume serves the confused average reader by a critical selection and by its demonstration of constructive principles. This is no place for a discussion of the merits or defects of the new style, but the book is provokingly stimulating to discussion of it. There are chapters on the history of the new development, functionalism, and the principles of the new style, while there are also discussions as well as photographs of the work of such well known men as Frank Lloyd, Oud, Walter Gropius, Mendelsohn, Mies van der Rohe, and others of all countries.

Whether one likes this style or not, its importance must not be underestimated. This volume is an excellent key to an understanding of what the more enterprising architects are aiming at.