Publisher's Synopsis
In the whole history of architecture there was never a period of such vitality, range of invention and generosity of spirit as that which followed the peace in 1918. With the foundation of the International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM) ten years later, this jolting energy was reduced to Le Corbusier's theory based on the technology of industrialised mass-production. At that moment a resistance movement against the CIAM developed. By examining the work of Hugo Haering, Hans Scharoun, Alvar Aallo, Gunnar Asplund, Giancarlo de Carlo, Aldo van Eyck, Eileen Gray, R.M. Schindler and Frank Lloyd Wright, Colin St John Wilson identifies this common strand of opposition to the CIAM movement and a body of work across the world which now demands proper recognition as the other tradition.;He outlines the theoretical status of this tradition and uses case studies to compare and contrast a work of the other tradition with a work of the CIAM doctrine, highlighting the success of each project. Several example including Baker House, MIT (1948), the Philharmonic Berlin are measured against more orthodox modern buildings by Le Corbusier, and Walter Gropius and others. These comparisons illustrate how the works of the other tradition have gained greater credence and success in practice than the built projects of the CIAM.
