Modern House – 20th Century Property
Modernist residential architecture across the globe. 20th Century homes architects and pictures.
post updated 22 August 2026
This page lists the principal Modern House designs across the globe. e-architect aim to select Modernist residences that are either of top quality or interesting or ideally both.
Modern Houses
Key Modernist architects include Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius. Frank Lloyd Wright and Alvar Aalto designed Modern homes but generally in a more contextual style rather than the ‘International Style’ associated with Modernism.
One of the most famous Modern homes is by Pierre Chareau – the Maison Dalsace or ‘House of Glass’ in Paris. Towards the end of the 20th century architects such as Luis Barragan developed the Modern style of architects such as Le Corbusier and added their own mark on the Modernist tradition, resulting in some beautiful home designs.
Villa Tugendhat, Czech Republic, designed by celebrated 20th Century architect Mies van der Rohe:
photo from architects
Modern Homes date from the 20th century and exhibit a simple, clean style. Materials such as exposed concrete, large planes of glass and a strong horizontality are typical. Underlying most modern homes is a belief in the maxim ‘form follows function’, thus columns and slabs are expressed.
Many Modern properties used white as the predominant colour. Sometimes this is offset with planes of colour, such as in mid-period Le Corbusier houses or in the De Stijl buildings. There is a wide variety of forms from rectilinear – such as the Farnsworth House – to organic – such as the Arango Residence.
We cover completed Modern Houses, architectural exhibitions and property design competitions.
+++
Modern Home Photos
Modernist Properties – key 20th Century homes listed in approximate order of importance:
One of the most famous Modern residences in the world, a simple volume ‘floating’ above the ground plane, by celebrated architect Mies van der Rohe:
Farnsworth House, Illinois, USA – design by Mies van der Rohe, Architect
photo by Carol M. Highsmith, courtesy wikimedia commons
Farnsworth House
The Farnsworth House was designed and constructed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe between 1945 and 1951. It is a one-room weekend retreat in what then was a rural setting, located 55 miles (89 km) southwest of Chicago’s downtown, on a 60-acre (24 ha) estate site adjoining the Fox River, south of the city of Plano, Illinois.
Villa Savoye>, near Paris, France – design by Le Corbusier Architect
photo © Isabelle Lomholt
Villa Savoye
The house demonstrates the ‘Five Points’ that Corb placed central to his work, briefly piloti, fenetre longeur, free plan, active roof space and free facade. He was very focused on proportion of mass and space and keen to meld lessons from Classical architecture with modern technology exploited in cars, ships and planes.
Philip Johnson Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, USA
photograph : Simon Garcia | arqfoto.com
Philip Johnson Glass House
The Glass House was the start of Philip Johnson’s fifty-year odyssey of architectural experimentation in forms, materials, and ideas, through the addition of other structures. Today, The Glass House is still one of the most popular architectural attractions in Fairfield County Connecticut.
Tugendhat Villa, Brno, Czech Republic – design by Mies van der Rohe Architect
photo from architects
Tugendhat Villa Brno
Fritz and Grete Tugendhat first met Mies van der Rohe in Berlin in the summer of 1928. During that summer Mies van der Rohe visited the site which was originally belonging to a house in Sadova Street owned by Alfred Low-Beer, Grete’s father. On 22 April 1929 an application for planning permission was submitted and in June of that same year construction began.
Villa Müller, Prague, Czech Republic
Design: Adolf Loos architect
photograph : Martin Polak
Villa Müller Prague
A famous European modern home:
Maison de Verre, Paris, France
Date built: 1932
Design: Pierre Chareau Architect
Modern Paris house : aka Maison Dalsace / House of Glass – this Modern house appears in most key books on the History of Architecture
Maison Louis Carré, Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, France
Dates built: 1956-1959/63
Design: Alvar Aalto architect
photograph © Martti Karpanen, Alvar Aalto Museum
Maison Louis Carré
In 1959, the French art dealer and collector Louis Carré moved with his third wife Olga into the house designed by Alvar Aalto about 40 km southwest of Paris. Combining architecture, furniture and landscape, Maison Louis Carré is the architect’s only remaining building in France and one of his most remarkable private houses.
