Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty | Know Your Architecture: Contemporary

While today’s architecture encompasses a wide range of trends and styles, Contemporary architecture builds on the modernism that followed the Industrial Revolution. The uniformity and clean linearity of early modernism began to feel impersonal, and Contemporary responded by maintaining modernism’s open spaces but invigorating them with warmth, whimsy, asymmetry and regional flair. It embraces natural light and, as a dynamic style interacting with its context, considers environmental impact, often opting for eco-friendly materials and technology. Not to be confused with Mid-Century Modern architecture, which spans the early 1930s to the late 60s, Contemporary architecture is very much of the 21st century, and up-to-the-minute.

The cues of Contemporary architecture are varied and include imbalanced façades, geometric shapes, composite or recycled materials such as concrete or broken glass, natural elements such as sustainable bamboo flooring, flat or grass-planted roofs, hanging gardens, large windows and skylights, open floor plans, outdoor living areas, sliding doors, movable walls or partitions.

In this sleek style, form meets function. Not only do the aesthetics of Contemporary architecture usher nature indoors, cantilevering can also allow for buildings to interact with the environment, providing an among-the-clouds airiness while annexing minimal ground space.

One famous example of Contemporary architecture is, in Portland, Oregon, the dramatically cantilevered Hoke House by Skylab Architecture, nested among the trees of Forest Park. It was the Cullen family’s house in the movie Twilight.

Today, Contemporary homes can be found all over North Texas and a Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty agent is here to help. To search by other architectural styles, including Tudor and Mid-Century Modern, visit briggsfreeman.com/architecture. To see all the exceptional homes, ranches and land offered by Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, in North Texas and around the world, visit briggsfreeman.com.