The reading explores the work of Peter Behrens, an influential architect and designer of the early twentieth century who worked for the German electrical company AEG. Behrens’ designs for AEG’s products, buildings, and branding emphasized functionality, simplicity, and modernity, reflecting the company’s emphasis on technological progress and its desire to be perceived as a luxury brand. According to the chapter, Behrens’ work for AEG was influential in shaping the modern concept of luxury as a function of technological innovation rather than material excess. Behrens’ designs emphasized the machine’s beauty while also recognizing the efficiency and productivity that technology allowed. Behrens’ work for AEG contributed to the idea that luxury could be found not only in the richness of materials but also in the experience of using cutting-edge technology.

The chapter also discusses Behrens’ work in its social and cultural context, including the rise of mass production and the emergence of consumer society in the early twentieth century. Behrens’ designs for AEG were aimed at a mass market, and his emphasis on functionality and efficiency reflected the modern world’s growing importance of rationality and scientific management. The chapter concludes that Behrens’ work for AEG represents an important turning point in the history of modern luxury, when technological progress and mass production were viewed as the key to achieving a new, more democratic form of luxury that was accessible to a broader audience. This is a sentiment that I believe many people my age would recognize. Steve Jobs and Apple have recently revived the rise of minimalist aesthetics. The latest iPhone not only makes its owner feel luxurious, but it is also a global status symbol. The design of the iPhone and many other Apple products incorporate Behrens’ ideas, with an emphasis on technological innovation; the improved cameras are highlighted by the design team, becoming an icon of the product and making the user feel as if they own a luxury item.

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art shares similarities with Peter Behrens’ ideologies and AEG products. The west-facing facade (shown in the featured image) hosts art through an expansive, flat, and windowless brick wall. Behrens believed that luxury was more about finding beauty in the functionality and production of the material than it was about fancy forms or exotic materials. While this flat brick wall may be considered a luxury by today’s construction standards, it is still made of a humble and mass-produced material: red clay brick. The facade employs a variety of ornamental patterns that may deviate from Behrens’ ideologies. While these intricate masonry patterns draw attention to and highlight the beauty of the humble brick, Behrens may have argued for a simpler, less intricate pattern. The austere nature of the wall, on the other hand, agrees with Behrens’ emphasis on functionality. The Museum’s purpose is to display text, films, and art, and what better way to do so than with a flat wall? Perhaps the lack of windows allows the viewer to infer th

The front entrance of a museum clad with intricate red brick design spanning roughly 100 feet.

e program housed within; a lack of windows usually indicates that you are looking at a casino, theater, or museum. The clients or architects could have included a few fake windows to fit into a typical building typology, but they chose to promote the building’s function by erecting this windowless structure.