Arango Residence, Acapulco, Mexico – design by John Lautner Architect
photo : Sara Sackner
Arango Residence
This major 20th Century house was commissioned in 1970 by Jeronimo Arango as a weekend home for his family. The client had seen Elrod House in publications and wanted a similar residence. He wanted the property to look out over the bay of Acapulco.
A slightly unusual residence that doesn’t neatly fit on this page, as it is not ‘Modernist’ or ‘International Style’:
Casa Mila, Barcelona, Spain – design by Antoni Gaudí, Architect
photo © Adrian Welch
Casa Mila is a beautiful sculptural building that expresses pure tectonic delight and unlike Sagrada Familia (also by Antoni Gaudi) its architecture is simpler and less specific, therefore in many ways more sophisticated.
High & Over, Buckinghamshire, England, UK : English 1930s house design
Dates built: 1929 – 1931
Design: Amyas Connell architect
photo : Morley von Sternberg
High and Over house – one of the first Modern houses in England
The design evolved as a Y-shaped plan to optimise views and sunlight for the property. There were no modern houses of quality in England at the time, but the architect had toured Europe and was aware of developments there.
Frognal Road House, London, England, UK – design by Max Fry Architect
picture © Nick Weall
Frognal Road House,
Located on the corner of Frognal and Frognal Way, in the prestigious urban village of Hampstead, north west London. This British 20C property was the final commission for English architects studio Connell, Ward and Lucas (1933-39). Amyas Douglas Connell + Basil Ward were both New Zealand architects whereas Colin Lucas was English.
Zimmerman House, Manchester, New England, USA – design by Frank Lloyd Wright Architect
picture © Adrian Welch
Zimmerman House,
Modern Architecture became linked to a certain genre of building and thus over time wasn’t really ‘modern’ anymore. Thus Modern Houses (or Modernist Houses) suggests a certain style, not simply a ‘contemporary’ or ‘current’ construction.
Modern Architecture was associated with some great architects and some powerful countries and companies. It became the equivalent of the Classical Style in the Georgian period, ie the establishment architecture, the status quo. Since the seventies architecture styles have become more fractured and we have – amongst what could be termed contemporary architects – post-modernists, neo-modernists, deconstructivists, contextualists, expressionists and so on.
Modern houses often feature sleek, minimalist designs that blend functionality with aesthetic appeal, and a well-constructed deck is a key element in extending the living space outdoors. You may check deck builders for how they specialize in creating custom decks that complement these contemporary homes, using advanced materials like composite decking. You should consider using in door designs at indoorlavish.com
Modern American Houses – post from March 17, 2016
This page is about ‘Modern Houses’, not simply ‘Contemporary Houses’ or ‘Current Houses’. However, below are selected contemporary buildings (these now appear in full on the New Houses page).
Further down this page we list classic Modern Houses by major architects, including Le Corbusier, Mies Van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto, Pierre Chareau, Adolf Loos, etc.
++
Famous Modern Houses
20th Century home images. Examples of key properties & Modernist housing designs, chronological from publication date:
February 15, 2025
Modernique Home Mar Vista, West Los Angeles County, Southern California, USA
Architects: Gregory Ain
+++
June 29, 2024
Topanga Skyline Studio, Los Angeles, California, USA
March 25, 2024
Case Study House 18, Pacific Palisades, LA, Pacific Palisades, California, USA
Architect: Rodney Walker
photo : Jimm Simmons
Los Angeles loves its mid-century modern homes. Starting in 1945, Arts and Architecture magazine sponsored some of the modern movement’s most famous architects, including Richard Neutra, A. Quincy Jones and Pierre Koenig, to create a series of home designs that could be easily replicated for the postwar housing boom.
