Function followed from experimental form, not the other way round, in modernism.

Evidence

Historically, the roots of modernism lay in three responses to cubism in the field of pure design: Russian constructivism, De Stijl, and the circle around Le Corbusier. Experimental form engendered practical function, rather than the other way round. But as the Bauhaus acquired dominance, it forgot its origins and misrepresented the new architecture as ‘functionalist’. In the end, this confusion lent itself all too readily to exploitation by developers and bureaucrats, commissioning and financing buildings that were functional to them. — Perry Anderson, The Origins of Postmodernity, 93

Categorization

• XREF: Reverses the common ‘form follows function’ narrative of modern architecture — a periodization and causal-claim angle useful for an essay. — connects to: Modernist literature works as a perception instrument whose form survives even rejected insights — Karl Ove Knausgaard, A Death in the Family, 1839; Painting’s low formal barriers made it modernism’s pioneer — Perry Anderson, The Origins of Postmodernity, 242; Modernist writers and artists modeled creative work on machine rationality. — David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity: An…, 240 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Modernist literature works as a perception instrument whose form survives even rejected insights #exemplifies (0.82) — Karl Ove Knausgaard, A Death in the Family, 1839