Cover image for Architecture and modernity : a critique
Title:
Architecture and modernity : a critique
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Publication Information:
Cambridge, MA : The MIT Press, 1999
ISBN:
9780262581899

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30000010061255 NA680 H42 1999 Open Access Book Book
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Summary

Summary

Bridges the gap between the history and theory of twentieth-century architecture and cultural theories of modernity.

In this exploration of the relationship between modernity, dwelling, and architecture, Hilde Heynen attempts to bridge the gap between the discourse of the modern movement and cultural theories of modernity. On one hand, she discusses architecture from the perspective of critical theory, and on the other, she modifies positions within critical theory by linking them with architecture. She assesses architecture as a cultural field that structures daily life and that embodies major contradictions inherent in modernity, arguing that architecture nonetheless has a certain capacity to adopt a critical stance vis- -vis modernity.

Besides presenting a theoretical discussion of the relation between architecture, modernity, and dwelling, the book provides architectural students with an introduction to the discourse of critical theory. The subchapters on Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, Theodor Adorno, and the Venice School (Tafuri, Dal Co, Cacciari) can be studied independently for this purpose.


Reviews 1

Library Journal Review

Heynen (architecture, Catholic Univ., Leuven, Belgium) explores the philosophical idea of modernityÄthe conditions of living imposed by the socioeconomic process of mechanizationÄand its intersection with examples of modern architecture. Her central question is whether modernity is a "temporary aberration," as Christopher Alexander suggests, or an accurate reflection of the essential human condition. The methodology of the book moves in three directions: examining how architecture relates to modernity, drawing a conclusion to that examination by citing major representatives of the modern movement, and referring to theories in opposition to the modern movement. The chapters are built around key figures in philosophy (Martin Heidegger, Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin) as well as figures in architectural theory (Christian Norberg-Schulz, Sigfried Giedion). The point is best illustrated by an excellent analysis of Adolf Loos's Moller House and his technique of the Raumplan. The illustrations are few but judiciously chosen. Recommended for philosophy collections and advanced students in architectural theory.ÄPaul Glassman, New York Sch. of Interior Design Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Table of Contents

Acknowledgmentsp. viii
Introductionp. 2
1 Architecture Facing Modernity
Concepts of Modernityp. 8
Dwelling Fades into the Distance. . .p. 14
The Dilemmas of Architecturep. 18
2 Constructing the Modern Movement
An Architectural Avant-Garde?p. 26
Sigfried Giedion: A Programmatic View of Modernityp. 29
Das Neue Frankfurt: The Search for a Unified Culturep. 43
3 Reflections in a Mirror
The Experience Rupturep. 72
Adolf Loos: The Broken Continuation of Traditionp. 75
Walter Benjamin: The Dream of a Classless Societyp. 95
Building on a Hollow Space: Ernst Bloch's Criticism of Modern Architecturep. 118
The Venice School, or the Diagnosis of Negative Thoughtp. 128
4 Architecture as Critique of Modernity
Avant-Garde versus Modernismp. 148
New Babylon: The Antinomies of Utopiap. 151
No Way Out: Adorno's Aesthetic Theoryp. 174
Mimesis in Architecturep. 192
Afterword: Dwelling, Mimesis, Culturep. 220
Notesp. 226
Indexp. 260