+++
November 3, 2023
Gordon & Hildred Goetschel House Glendale, Glendale, California, USA
Design: Ray Kappe FAIA
photo : Cameron Carothers
This 20th Century Southern California property has been meticulously restored by HabHouse, known for their sensitive rehabilitations of architectural treasures, preserving original details and revitalizing the pool with modern amenities.
September 15, 2023
Bronwood Home Remodel – hilltop mid-century modern home in Los Angeles, California, USA
Architecture: Blue Truck Studio
August 31, 2023
Harry Gesner’s Sandcastle Malibu Beach Home, Los Angeles, California, USA
Architects: Harry Gesner
July 23, 2023
Pasadena Mid-Century Home, Pasadena, California, USA
Architects: A. Quincy Jones
photo courtesy of Concierge Auctions
One of the busiest architects of America’s mid-century modern school, A. Quincy Jones designed over 5,000 structures. He elevated the tract house in California from a simple stucco box to a carefully designed home integrated into the natural landscape.
+++
Sep 7, 2022
Koenig Beach House, Malibu, Los Angeles, Southern California, USA
photo by Simon Berlyn, Courtesy The Agency
One of the world’s most famous mid-century modern architects, the University of Southern California’s distinguished professor, Pierre Koenig, got his bachelors from USC’s School of Architecture and went on to teach at the venerable institution for forty years.
Apr 15, 2022
Charles Du Bois Mid-Century Modern Home Palm Springs California, Southern California, USA
photo Courtesy of The Agency
Southeast of Los Angeles and northeast of San Diego, the desert oasis of Palm Springs has been a fashionable resort town since the early 1900s but experienced a modern architectural boom following World War II. Reflecting the optimism of the atomic age, the Mid-Century Modernist school of architecture is known for clean lines, geometric shapes, and functional materials with an emphasis on steel, glass, and concrete.
Mar 8, 2022
Richard Neutra Hilltop Home, Tujunga L.A., Southern California, USA
Design: Richard Neutra
photo : Cameron Carothers
Richard Neutra was one of America’s most important modern architects from the 1920s to the 1960s designing famous homes such as the Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs for Edgar J. Kaufmann (who also commissioned Fallingwater in Pennsylvania), the Julian Bond House in San Diego, and the Kronish House in Beverly Hills.
+++
Modern Homes – Major Examples
Modern house designs and property architects
Architect: Property, Location
Aalto, Alvar: Villa Mairea, Noormarkku, Finland
Aalto, Alvar: Own House, Helsinki, Finland
Aalto, Alvar: La Maison Louis Carre, France
Ando, Tadao: Azuma House, Japan
Ando, Tadao: Koshino House, Japan
Ando, Tadao: Kidosaki House, Japan
Barragan, Luis: House & Atelier for Luis Barragan, Mexico
Barragan, Luis: Fuente de los Amantes, Los Clubes, Mexico
Barragan, Luis: Cuadra San Cristobál, Los Clubes, Mexico
Breuer, Marcel: Koerfer House, Switzerland
Breuer, Marcel: Stillman House III, CT, USA
Breuer, Marcel: Gagarin House II, CT, USA
Chareau, Pierre: Maison Dalsace (Maison de Verre), France
Corbusier, Le: Villa Savoye, France
Corbusier, Le: Villa Stein, France
Corbusier, Le: Villa La Roche Jeanneret, France
Corbusier, Le: Sarabhai House/ Shodhan House, Ahmedabad, India
Goff, Bruce: Bavinger House, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
Goff, Bruce: Joe Price House & Studio Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA
Goff, Bruce: The Ford House, Aurora, Illinois, United States of America
Goldfinger, Ernö: 2 Willow Road, Hampstead, London, England
Gwynne, Patrick: Homewood House, Esher, Surrey, England, UK
Johnson, Philip: Johnson House, New Canaan, Connecticut, USA
