Expressionism is a northern European style from the early 20th century. In painting, theater, and movie sets it represented objects in a distorted and highly emotional way. When applied to working buildings, this stylistic liberty was usually channeled into the detailing.

Expressionist buildings typically feature highly angular or sinuous lines, and maintain a simplicity of form in balance with highly inventive detailing. In Germany the most common subset of this style is brick expressionism, which typically involves textured facades with explosions of ornament at key points on an otherwise modern structure.

Approximate Dates: 1920 to 1930