At the end of the nineteen twenties the concept of Organic Architecture seemed to have expired. Several of its leading pioneers such as Louis Sullivan, Rudolf Steiner and Antoni Gaudí had died. Simultaneously in Europe and America, the economic effects of the Great Depression plus the impending Second World War caused a general decline in building. After the Second World War, Functionalism seemed to be the most appropriate approach to rebuild the cities and infrastructure destroyed during the war and to solve the huge housing shortage. Among the most outstanding representatives of Modernism were architects such as Hans Scharoun, Alvar Aalto and Jørn Utzon, all of whom opposed the rising tide of a rigid form-language. They searched for a more humane and natural direction. In the process, they created some of the most iconic and beloved examples of modern architecture.