Lescaze, W. E.: High Cross House, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon, England, UK
Lloyd Wright, Frank: Kaufmann House, United States of America
Lloyd Wright, Frank: Houses in Oak Park and River Forest, USA
Lloyd Wright, Frank: Taliesin East/ Taliesin West, USA
Loos, Adolf: Villa Müller, Prague, Czech Republic
Loos, Adolf: Tristan Tzara Home, Montmartre, Paris, France
Meier, Richard: House in Old Westbury, United States of America
Meier, Richard: Douglas House, United States of America
MLTW (Moore, Lyndon, Turnball and Whitaker): The Sea Ranch, USA
Neutra, Richard: Kaufmann Desert House, USA
Office for Metropolitan Architecture : Maison á Bordeaux, France
Office for Metropolitan Architecture : Villa Dall’Ava, Saint Cloud, Paris, France
Tremaine: House in Montecito, southern California
Van der Rohe, Mies: Farnsworth House, United States of America
Van der Rohe, Mies: Brick Villa, Germany
Venturi & Rauch: Vanna Venturi House/ Peter Brant House, USA
Venturi & Rauch: Carl Tucker III House, United States of America
Modern Houses suggestions welcome
+++
Modern Housing
Famous 20th Century homes
Atelier 5: Terrace Houses at Flamatt, Switzerland
Atelier 5: Halen Housing Estate, Switzerland
Atelier 5: Apartment in Brugg, Switzerland
Aymonino, Carlo + Aldo Rossi: Housing Complex, Gallaratese Quarter, Milan, Italy
Chareau, Pierre with Bijvoet, Bernard: Maison Dalsace, Paris, France
Corbusier, Le: L’Unite d ‘habitation, Marseilles, France
Corbusier, Le: L’Unite d ‘habitation, Berlin, [West] Germany
De Klerk, Michel: Eigen Haard Housing, The Netherlands
De Klerk, Michel: Apartment Blocks Henriette Ronnerplein, The Netherlands
Erskine, Ralph: Byker Redevelopment, Newcastle, England, UK
Gaudi, Antonio: Casa Batllo, Barcelona, Spain
Gaudi, Antonio: Casa Mila, Barcelona, Spain
Horta, Victor: Hotel van Eetvelde / Maison et Atelier Horta, Brussels, Belgium
Celebrated Modern residence – International Style : form follows function
+++
20th Century Homes – Modernist Housing
20th Century Homes – older posts from e-architect, some absolute Modernist housing classics featured!
Dec 15, 2020
House of Tomorrow – Elvis Presley’s Honeymoon Home, Palm Springs, Southern California, USA
photo : Rodeo Realty
House of Tomorrow, Palm Springs
Jan 30, 2020
The Butterfly and the Dodecagon Residence, Southern California, USA
Design: Scrafano Architects
photograph : Catherine Tighe
The Butterfly and the Dodecagon Residence in L.A.
This is a mid-century modern residence, originally one-story and built in 1960, is located high in the hills overlooking the city of Los Angeles.
+++
May 10, 2017
Midcentury Modern House, San Carlos, California, USA
Design: Klopf Architecture
photo © Mariko Reed
Midcentury Modern House
The previous owner of this 1960s modern home covered over the walls of glass with plywood and installed a massive awning at the rear of the house, blocking out most light and connection with the outdoors. The original interior had a maze-like layout starting with a small entry area and moving into too many hallways.
+++
Jan 15, 2016
Norman Lykes Home, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Design: Frank Lloyd Wright
Date built: 1959-67
image : Wikimedia Commons
Norman Lykes Home Phoenix
This curvaceous 20th Century Arizona residence is a good example of the architect’s late-career style, exemplified by the David and Gladys Wright home. The asking price is $3.6 million, and includes the original furniture.
+++
Apr 20, 2012
Martin House Complex, Buffalo, New York, USA
Design: Frank Lloyd Wright
photograph : Biff Henrich / courtesy MHRC
Martin House Complex Buffalo
This is viewed as the most substantial and highly developed of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie houses in the Eastern United States – the property has National Historic Landmark status.
