Trying to define modern architecture was a problem that many architects struggled to explain. No one before had created what we now know as “modern” architecture. In the past, architects were able to look at history to gain inspiration for buildings, however this approach did not fit this new machine age. Industrialization has changed the way people think. The Industrial Revolution enabled the production of products on an industrial scale, giving ordinary people access to goods that would otherwise have been beyond their reach. Architecture was slow to adapt to industrialization, and the industrial age brought new problems never seen before. One of the main objectives of architecture is to faithfully represent its time; this idea is known as the Zeitgeist or “Spirit of the Age”. Since the machine age was a phenomenon never seen before, architects had to think slightly ahead of their time to keep up with the changes taking place in society. Many architects such as Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies have worked tirelessly to establish themselves as leaders in their field. They came up with ideas such as harmony between architecture and nature and function over form. Ludwig Miles was one such architect who sought to cement his place in history through the creative use of concrete, steel and glass. Mies' style was known to follow the saying "less is more". One of his best-known buildings is the Seagram Building. Built in New York in 1958, it was one of the most expensive buildings built at the time. The Seagram Building was built in 1958, at a time “when Park Avenue was transforming from an exclusive residential neighborhood to a prestigious commercial address, the Seagra...... middle of paper......hborhood Preservation Center. Accessed December 10, 2012. http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/Seagram-Building--In Included-The-Plaza.pdf.Scott, Felicity D. “An Army of Soldiers or a Meadow The Seagram Building and the "Art of Modern Architecture"." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 70 (September 2011). "Seagram Building". New York entertainment. Accessed December 10, 2012. http://nymag.com/listings/attraction/seagram_building/."Seagram Building, New York." Galinsky. http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/seagram/.Wegener, Jim. "Nocturnal modernity". Architizer. Last modified August 12, 2010. Accessed December 10, 2012. http://www.architizer.com/en_us/blog/dyn/6365/nocturnal-modernity/#.UMkahoPs5TJ. Whyte, William H., narrated. The social life of small urban spaces. Np: np, 1980. DVD. Originally released 1980.