High Modernism Flashcards
Why did high modernism develop?
- incapacitated civil society
- unrestrained use of power
- capacity of the state
- Great depression
As a means of;
- ordering of nature
- standardising process
What is required for high modernism to occur?
- fear
- resources
- unrestrained use of power
- weak opposition
What is the link between regimes and high modernism?
Established regimes less likely to resort to utopian ideas
New regimes require legitimisation of their authority - so look to utopian ideas
Why do revolutionary regimes often use high modernism?
- have defeated an ancien regime so weak opposition
- need to legitimise their power
Describe some of the inherent characteristics (not aesthetics) of HM:
- utopian
- taylorism + technicality
- temporal dimension
- Darwinistic
- post-enlightenment
- adoption of science and technology
- monumental in scale
- rejection of decay
- vanishes politics
- mass social engineering
Describe some of the style aesthetics of HM:
- functional segregation (zoning)
- prefab
- use of geometry
- efficient use of space
- green space
- modern technologies
- acceptance of the car
- materials; i.e concrete / glass
- CIAM guidelines
- radical break with tradition
- single purpose
Barriers to adoption of HM:
- liberal democracies
- institutions (capacity to provide opposition)
X2 figures which inspired high modernism;
RATHENAU: War office of Materials in Germany during WWI
- mass mobilisation of materials on unparalleled scale
LE CORBUSIER
- Buenos Aires development; single rational plan
- helped establish CIAM
- ‘The Radiant City’
- Big is beautiful
Discuss the temporal nature of high modernism.
- rejection of the past / decay
- temporal emphasis on the future
What was the name of Jane Jacobs book?
Written when?
What did it do?
What action had she taken that was successful?
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Written 1961
Condemned current planning principles and proposed alternatives
JJ and action groups had campaigned and stopped Robert Moses highway construction
What did JJ think about automobiles?
Not the reason for decline of cities
But a symptom of poor city design itself
Germany took note of Jacob’s teachings;
How was this seen?
X2 exhibitions
1963: Creating a Society of Mixed Density
1964: The Kind of City in Which we Want to Live
Which German architect was a major proponent of Jane Jacobs?
Hillebrecht
Why was Germany not really understanding JJ?
Little understanding of American context;
- cars and wages half of US
Why did High Modernism decline:
- $$$ more than anticipated
- Cold War & Authoritarian regimes (mainly)
- Opposition
- Legal
Discuss the $$ of the cold war and reason for HM decline
$$$ (utopian visions of monumentality )
Economic justification described by JJ as a ‘hoax’
Discuss how opposition developed to HM
Rise of historical consciousness
1975: European Year of Architectural Heritage
(A Future for our past)
Rise of squatters, protestors, new left activism
Discuss how legal reasons impacted high modernism:
In democracies in the West in particular, strict legal rules against eviction / razing meant few high modernism projects had a basis
Discuss how the Cold War & reforms influenced the decline of HM;
1981-83: Poland and Hungary reforms
i.e Polish Union movement ‘Solidarity’ gaining ground
Nov 1989: collapse of Berlin Wall
X6 countries heavily indebted to West
Soviet Union collapsed 1991
Why did the Soviet Union fall?
What did this result in?
Soviet Union fell in 1991
- Gorbachev did not want to use force to keep it together
- Iran curtain doesn’t stop airwaves
- Economic openness
Redrawing of the maps
S: Mayor of Madrid
Galván
S: What type of arrangement did Spain have with the dictatorship of the past
Pact of Forgettin
S: Timeline
1975: Fall of Franco (death)
1985: General Plan for new civil identity
S:What did the General Plan seek to do in terms of ideals;
- equal, democratic citizens
- remove itself from its authoritarian past
- create new civil identity
- not be involved in partisan politics
S:What actions came about as a result of the General Plan;
greater cultural mobilisation
greater popular participation
restoration of monuments / parks / libraries / concerts / theatres
i.e festivals which had been banned under Franco
S:What X2 case studies to note
CONDE DUQUE
transformed from centre of policing to culture
= desire to save memory and history
MUSEO MUNICIPAL
closed under Franco - wanted state to determine and control identity
celebration of Madrileño culture
Reopened to allow for celebration and education of Spanish history and culture
S: What happened with libraries?
Only X4 at time of Franco’s death - disrepair, limited engagement and only socialist / leftist books
New municipal gov; X4 new libraries, X15 rental kiosks (1979-83)
- greater diversity of books
S: General Plan Aims;
- affordable housing
- re-equilibriate the city
- inexpensive public transport
- revitalisation of capital’s culture
S: Successes of General Plan
X27 large scale restoration projects; i.e Puerto Del Sol / Conde Duque
Libraries - cultural engagement
150% increase in check outs
X127 new Parks 1979-83
First mosque - greater tolerance
Difference between Spain and Germany and dealing with high modernist past;
Spain: Not politicised
Germany: Used past to shape new political national identity
Where was the Neue Wache located?
When was it constructed?
When was it damaged?
East Germany
Constructed in C19
Damaged due to WWII
What East German structure was rebuilt following WWII as a memorial?
What was it a memorial to?
What is this representative of?
Neue Wache
Memorial to victims of fascism and militarism
Germany made victimhood a touchstone of its identity
In 1964 what were there rumours in the press of West Germany doing?
What was done by 1965
Demolishing 56,000 apartments
By 1965: almost 10,000 gone
S: Which building related to Franco was left?
Mosoleum
S: Transformation of Spain can be summed up as not just a physical transformation - but a change from…
an authoritarian ‘fortress’ to a democratic ‘plaza’
Mayor Galvan believed this would translate into a democratic future with civic engagement
