In its heyday, modernism was taught in architecture schools

Question

In its heyday, modernism was taught in architecture schools as a moral imperative. Architectural form was supposed to embody the spatial, structural, and mechanical demands of the building. Implanted in every student’s mind were two terse aphorisms: “Form follows function” and “Less is more.” All new structures, from incinerators to cathedrals, commanded equal respect as products of our advanced technological culture. People began to complain that churches and banks looked alike; only very gradually did large numbers of architects acknowledge that such objections might be well founded. Eventually, a substantial proportion of architects lost faith in the modernist movement, and many embraced a body of architectural principles identifiable as postmodernist.

Postmodernist is a reaction against the characteristic modernist style. In typical modernist buildings of the 1950s, differences between interior and exterior, top and bottom, and back and front—or, indeed, between portions serving different functions—were deliberately minimized. Surrounding structures and local precedents were almost invariably ignored. Detailing was made to look as uncomplicated as the surfaces and joints of the architectural model, no matter what design and construction effort it took to achieve that effect. While modernist architecture is moralistic and exclusivist—based on a set of “Thou shalt nots”— postmodernist architecture is amoral and inclusivist, based on contextualism, allusion to other design, and ornament.

Postmodernist contextualism demands that whatever is built acknowledge its setting. In the 1950s, modernism conditioned architecture students to assume that surrounding construction was obsolescent and soon to be replaced by “improved” modernist work; more sensibly, postmodernist architects see a building as an incremental change in an existing environment. Contextualism means that architects adopt the visual axes and prevailing roof lines of existing buildings, or promote correspondences in form, scale, and materials between new and old buildings. Postmodernists allude to historical styles in various ways: they may borrow spatial organization from the Italian Baroque style or incisive abstract lines from early modernist European architecture of the 1920s or decorative motifs from movie palaces and diners of the twenties and thirties, thus encouraging the very impurity and heterogeneity the modernist movement condemned.  
 1 
 1.The author is primarily concerned with

(A) describing the elements of a once-popular architectural style
(B) comparing two approaches to architectural design 
(C) resolving a debate about the relative merits of two architectural styles 
(D) summarizing the accomplishments of architects of the 1950’s
(E) explaining the cause of changes in architectural design since the 1950’s

2 
 2. It can be inferred from the passage that, because Modern architects of the 1950’s believed that “Less is more”, buildings they designed were NOT likely to

(A) feature contrasting materials such as stone and glass on their facades
(B) contain spaces serving only one purpose 
(C) use complicated design and construction techniques 
(D) employ unusual materials to express an architectural concept 
(E) emphasizing purely decorative elements of building design

3 
 3. Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph?

(A) A particulier set of principles is described and the consequences of challenges to that set of principles are stated.
(B) A theory is explained and modifications of that theory are listed.
(C) Specific examples of the application of a theory are given and reactions to those examples are detailed.
(D) Two opposing sets of principles are described and the merits of one over the other are explained.
(E) Criticism of a theory is elaborated and the sources of that criticism are mentioned.

4 
 4. Which if the following buildings would be most compatible in design with the principles of Postmodernism, as described in the passage?

(A) A cubical hight-rise apartment buildings with a glass facade that is located in a neighborhood of single-family brick houses 
(B) A school in which classrooms, play areas, and offices all have identical design features 
(C) A government office building that has brightly painted columns similar to those used in classical Greek architecture
(D) A movie theater that is faced with smooth white concrete 
(E) A renovated warehouse in which the original pipes and ducts are obscured by featureless ceilings and panels

5 
 5. The author uses all of the following in discussing architecture EXCEPT

(A) a contrast
(B) an explanation of terms
(C) a literary analogy 
(D) a generalization 
(E) a value judgment

6 
 6. The author suggests that some of the general public’s objections to Modern architecture were based on the public’s

(A) moralistic and exclusivist ideas about architectural design 
(B) desire to see architectural differences in buildings with different functions 
(C) preference for architectural designs that directly allude to the history of a building 
(D) inability to adapt to new ideas
(E) failure to respect buildings as products of an advanced technological culture

7 
 7. The author views the attitude toward existing buildings that was conveyed to architecture students in the 1950’s with

(A) indifference
(B) disapproval 
(C) nostalgia 
(D) regret 
(E) amusement  
ID 16884

suminha · Accepted Answer

<  Question #2  >

Q type: infer -> the answer should must be true (100% true)
What is asked : Which types of the building is NOT likely to be built by modern architect?

Before enter to the options, let’s remind characteristics of “modernism”; it can be summarized by a word “simple”, and it is opposite thing from postmodernism, thus every thing P likes, M hates, vise versa.

