Architecture and modernity : a critique /

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Architecture Facing Modernity -- Constructing the Modern Movement -- Reflections in a Mirror -- Architecture as Critique of Modernity -- Afterword: Dwelling, Mimesis, Culture -- Notes -- Index.

Critical theories such as those of the Frankfurt School of the twenties and thirties gave rise to a complex and sophisticated critique of modernity and modernism. The theory and practice of modernist architecture developed simultaneously with, but largely independent of, this rich tradition. 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-à-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 dis- course 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. Hilde Heynen is on the faculty of the Department of Architecture at Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium.