Global Modernism

Once again, new interpretations are presented of some of the most famous architecture of the period. Work by lesser-known architects, whose influence and role have been overlooked by conventional histories of the subject, is discussed. The case study structure allows each example to be discussed and used as a springboard to explore different theoretical approaches. Filled with beautiful photographs, plans and architect's drawings, this is a clear and accessible discussion on a period of architecture that engages many questions still under debate in architecture today.

Form precedes function in this stunning visual archive of nearly 200 images of modern architecture by award-winning photographer Nicolas Grospierre. At once a reference work and a personal exploration of modernist architecture, this fascinating collection of Nicolas Grospierre's photography covers structures built between 1920 and 1989 in Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. These images range from iconic buildings, such as the Gateway Arch in Saint Louis and the Ukrainian Institute of Scientific Research and Development in Kiev, to little-known structures such as the Balneological Hospital in Druskininkai, Lithuania or Oscar Niemeyer's unfinished International Fair Grounds in Tripoli.

A revealing new look at modernist architecture, emphasizing its diversity, complexity, and broad inventiveness. Usually associated with Mies and Le Corbusier, the Modern Movement was instrumental in advancing new technologies of construction in architecture, including the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete. Renowned historian Kenneth Frampton offers a bold look at this crucial period, focusing on architects less commonly associated with the movement in order to reveal the breadth and complexity of architectural modernism. The Other Modern Movement profiles nineteen architects, each of whom consciously contributed to the evolution of a new architectural typology through a key work realized between 1922 and 1962.

This book is a thoroughly revised edition of the author's Roots of Modern Architecture and is illustrated with his own photographs. It is a clear, concise, accessible account of what the modern movement really wanted and what it achieved by one of the world's leading architectural critics.

For almost 20 years, Detlef Mertins has been a critical voice in renewing our understanding of architectural modernity. Architect, historian, professor, his essays have often taken up familiar themes in order to redress inaccuracies and release energies that we were unaware of. These essays elaborate on such key modernist tropes as transparency, glass architecture, organicism, life and event, sameness and difference. Previously published in a variety of different venues, from journals to anthologies - including such noted books as Lars Spuybroek's NOX: Machining Architecture and FOA's Phylogenesis - they are now assembled for the first time in this volume.

This book provides a comprehensive historical and theoretical overview of modern architecture in regions outside the "West" -- Europe and North America. It brings together contributions from leading scholars in the interdisciplinary fields of architecture history, architecture theory, area studies, sociology and cultural studies. It interrogates Eurocentric views of modern architecture as autonomous and homogeneous and posits a heteronomous and heterogeneous understanding of modern architecture.

In the decades following World War II, modern architecture spread around the globe alongside increased modernization, urbanization, and postwar reconstruction--and it eventually won widespread acceptance. But as the limitations of conventional conceptions of modernism became apparent, modern architecture has come under increasing criticism. In this collection of essays, experienced and emerging scholars take a fresh look at postwar modern architecture by asking what it meant to be "modern," what role modern architecture played in constructing modern identities, and who sanctioned (or was sanctioned by) modernism in architecture.

This set of essays brings together studies that challenge interpretations of the development of modernist architecture in Third World countries during the Cold War. The topics look at modernism's part in the transnational development of building technologies and the construction of national and cultural identity. Architectural modernism is far more than another instance of Western expansionist aspirations; it has been developed in cross-cultural spaces and variously localized into nation-building programs and social welfare projects. The first volume to address countries right across the developing world, this book has a key place in the historiography of modern architecture, dealing with non-Western traditions.

Women Architects in the Modern Movement rewrites the history of modern architecture to elevate the often-overlooked female architects who helped build the movement. Starting with a theoretical analysis that situates women's roles both in society and architecture specifically, Carmen Espegel examines the transition from women as objects to subjects at the advent of modernity. This theoretical basis is grounded through four case studies on pioneering women architects: Eileen Gray, Lilly Reich, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky and Charlotte Perriand. Along with illuminating their lives and work, Espegel aims to help us examine and observe the world from a perspective where the feminine and masculine are not exclusive, so that we might learn from the past in order to build with dignity in the future. Translated from the original Spanish by Angela Giral.