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Architettura contemporanea
459 pages
An expansive, deeply analytical journey through the societal forces and visionary minds that built the modern world.
What it feels like
Reading this comprehensive study feels like taking a sweeping, analytical tour through the minds and societal forces that shaped the modern built environment. The pace is steady and deliberate, guiding the reader through a century of urban evolution from the foundational shifts of the late nineteenth century to the complex building theories of the 1970s. The mood is deeply intellectual and structured, reflecting the very architecture it examines. The prose is informative and in-depth, carefully unpacking the intersection of politics, society, and design, including the darker eras of totalitarian influence. It is a deeply rewarding experience for historians, urbanists, and anyone fascinated by how human ideology physically manifests in the cities and structures we inhabit.
- Mood
- intellectual
- structured
- expansive
- Tone
- analytical
- informative
- scholarly
- objective
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- societal forces in design · evolution of urbanism · politics and architecture · the legacy of modernism
- The writing
- Informative and deeply analytical, prioritizing historical context and structural clarity over stylistic flourish.
- The arc
- An intellectual progression from the foundational shifts of early modernism through the ideological fractures of global conflict, arriving at a complex understanding of contemporary urbanism.
- Who it's for
- Historians, architecture students, and urban design enthusiasts fascinated by the societal forces that shape our built environments.
Content notes
- discussions of totalitarianism
- World War II historical context
About the book
Modern Architecture/1 and 2 document the incredible diversity and change that have taken place in architectural and urban design during the past one hundred years. The informative text offers an in-depth analysis of societal forces shaping the landscape of modern architecture throughout Europe and the United States. Volume 1 covers issues ranging from urbanism and town planning at the turn of the century through the work of design groups such as the Deutsche Werkbund and individuals such as Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright to nationalistic and totalitarian architecture in Italy and Germany prior to and during the Second World War. Volume 2 traces concepts of urbanism and building theories after World War II through the 1970s, following the work of architects such as Mies van der Rohe and Alvar Aalto as well as the younger generation of practitioners of international reputation and influence. Also includes information on Amsterdam (Holland), Barcelona (Spain), Basel (Switzerland), Peter Behrens, Berlin (Germany), Boston (Massachusetts), Brussels (Belgium), Cambridge (Massachusetts), Celle (Germany), Chandigarh (India), Chicago (Illinois), Como (Italy), Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM), constructivism, Detroit (Michigan), Dusseldorf (Germany), Florence (Italy), Frankfurt (Germany).
Futurism, Geneva (Switzerland), Genoa (Italy), Walter Gropius, The Hague, Helsinki (Finland), Hilversum (Holland), international style, La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland), Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret), Leningrad (USSR), London (England), Adolf Loos, Los Angeles (California), Lyons (France), Madison (Wisconsin), Madrid (Spain), Erich Mendesohn, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Milan (Italy), Moscow (USSR), neo-classicism, neo-expressionism, neo-empiricism, neo-gothic, neo-plasticism, neo-Romanesque, neo-Romantic, Neue Sachlichkeit (New objectivity), New Haven (Connecticut), New York City (New York), Oak Park (Illinois), Paris (France), Pasadena (California), Auguste Perret, Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), Hans Poelzig, Prague (Czechoslovakia), Prairie School, Racine (Wisconsin), Henry Hobson Richardson, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Rome (Italy), Rotterdam (Holland), Eliel Saarinen, St. Louis (Missouri), San Francisco (California), Stockholm (Sweden), Stuttgart (Germany), Bruno Taut, Heinrich Tessenow, Tokyo (Japan), Turin (Italy), Venice (Italy), Martin Wagner, Otto Wagner, Weimar Repulbic, Frank Lloyd Wright, Zurich (Switzerland).
Description from Open Library.
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