“In its heyday,  modernism  was taught in architecture schools as a moral imperative. Architectural form was supposed to embody the spatial, structural, and mechanical demands of the building. Implanted in every student’s mind were two terse aphorisms: “Form follows function” and “Less is more.”  All  new structures, from incinerators to cathedrals,  commanded equal respect as products of our advanced technological culture.  People began to complain that  churches and banks looked alike ; only very gradually did large numbers of architects acknowledge that such objections might be well founded. Eventually, a substantial proportion of architects lost faith in the modernist movement, and many embraced a body of architectural principles identifiable as postmodernist.

Postmodernist is a reaction against the characteristic modernist style. In typical modernist buildings of the 1950s,  differences  between interior and exterior, top and bottom, and back and front—or, indeed, between portions serving different functions— were deliberately minimized.   Surrounding  structures and local precedents  were almost invariably ignored.   Detailing was made to look as uncomplicated   as the surfaces and joints of the architectural model, no matter what design and construction effort it took to achieve that effect . While modernist architecture is moralistic and exclusivist—based on a set of “Thou shalt nots”—  postmodernist  architecture is amoral and inclusivist, based on contextualism,  allusion to other design, and ornament.

Postmodernist  contextualism demands that whatever is built acknowledge its setting. In the 1950s, modernism conditioned architecture students to assume that surrounding construction was obsolescent and soon to be replaced by “improved” modernist work; more sensibly, postmodernist architects see a building as an incremental change in an existing environment. Contextualism means that architects adopt the visual axes and prevailing roof lines of existing buildings, or promote correspondences in form, scale, and materials between new and old buildings. Postmodernists  allude  to historical styles in  various  ways: they may borrow spatial organization from the Italian Baroque style or incisive abstract lines from early modernist European architecture of the 1920s or  decorative  motifs from movie palaces and diners of the twenties and thirties, thus encouraging the very impurity and heterogeneity the modernist movement condemned.”

Question #2 is a foxy question. When you hold on to only one concept of “modernism” among of others, (C), (D) looks pretty convincing.
Since GMAT pushes us to solve each question in a very short time, there must be a faster way to find the right choice than eliminating each choice, which talks right things about M. 
Plus, RC is to test the ability of seeing “structure”, not to test “good memory”.
Regarding the passage, this passage clearly demonstrates ‘P vs M’ structure, therefore, like I mentioned above, every thing P likes, M hates, vise versa. And the author devoted one whole passage (the 3rd one) to describe about the Postmodernist contextualism, saying that P likes complexed styles and decorations (+ at the very last sentence of the 3rd paragraph, the author said that P likes to combine all different styles and decorations, which M condemns.)
So out of everything. One thing we are sure about is that M hates decos. Thus M is not likely to build something with decorations.

(C) and (D) are not 100% true because, “Detailing was made to look as uncomplicated as the surfaces and joints of the architectural model,  no matter what design and construction effort it took to achieve that effect. ”, M would use any kind of design and construction techniques to achieve uncomplicated looking building.

Posted from my mobile device

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  Ranasaymon . I think you are confusing two a-words:  analogy  and  allusion . The reference "thou shalt nots" is certainly a nod or allusion to the Bible, but a literary analogy would be more akin to saying that some form of modernist architecture, say, walls, were about as sturdy as the fabled walls of Jericho... which apparently came crashing down at the sound of trumpets.

This does not strike me as a GMAT Prep passage. The only reference I can find to it on the larger web is on  one Korean site . At best, it is a long-retired passage that bears little resemblance to passages I have seen in more recent OGs; at worst, well, it is just another third-party mimic of official material that flies none too close to the sun. Solver beware.

- Andrew

alwaysHP · Answer

2. It can be inferred from the passage that, because Modern architects of the 1950’s believed that “Less is more”, buildings they designed were NOT likely to

(A) feature contrasting materials such as stone and glass on their facades
This clearly can be possible, because no where in the passage they mentioned that stone and glass is not used in Modern buildings
 
(B) contain spaces serving only one purpose
yes this is very true they have mentioned that designs are usually similar

Reference: n typical modernist buildings of the 1950s, differences between interior and exterior, top and bottom, and back and front—or, indeed, between portions serving different functions—were deliberately minimized.

(C) use complicated design and construction techniques

This is a tricky one at first but if you carefully read the passage 
Reference: Detailing was made to look as uncomplicated as the surfaces and joints of the architectural model, no matter what design and construction effort it took to achieve that effect.

