Architecture Today 10. July 2004

Architecture is presently at a dynamic turning point. In the ‘70s, harsh critique of monotonous Modernism provoked a complete rethinking in architecture. During the ‘80s, tradition was rediscovered with Post-Modernism. By the early ‘90s, the international avantgarde had rediscovered Modernism and set about filling it with new life. Powerful new works have surfaced in the impending years. Their vivid “landmark architecture” revitalizes derelict city neighborhoods all across the globe. These works are future-oriented and innovative. Through thoughtful respect of human scale and integration with their specific surroundings, they correct the mistakes of relentless Late-Modernism with fresh new, holistic solutions. In the 1920’s, contrasting stances on architecture crystallized to become the driving forces in the striving to create inclusive architecture. Expressionism attempts to translate the laws of nature into organic forms. Rationalism, on the other hand, expresses new building technologies in a machine aesthetic. Today’s architecture continues to be based on these antithesis approaches. Now, computer programs developed for use in aerospace technology enable the complex, organic building visions of early Expressionism to be built. At the same time, the stringent extreme is being explored in buildings which take the rationalist standpoint to new heights, producing poetic Minimalism. And the advent of new, sustainable technologies generates new building forms: “green” architecture, which transcends its earthy granola and Birkenstock beginnings. One of the most exciting facets of contemporary architecture is the pluralism of the solutions being explored. Contrary theories all seek to find innovative answers to the challenges facing the world today. This inventive, creative process results in epoch-making buildings which prove the thesis that Modernism’s inherent potential has been far from fully explored. A supposition that this book, with striking images by leading architectural photographers, readily confirms. mab wrote all texts for "Architecture Today" in German/English.

Published July 2004, pdf (800 kb) click here: Architecture Today.pdf