Modern Architecture

by Alan Colquhoun

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780192842268
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/18/2002
Series:	Oxford History of Art
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	9.38(w) x 6.61(h) x 0.64(d)

About the Author

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
Introduction
Chapter 1: Art Nouveau 1890-1910
Chapter 2: Organicism versus Classicism: Chicago 1890-1910
Chapter 3: Culture and Industry: Germany 1907-14
Chapter 4: The Urn and the Chamberpot: Adolf Loos 1900-30
Chapter 5: Expressionism and Futurism
Chapter 6: The Avent-gardes in Holland and Russia
Chapter 7: Return to Order: Le Corbusier and Modern Architecture in France 1920-35
Chapter 8: Weimar Germany: the Dialectic of the Modern 1920-33
Chapter 9: From Rationalism to Revisionism: Architecture in Italy 1920-65
Chapter 10: Neoclassicism, Organicism, and the Welfare State: Architecture in Scandinavia 1910-65
Chapter 11: From Le Corbusier to Megastructures: Urban Visions 1930-65
Chapter 12: Pax Americana: Architecture in American 1945-65
Notes
Further Reading
Timeline
List of Illustrations
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Who needs another history of the modern movement? Coloquhoun, emeritus professor of architecture at Princeton, shows us why in this wonderfully succinct, readable, and opinionated account of movements and formgivers, from European art nouveau to the post-war decades in America. Each of the chapters focuses on a theme or a region, ranging from the artistry of Loos to the social engineering of Scandanavia. Though most of the examples are familiar, the author gives them a fresh spin—starting with the cover illustration of Hans Scharoun's Schminke house of 1933, now restored and used as a day care center. It embodies the daring and idealism that powered the modern movement and is now being rediscovered."—L.A. Architect

From the Publisher