Here it just says its made to look uncomplicated, it doesn't mean its not complicated (U can get from this statement no matter what design and construction effort it took to achieve that effect.)

(D) employ unusual materials to express an architectural concept. 
Nowhere in the passage it is mentioned that Modern architecture dosent use new different materials

(E) emphasizing purely decorative elements of building design
 IMO E

Reference :European architecture of the 1920s or decorative motifs from movie palaces and diners of the twenties and thirties, thus encouraging the very impurity and heterogeneity  the modernist movement condemned

Clearly this para detail says decorations are condemned by modernist movement

While solving these questions try to get the most likely answer choice.

alwaysHP · Answer

7. The author views the attitude toward existing buildings that was conveyed to architecture students in the 1950’s with

(A) indifference
 (B) disapproval 
(C) nostalgia
(D) regret
(E) amusement

modernism conditioned architecture students to assume that surrounding construction was obsolescent and soon to be replaced by “improved” modernist work;  more sensibly , postmodernist architects see a building as an incremental change in an existing environment.

Author in this statement says Postmodernist architects visualize more sensibly that means he is in disapproval terms with modernist ideas

Hence statement B is answer, hope this helps.

alwaysHP · Answer

pg03

3. Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph?

This Question is fairly simple if v can identify the structure of the para 1

(A) A particulier set of principles is described and the consequences of challenges to that set of principles are stated.

1. set of principles 
2. challenges to the set of principle 
3. Consequences to the challenges

1. set of principle - This statement clearly refers to it 
Implanted in every student’s mind were two terse aphorisms: “Form follows function” and “Less is more.” All new structures, from incinerators to cathedrals, commanded equal respect as products of our advanced technological culture.

2. Challenges - They all look alike

. People began to complain that churches and banks looked alike; only very gradually did large numbers of architects acknowledge that such objections might be well founded.

3. Consequences to the challenges- Lot of architects lost faith in modern architecture 
 
Eventually, a substantial proportion of architects lost faith in the modernist movement

(B) A theory is explained and modifications of that theory are listed.
(C) Specific examples of the application of a theory are given and reactions to those examples are detailed.
Irrelevant - Doesn't support the structure mentioned above 
(D) Two opposing sets of principles are described and the merits of one over the other are explained.
(E) Criticism of a theory is elaborated and the sources of that criticism are mentioned.

hope this helps

alwaysHP · Answer

5. The author uses all of the following in discussing architecture EXCEPT

(C) a literary analogy
An analogy is a literary technique in which two unrelated objects are compared for their shared qualities. Unlike a simile or a metaphor, an analogy is not a figure of speech, though the three are often quite similar.

No where in the passage they have mentioned any similarities between Postmodern and modern.

Hope this helps

AG95 · Answer

Can someone explain why option A is incorrect in Question 4? because postmodernisation takes care of surrounding and wants to have the building different from the surrounding one? 
@veritasprep / @bunnel /  GMATNinja  anyone can help here?

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 4 
 
I think you’re on the right track. Take a look at a couple of relevant lines from the final paragraph:

So, postmodernist architecture encourages contextualism, and contextualism is the practice of adopting the styles of existing buildings when designing new buildings. By doing so, contextualism aims to minimize the differences between new and old buildings.

The question asks that we find an answer choice that describes a building compatible with the principles of postmodernism. With that in mind, here’s (A):

The apartment building described by (A) violates the contextualism encouraged by postmodernism in multiple ways. First, contextualism encourages correspondences in scale (or size) between new and old buildings. The new  high-rise  apartment will certainly be far larger than  single-family  homes. Also, postmodernism aspires for new and existing structures to be built out of similar materials. Surely the  glass  facade of an apartment building amidst single-family  brick  houses violates this principle.

For these two reasons, (A) does not describe a building compatible with the principles of postmodernism, and we can eliminate (A).

I hope that helps!

Ranasaymon · Answer

Sajjad1994 ,  VeritasKarishma ,  AndrewN 
I did not understand why the answer is C. Actually there is a literary analogy in the passage 'While modernist architecture is moralistic and exclusivist—based on a set of  “Thou shalt nots”

5. The author uses all of the following in discussing architecture EXCEPT

(A) a contrast
(B) an explanation of terms
(C) a literary analogy
(D) a generalization
(E) a value judgment

CKHE · Answer

GMATNinja

Can you please explain question 5?
I get that A & B have been used and C has not been used. Can you please share usages of D and E in the passage?

Thanks

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 5 
 
To eliminate (D) and (E), we're looking for evidence that the author used "a generalization" and a "value judgment" in the passage.

