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Title: The International Style by Henry-Russell Hitchcock, Philip Johnson, Henry-Rusell Hitchcock ISBN: 0-393-31518-5 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: February, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3 (2 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: An interesting period piece
Comment: The most interesting aspect of the new edition is the recent forward by Philip Johnson (1995). In it he humorously describes his relationship with "The International Style," and how dated the book now appears. He also notes that it was Alfred Barr who introduced Hitchcock and him to this new world of architecture. It was Barr who had written extensively on the subject and dubbed it an "International Style."
Not surprisingly, nearly all the buildings included in this catalog for the 1932 MoMA exhibit date from 1927. This was a pivotal year in the Modern Movement. Le Corbusier's "Toward a New Architecture" first appeared in English. The new improved Bauhaus opened its doors in Dessau, in Gropius' newly constructed complex. The International Competition for the League of Nations building was held with Le Corbusier losing out on a technicality. A building exhibition, laid out by Mies van der Rohe, was sponsored by the Deutscher Werkbund in Stuttgart. Modern Architecture had come of age.
The selections are interesting for their range of architects but have several notable omissions. Among them Rudolf Schindler, who dismissed the idea of an "International Style," in a letter to Johnson. Modern architects then and now hate the idea of a "style," believing their works to be based on a set of constructive and compositional principles which transcend the notion of style.
Nevertheless, the name stuck. Hitchcock and Johnson are widely credited for bringing the International Style to America, even though some early works by Neutra, Hood, Howe and Lescaze were included in the exhibition. Most importantly, Johnson lured Mies to America, where he would achieve his most lofty aspirations. The book makes for an interesting read but has long been superceded by more insightful and penetrating books on the subject.
Rating: 3
Summary: going back to where it all started
Comment: This book is a living proof that architecture is an evolving being. It never stays stagnant. What is deemed to be modern then has now become a foundation for new styles & new materials to be developed to serve the functions & purposes of the occupants. Whilst the book defined the 3 principles that formed the backbone of the International Style, it's doing so as a mean of helping people to understand the 'style'better. Architects know better that there aren't any form of '-ism' but just good architecture when all the criterions of their clients are met. Half of the book is devoted to photos of buildings applying the so-called International Style but after you've seen one, you've seen it all. They all look distinctively indifferent to one another.
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Title: Towards a New Architecture by Le Corbusier ISBN: 0486250237 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 February, 1985 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Modern Architecture by Vincent, Jr. Scully ISBN: 0807603341 Publisher: George Braziller Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Chicago School of Architecture: A History of Commercial and Public Building in the Chicago Area, 1875-1925 by Carl W. Condit ISBN: 0226114554 Publisher: University of Chicago Press (Trd) Pub. Date: March, 1973 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: Form Follows Finance: Skyscrapers and Skylines in New York and Chicago by Carol Willis ISBN: 1568980442 Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press Pub. Date: November, 1995 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Chicago Architecture and Design 1923-1993: Reconfiguration of an American Metropolis by John Zukowsky ISBN: 3791323458 Publisher: Prestel USA Pub. Date: April, 2000 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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