Modern Architecture

by Colquhoun, Alan

• ISBN13: 9780192842268
• ISBN10: 0192842269
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780191027277
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-07-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Colquhoun, an eminent scholar in the field of architecture, offers here a new account of international modernism that explores the complex motivations behind this revolutionary movement and assesses its triumphs and failures. The book focuses on the work of the main architects of the movement such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Adolf Loos, Le Corbusier, and Mies van der Rohe, re-examining their work and shedding new light on their roles as acknowledged masters. The author presents a fascinating analysis of architecture with regard to politics, technology, and ideology, all while offering clear descriptions of the key elements of the Modern movement. Colquhoun shows clearly the evolution of the movement from Art Nouveau in the 1890s to the mega-structures of the 1960s, revealing the often-contradictory demands of form, function, social engagement, modernity and tradition.

Author Biography

Alan Colquhoun is Professor Emeritus in the School of Architecture at Princeton University. His other publications include 'Essays in Architecture: Modern Architecture and Historical Change' and 'Modernity and the Classical Tradition: Architectural Essays 1980-1987'.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	7	(2)
Introduction	9	(4)
Art Nouveau 1890-1910	13	(22)
Organicism versus Classicism: Chicago 1890-1910	35	(22)
Culture and Industry: Germany 1907-14	57	(16)
The Urn and the Chamberpot: Adolf Loos 1900-30	73	(14)
Expressionism and Futurism	87	(22)
The Avant-gardes in Holland and Russia	109	(28)
Return to Order: Le Corbusier and Modern Architecture in France 1920-35	137	(22)
Weimar Germany: the Dialectic of the Modern 1920-33	159	(24)
From Rationalism to Revisionism: Architecture in Italy 1920-65	183	(10)
Neoclassicism, Organicism, and the Welfare State: Architecture in Scandinavia 1910-65	193	(16)
From Le Corbusier to Megastructures: Urban Visions 1930-65	209	(22)
Pax Americana: Architecture in America 1945-65	231	(24)
Notes	255	(9)
Further Reading	264	(6)
Timeline	270	(7)
List of Illustrations	277	(5)
Index	282