Justification of this somewhat radical view was found in the machine. Since the machine's appearance was derived entirely from its function it was both morally and economically admirable, which made it beautiful. Karl Ewald's text The Beauty of Machines (1925-6) contained the axiom, "A good modern machine is … an object of the highest aesthetic value - we are aware of that".13 For evidence of this the Modernists looked to the USA, where an unselfconscious functionalism had been put into practice by pioneers like Samuel Colt and, in particular, Henry Ford. Ford brought the concept of standardisation to his car plant, with results that were seen as almost miraculous. His moving assembly line system, which involved specialised stages of fabrication and interchangeable parts, had enabled him to dramatically increase car production. His success was such that industrialists and manufacturers across the world were adopting these methods. Theoretically, their goods were now readily available and continually depreciating in price, even as profits soared. Paul Greenhalgh has observed that Modernists recognised the need to embrace technology for these reasons of economy and availability. It was the means by which Modernism could be promoted worldwide. In addition, the standardisation advocated by Ford would facilitate rapid construction and maintenance.14
Therefore, the example of Ford and others encouraged the Modernists to view the machine as the absolute ideal of functionalism. This can be confirmed by reference to Le Corbusier.
Much of Le Corbusier's manifesto Vers une architecture (1923) is dedicated to promoting the architectural virtues of the machine. His famous declaration, "The house is a machine for living in,"15 often misunderstood, meant that the guiding principle for architects should be to make the house as well suited to its purpose as was a machine. This reiterated the argument that functionalism was more important than appearance. In order to progress, he believed, it was necessary for architects to abandon the notion of traditional styles and decorative effects: "Architecture has nothing to do with the various "styles'…[they are] sometimes pretty, though not always; and never anything more.'16 This implies that he saw the aesthetic, not as just another style, but as the very substance of architecture. Instead, he drew parallels between architecture and the "Engineer"s Aesthetic', arguing that engineers were to be praised for their use of functionalism and mathematical order. As a consequence, architects were encouraged to emulate engineers and adopt these principles in order to attain harmony and logic in their designs. To reinforce this argument the illustrations of Vers une architecture celebrated the functional and architectural unity of Canadian grain stores, ships, aeroplanes and automobiles.
From a present day perspective his principles are better illuminated by his architecture, since these illustrations (e.g. the Caproni Triple hydroplane) seem rather archaic. The Maison Dom-Ino (1915) was an early example of his Engineer's Aesthetic: three identical planes are suspended above each other by steel columns, a method of construction that frees the walls of their load-bearing purpose, and allows his concept of the "free façade" to be introduced. An external staircase communicates between each level, and its location permits an unprecedented space and clarity in the plan. The components were all to be standardised and pre-fabricated, which would allow for rapid construction. This house was therefore a product of Le Corbusier's intention to apply the principles of mechanical mass production to domestic architecture.
However, a substantial body of criticism (e.g. Greenhalgh, Sparke) has argued that this functionalism of Modernist theory was not based in reality. The machine aesthetic remained just that, as few of the designs were capable of being standardised. For example, the Grand Comfort chair by Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand was neither functional nor standardised. It required no less than eighteen welds and three materials, making it expensive and capable of production only by craftsmanship. Le Corbusier's pavilion L'Esprit Nouveau featured door handles supposedly derived from car or aeroplane handles. These were not standardised but had to be made individually. At the Bauhaus, Marianne Brandt's tea service (1928/30) embodies the machine aesthetic with its geometrical, angular forms, but, again, these features made it unsuited to machine production. For this reason, virtually no products of Modernism were mass-produced, at least until the style was modified and practised on an international level in what became known as the International Style. For the pioneer phase, mass production remained a metaphor that, like the example of Henry Ford, could not yet be emulated.17
A further dimension which has not yet been discussed is the political function of the machine aesthetic. This was hinted at in Loos' belief that it alleviated the subjection of the worker, but here the emphasis was on the labour-saving potential of the machine. Loos celebrated the aesthetic because, theoretically, it reduced the hours of labour required of the worker by eschewing unnecessary ornament. This line of reasoning even occurs in the theories of the politically ambivalent Le Corbusier, whose Freehold Maisonettes of 1922 used mechanical appliances and "good organisation" derived from machines to reduce the need for human labour, and thus alleviate the workloads of servants.18 It did not necessarily follow in either case, however, that the machine could serve as an instrument for social liberation.
