[trueviking]

man, that is a broad topic....are you looking at modern architeture in general or modernism specifically (international style)?

i think you need to reduce it to a specific line of thinking....focus on a specific development or something.

the lineage of modern architecture in the states, starts with the chicago exposition and the reaction to it...of course mrs. o'leareys cow is the real kick off.....follow, adler and sullivan (carson pirie scott and the auditorium), burnam and root (monadnock and reliance)...all the way through wright and the prairie style (roby house, fallingwater, johnson wax, guggenheim), to art deco in the 30's (saarinen's chicago tribune tower entry) to mies (seagram's building) of course, louis kahn (kimbel and salk) .....the list is endless and this is only half the story.

europe had its own path through modern architecture, it really starts with the industrial revolution and the crystal palace....along with art noveau (casa mila) you may have to reference the arts and crafts movement (morris and mckintosh), corbu of course (villa sayoie and ronchamps), expressionism (eintein tower), constructivism (tatlin's tower) destijl (schroeder house), bauhaus with gropius and breuer (AEG turbine)...it goes on and on....

my point is that i really think that to write a good paper, you should focus only on a single stream...the topic is way too broad and could easily fill an encyclopedia....maybe start at o'leary's cow and trace only the development in chicago...you could reference the significant buildings and events in the rest of the states and in europe along the timeline, but frame it in a way that it shows their influences on chicago architecture as it developed...describe the effects that outside architects like mies had as they began to practice in the city itself, influencing the chicago lineage of modernism that had been nurtured by wright, sullivan and others.....skyscraper design in new york overshadowed and influenced what happened in chicago later on....today it stands as the second city...you could discuss how living in the shadow of new york influences the design of its current modernist buildings as it tries to re-establish its national prominence (sears tower and the new calatrava proposal are examples of this)....today it looks to the world for its modernist architecture....it could be a wonderful topic.

anyways, thats my 2 cents.