City As Paradise

What are the effects of modernist architecture today?

So, the promise of modern was to improve daily life. It was to provide basic needs from living accommodation to public facilities: social housing, schools and hospitals. These are images from Frankfurt, it’s Rummerstadt by Annes May, and at the same time there was an expression of dwellings for minimal existences. This is the 1920s. In a way we’re going to address something similar in this workshop because you will be looking at mixed use units and in designing a minimal space for one person you are in a way in the tradition of this dwelling for existential minimalism. So, these were the ideas to provide many people affordable housing. Detailed right down to things like the kitchen, a Frankfurt kitchen designed by Graettel Schutilihoksi, one of the first woman architects actually involved in public architecture.

And now, many other researchers in this field, on the left hand side there’s an image of an exhibition in Switzerland, so central Europe was the basis for experimentation and for actual implementation of improved daily lives for the average person –not for the wealthy.

(Talking about the) provision of education, health and transport infrastructure. Motorways were developed in the 1920s by the Weimar Republic, by the democratic period of the German post-WWI administration. And improved design for objects of daily use such as (this is) a tea kettle and on the left hand side you have a factory building by Peter Beherenz the GE factory, and the GE (General Electric) also produced this tea kettle designed by Peta Beherance as well. So, Beherance was a pioneer of modern architecture and modern industrial design