ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

International style (architecture)

International style in architecture is a way of making buildings that started in the 1920s and 1930s. It became very popular all over the world in the 1950s and 1960s.

The idea behind international style is that buildings should be made with simple shapes and basic materials like concrete, steel, and glass. This makes the buildings look very modern and clean because they don't have a lot of fancy decorations or unnecessary stuff.

Another important thing in international style is that the buildings are designed to be very functional. This means that the architects who design them think a lot about how people will use the building and what kind of spaces they need inside. For example, if the building is an office, the architects will think about how many people will work there, how they will move around the space, and how they will use things like desks and computers.

International style buildings often have big windows and are very open inside, so you can see a lot of what's going on around you. This is because architects who make international style buildings think that it's important to be able to see the outside and feel connected to the world.

Finally, international style buildings often look very similar to each other. This is because architects who use this style often have very similar ideas about what is important in design. So when you see an international style building, you can usually tell right away that it is an international style building because it looks like all the other ones!