+++
18 Nov 2011
Capel Manor House Guest Pavilion, Kent, England, UK
Design: Ewan Cameron Architects
image from architects
Capel Manor House
The brief was to design a guest pavilion comprising 2 bedroom suites that would sit adjacent to an Italianate orangery from 1860, on the grounds of Capel Manor House, an iconic modernist pavilion designed by Michael Manser in the late 1960s.
Jul 26, 2011
Houses of Sagaponac, Long Island, New York, USA
Bachman Wilson House, NJ designed by celebrated American architect Frank Lloyd Wright:
photo from Brown Harris Stevens
Houses of Sagaponac
Luxury real estate firm Brown Harris Stevens announces “Houses of Sagaponac,” a modernist residential development. This US residential project features a series of houses created by internationally recognized architects who were given the directive to achieve design excellence and push the envelope of contemporary architecture resulting in a community by and for thinking people.
12 Jun 2011
Villa La Roche, Paris, France
Date built: 1925
Design: Le Corbusier + Pierre Jeanneret
photo © Karavan
Villa La Roche : Le Corbusier design
This Modernist city home was designed for a Swiss banker and art collector: it is a good example of Le Corbusier’s architecture. The entire building is an art gallery, an ‘architectural promenade’ – a theme inspired by Le Corbusier’s visit to the Acropolis in 1911.
May 2011
Miller House, Columbus, Indiana, USA – opens to public
Design: Eero Saarinen
photo Courtesy of the Indianapolis Museum of Art
Miller House Columbus : Eero Saarinen design
Miller House is one of the country’s most highly-regarded examples of mid-century Modernist residences and was designed by Eero Saarinen, with interiors by Alexander Girard, and landscape design by Dan Kiley. Members of the Miller family donated the house and gardens, along with many of its original furnishings, to the Museum.
+++
Photos only, no links to pages:
Beckhard House, Glen Cove, USA
design by Herbert Beckhard
photo K. Wheeler
Rebhuhn House, Glen Cove, USA
design by Frank Lloyd Wright
photo : Erik H. Neil
The Rink, Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland
Design: Campbell & Arnott Architects
picture from houseowner
Lismhor House, Edinburgh, Scotland
Design: Kininmonth & Basil Spence
Modern Cambridge Houses, England, UK
photograph © AW
Cambridge House – for more properties
1960’s Modern House, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Design: Jamison Architects
60s Modern House on Gold Coast
‘60s Modern’ is a renovation project. It is the upper unit of an original early 1980s duplex building.
Martini House in Palm Springs, Modern Home
Modern Hollywood Hills House
Design: Mutuus Studio
Modern Hollywood Hills House
An unusual 20th Century property design in Barcelona:
Casa Batllo, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
A celebrated Catalan house by Antoni Gaudí architect
Casa Batllo
Modern Houses in British Columbia, Canada
Prague Modern Buildings – Modernist house by architect Mart Stam.
More Modern houses designs online soon.
World Architects – principal designers:
Marcel Breuer, Le Corbusier, Antoni Gaudi, Arne Jacobsen, Philip Johnson, Edwin Lutyens, Rennie Mackintosh, Richard Meier, Jorn Utzon, Mies Van der Rohe
Comments on the Modern Houses page welcome : info(at)e-architect.com
+++
European Modern Houses
Personal Note from the e-architect Editor:
My visit to Aalto’s Villa Mairea, finding the owners of the house were on holiday (shown round by the gardener) on a scholarship to study Modern Finnish Architecture in 2001 at the age of 19, has to be the highlight of my years as an architecture student.
Later, whilst working for Eva Jiricna Architects a group of us visited the office’s work in Brno and to see one of Mies van der Rohe’s best houses, the Tugendhat Villa. Mies designed many houses earlier in his career whilst in Europe. The Tugendhat Villa is one of the best modern houses I’ve visited. Adrian Welch, Architect
Comments on the Modern Houses page welcome.
+++
Modern Home Designs
For many, their homes are a means to reflect their individual style and taste. They invest a great deal of time in deciding the architectural design, style, and interior decoration to make their home inviting and impressive.
If you are one of them then you must check out the modern houses. The architectural design of the modern houses will surely impress you and would help you realise your dream of owning an aesthetically pleasant, and visually inspiring home for yourself and your family.
Modern houses have unique shapes and designs. You may have a cubicle house, an oval shaped house, house in the shape of a rhombus, or even a hexagonal shaped house. Further, you can have large open floor plan with a variety of roof heights and over-sized windows to decorate your home interiors as per your individual taste and preference.
You may even have tropical planters inside your living area, or the water feature falling from the second floor down to the pool, or an indoor swimming pool to add a special look and feel to your modern home. All these would not only enhance the visual appearance of your home, but would also make you and your guest feel close to nature.
Although there are several books and magazines on the modern houses designs and styles, none give a perfect perception. If you wish to know of exclusive modern houses built all over the world, you should log on to www.e-architect.com.
The website is a leading provider of top quality and interesting modern residential designs, completed modern homes, new home designs, architectural exhibitions and competitions from different parts of the world. Of course, if you want to get a feel for modern house design before buying or building one, you could have a look at some of Sonesta International offerings.
At e-architect.com, you can get complete information as well as images of the modern New York houses, modern houses in London, modern houses in Chicago, modern houses in Spain, modern houses in Portugal, Modern houses in Dubai, Chicago architecture, New York architecture, and several other beautiful and well articulated new houses by Mies van der Rohe, Rem Koolhaas / OMA, Marcio Kogan, J Mayer H, McBride Charles Ryan, and other talented and exuberant modern architects from across the world.
So, don’t think more. Just visit the website and choose from over thousands of modern houses designs and styles to select the one for your home. Here you can also get complete information about the offices, contact details of the famous architects, such as Zaha Hadid, SANAA architects, and many others.
+++
Modernist Houses in more detail
Major Modernist Homes Designs around the world, chronological:
Schröder House, Utrecht, The Netherlands
1924
Gerrit Rietveld
A famous Modern house, De Stijl design, influenced by Mondrian
Wittgenstein House, Vienna, Austria
1928
Paul Engelmann & Ludwig Wittgenstein (philosopher)
Modern home for Margaret Stonborough
E1027, Roquebrune-Cap Martin, France
1929
Eileen Gray
Maison Clarté, Geneva, Switzerland
1932
Le Corbusier
Schminke House, Lobau, Germany
1933
Hans Scharoun, architect
Casa Malaparte, Capri, Italy
1940
Adalberto Libera & Curzio Malaparte
Wichita House, Kansas, United States of America
1947
Richard Buckminster Fuller
Sugden House, Watford, England
1955
Alison & Peter Smithson architects
Not very well known home by famous Modern architects
Vanna Venturi House, Pennsylvania, USA
1962
Robert Venturi
Another famous modern house – postmodern design, for his mother, Vanna Venturi
Koerfer House, Tessin, Switzerland
1967
Marcel Breuer
Capsule House K, Karuizawa, Japan
1974
Kisho Kurokawa architect
Late 20th Century classic – urban housing withinthe Modern tradition
Moebius House, Utrecht, The Netherlands
1998
Ben van Berkel & Caroline Bos – UNStudio
House, Darmstadt, Germany
1901
Peter Behrens architect
Early Modern house
House (for his father), Shaanxi, China
2000
Ma Quingyun architect
More Modern House Projects Architecture online soon.
+++
Key Contemporary Properties
Contemporary Residential Building Designs – recent property selection from e-architect:
+++
Modern Property Designs
Modern Architecture Funding – Getty Foundation Keeping it Modern – 29 Jul 2016
Modern Architecture Conservation Grants 2016 – Keeping It Modern by the Getty Foundation
Modern Architects + Modern Architecture
New Residential Buildings / photos for the Modern Houses Designs – 20th Century Properties page welcome.