Modern Architecture: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #587

by Adam Sharr

Somewhere between 1910 and 1970, architecture changed. Now that modern architecture has become familiar (sometimes celebrated, sometimes vilified), it's hard to imagine how novel it once seemed. Expensive buildings were transformed from ornamental fancies which referred to the classical and medieval pasts into strikingly plain reflections of novel materials, functions, and technologies. Modern architecture promised the transformation of cities from overcrowded conurbations characterized by packed slums and dirty industries to spacious realms of generous housing and clean mechanized production set in parkland. At certain times and in certain cultures, it stood for the liberation of the future from the past.

This Very Short Introduction explores the technical innovations that opened up the cultural and intellectual opportunities for modern architecture to happen. Adam Sharr shows how the invention of steel and reinforced concrete radically altered possibilities for shaping buildings, transforming what architects were able to imagine, as did new systems for air conditioning and lighting. While architects weren't responsible for these innovations, they were among the first to appreciate how they could make the world look and feel different, in connection with imagery from other spheres like modern art and industrial design. Focusing on a selection of modern buildings that also symbolize bigger cultural ideas, Sharr discusses what modern architecture was like, why it was like that, and how it was imagined. Considering the work of some of the historians and critics who helped to shape modern architecture, he demonstrates how the field owes as much to its storytellers as to its buildings.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Architecture, History, Nonfiction, Art

165 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[dantelk · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book focuses both on production material and techniques, and also culture and historical aspects.

Kendime notlar:
- ironbridge, taş köprü gibi inşa ediliyor. köprü, yeni gelişen matbaa teknolojisi sayesinde insanlara ulaşıyor. çağ ötesi bir köprü bu!
- spin doctor -> kalın!
- Beton, kimi zaman işçi sınıfının kimi zaman burjuvanın mekanı! Sosyalizm de Kapitalizm de ondan faydalanıyor.
- Afrika'nın üçte ikisi batılı sömrgecilerden 60'larda kurtuldular. Onlar da milli mimarilerini, gene betonla oluşturdular (çoğu zaman batılı mimarların katkısı ile!).
- Brick üretimi hassas bir iş ve bir standardı yok; her tuğlanın sağlamlığı kendine özel, ateşe ne kadar yakın olduğuna göre değişiyor. En sert, yanık tuğlalar sugeçirmez - en iyiler onlar.
- Benedict Anderson da diyor ki, nation and nationalizm de modernliğin ürünleri - monarchlar gidince bu mekanizmalara ihtiyaç oluyor. Dilin birlik olması da (basın yüzünden ya da sayesinde) bunun etkisini artırıyor.

[Patricia Roberts-Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good book. A sensible and informed argument about architecture--one that gets you to think about what it means to be modern.

The only reason I didn't give five stars is that I'm not sure everyone would like this book. But, if you're at all curious about architecture, you will.

[Reece Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this was perfectly fine. Instead of going by era or architect, Sharr chose to use construction material as a way to divide up the history of modern architecture which I think was a cool move. I learned a lot about how certain materials inform the structure they're meant to build and a lot about how architecture is very directly influenced by culture (and vice versa). It seems somewhat elitist when you hear artists talking about the cultural influence that art has when there isn't a concrete (pun intended) example, but Sharr does a good job directly relating the evolution of modern architecture to the evolution of modern architecture.

Sharr acknowledges the WASPy nature of a lot of architectural canon, which is a good move, but given that he was aware of this I wish he would've made the extra move to include some non-European architecture (to his credit, he did hit Japan).

Admittedly, it did get dry towards the end but I think that's more of a 'me' thing than a writing critique. Perhaps straight history isn't for me, I like a little bit of prose in there too. But, at the end of the day, the book did its job: it was a very short introduction.

[MichaelK · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I would have been unlikely to read if it weren't for falling down a very particular research wormhole.

A memorable experience in this book was reading about the Fagus Factory in Germany, how innovative and exciting it was to architects when it was built in 1913. It has a flat roof!! Massive windows!! And there are windows at the corners!!! ZOMFG!!!! HOW COOL IS THIS???

And then turning the page and seeing the illustration, an extremely boring and commonplace looking building nowadays, so massive has its influence been.

[MOL · Rating 4 out of 5]

I choose to read this book solely for the fact that I have completely no idea what modern architure is, where it came from and what it supposed to represent. Naturally, for this very reason some parts of the book seemed overwhelming but overall quite enjoyable.

I am very glad to have got my hands on this as I believe VSI series once again helped to broaden my horizons and helped putting some groundwork for future more advanced reading on Le Corbusier, Mies, Kahn, Fuller and others.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I even enjoyed this at points. I guess I’ve no one but myself to blame for not being that interested in the subject matter, in any case. Also, it would make sense for this book to have a lot more pictures than it does.