The author generalizes at the beginning of the second paragraph when he/she says, "In  typical  modernist buildings of the 1950s, differences between interior and exterior, top and bottom, and back and front   were deliberately minimized."

By discussing the specific aspects of a "typical" modernist building, the author generalizes about modern architecture as a whole.

(D) is out.

A value judgment is "an assessment of something as good or bad in terms of one's standards or priorities." The author gives this kind of assessment in the last paragraph:

"In the 1950s, modernism conditioned architecture students to assume that surrounding construction was obsolescent and soon to be replaced by “improved” modernist work;  more sensibly , postmodernist architects see a building as an incremental change in an existing environment."

By stating that the postmodernist viewpoint is more sensible, the author hints at his/her own value judgment of the two forms of architecture.

Eliminate (E).

I hope that helps!

mitul19 · Answer

What "an explanation of terms " has the author done in the passage.?
Thnks

GMATNinja · Answer

What would an explanation of terms in entail? Well, we'd want to find some word or phrase with a special meaning (i.e. a term). And the passage would have to clarify this meaning (i.e. provide an explanation).

Considering this definition, notice that each of the following would count as a term that's explained:

Modernism -- the idea that form should embody the "spatial, structural, and mechanical demands of the building."   Contextualism -- when "architects adopt the visual axes and prevailing roof lines of existing buildings..."   Postmodernist contextualism -- the idea that "whatever is built acknowledge its setting."

Since each of these cases provides the clarification of a special word or phrase, the passage includes "an explanation of terms."

I hope that helps!

Vatsal7794 · Answer

Hi Team

GMATNinja   MartyTargetTestPrep

Can someone please explain me question 2nd and 3rd?

Why for question 2nd answer is E and not C

It's mentioned clearly that typical modersnist used to follow uncomplicated structure
" In typical modernist buildings of the 1950s, differences between interior and exterior, top and bottom, and back and front—or, indeed, between portions serving different functions—were deliberately minimized. Surrounding structures and local precedents were almost invariably ignored. Detailing was made to look as  uncomplicated  as the surfaces and joints of the architectural model, no matter what design and construction effort it took to achieve that effect."

Why answer for 3rd is A?
Which set of principles are we talking about and which challeges are we talking about
I can see only one challege and that is "People began to complain that churches and banks looked alike"

Please answer
Thanks

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 2 
 
For question 2, you've highlighted the correct piece of the passage. But notice that it says that detailing was made to  "look"  uncomplicated, "no matter what design and construction effort it took to achieve that effect."

In other words, the  actual  design and construction might be complicated, but then it was made to  appear  uncomplicated. So, we can't say that modernist buildings did not "use complicated design and construction techniques."

(C) is out for question 2.

Here's (E):

Yup, modernist architecture was all about function over form. So, "purely decorative elements" were not emphasized.

(E) is the correct answer to question 2.

Question 3 
 
You're right that the only challenge explicitly stated in the paragraph is that "that churches and banks looked alike." But in the next sentence, the author describes the reaction to "such  objections ," showing that there are multiple challenges, and that the churches/banks issue is just one example of these objections.

(A) is a good fit for the organization of the first paragraph.

I hope that helps!

ShouryaDarshan · Answer

why is option A for question 6 is not correct

kittle · Answer

KarishmaB  - where does the author use "value judgement" while discussing the architecture in the passage above? - reference question # 5 in the above passage

MartyMurray · Answer

The following could be considered a "value judgment," or an opinion on how good or valuable something is, about postmodernist versus modernist architecture:

more sensibly, postmodernist architects see a building as an incremental change in an existing environment

It can be argued that, in indicating that postmodernist architects act "more sensibly," the author makes a value judgment, or basically judges postmodernism to be better than modernism.

MartyMurray · Answer

Here's question 6:

6. The author suggests that some of the general public’s objections to Modern architecture were based on the public’s

Scanning the passage for what it says about "the general public’s objections to Modern architecture," we see that it says only the following about that topic:

People began to complain that churches and banks looked alike

Compare that with choice (A).

(A) moralistic and exclusivist ideas about architectural design

We see that choice (A) is different from what the passage says about the general public.

The passage does say that "modernist architecture is moralistic and exclusivist." However, it doesn't say that the general public had "moralistic and exclusivist ideas about architectural design." In fact, what seems to be the case is that the public did NOT have such ideas about architecture and that it is partly for that reason that people were not happy with modernistic architecture.

So, choice (A) conflicts with what the passage says.

In its heyday, modernism was taught in architecture schools

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

In its heyday, modernism was taught in architecture schools

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