Note from the blogger: I tend to agree with the Marxist architectural critic Manfredo Tafuri’s assessment of the various strains of the avant-garde as all aspiring to enact a Weberian “rationalization” of society, whether in it’s negative, nihilistic form (Dada, … Continue reading
According to legend, the Soviet sociologist Mikhail Okhitovich wandered into the VKhUTEIN (ВХУТЕИН) studios one day in the summer of 1929. He left after a short while, having only been noticed by a few students and instructors. Okhitovich returned the … Continue reading
Transitioning from my last series of posts (on humanity’s relationship to nature) to a topic more immediately relevant to my thesis, this entry will focus on some of the earlier attempts that were made at reconciling man with nature. From … Continue reading
The most modern and consistent solutions achieved by contemporary architects are still confined within the bourgeois way of living. All contemporary buildings, even the most modern ‘separate mansions’ (villas, palaces) as well as housing estates for the exploited poorer classes … Continue reading
Foreword Man’s primordial reason for building is to protect himself against the cold, against animals, against enemies. He is driven by necessity: he would not build were it not for definite, compelling, urgent purposes. His early buildings … Continue reading
I came across this advertisement yesterday while searching online for any articles on the early Soviet periodical Modern Architecture. For those who don’t spend their time painstakingly researching long-dead avant-garde movements, this publication might not mean much. However, it’s of … Continue reading
Despite everything, the Miesian absence is contradiction interjected. Continue reading
Moslem and Hindu fundamentalist women brush off criticism of their movements with quotations from Foucault and Derrida; popular science programs in Third World countries are similarly savaged as “imperialist.” Continue reading
One of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century, Bourke-White was also a longtime member of the Communist Party. Continue reading
Today we are involved in the collapse of an old world and the emergence of a new. Will we architects be ready to hand over the pyramids to the society of the future? Continue reading