THE EARLY 20th CENTURY

Architecture of the early 20th century is notable for radical new types of steel and glass  buildings particularly skyscrapers and the wide spread use of steel rein forced concrete. The steel framed skyscraper was pioneered in Chicago in the 1880s, but did not become wide spread until the first decades of the 20 th century. As construction techniques were refined, skyscrapers became higher and higher foe example, the Empire state building of 1929-1931 has 102 storeys. Many buildings of this period were constructed from light weight concrete slabs, which could be supported by cantilever beams or by pilotis (stilts), as in the villa Savoye . The early 20th century also produced a great variety of architectural styles. Despite their diversity, the styles of the period generally had one thing in common: they were completely new, with few links to past architectural styles. This originality is in marked contrast to 19th century architecture, much of which was revivalist.