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Part 2 of 2 (Part 1 here)
It is during and after the First World War that reinforced concrete was incorporated into political programs as a “progressive” building material. The Futurist Antonio Sant’Elia inspired an entire generation of so-called “brutalists”: Le Corbusier, Buckminster Fuller, and members of the movement called De Stijl. Jappe cites Futurist proponents of concrete cities: (more…)
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Part 1 of 2 (Part 2 here)
Anselm Jappe
Béton: Arme de construction massive du capitalisme
Paris: Éditions L’échappée, 2020
Ask any thinking people what they consider to be the most dramatic and long-lasting changes in the world over the last hundred years, and a wide variety of responses may be expected, ranging from demographic shifts to the atomic bomb, (more…)
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(500) Days of Summer is a romantic comedy released in 2009. It is certainly a cut above the rest of modern rom-coms, but this review will focus on the story’s setting in lieu of the plot.
Though there is only one mention of the city in its dialogue, specifically a quip, this film — as so many other Hollywood productions — takes place in Los Angeles. Since America’s moviemaking industry is based in LA, filming “on location” is cheaper to do locally instead of sending the crew and sets elsewhere. Plus, being remarkably diverse in landscape and architecture helps the City of Angels double as almost any other place across the globe. (more…)
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The last time I visited London was when it really struck me: The hordes of non-whites living in the city were squatters, living among the ruins of a formerly glorious civilization. Moslem mothers in their burqas and niqabs waited outside a Victorian-era school for their offspring. (more…)
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Christian Petzold’s Undine, set in contemporary Berlin, begins with Undine Wibeau (Paula Beer) having coffee with Johannes, her boyfriend. It’s not going well. She has deep, penetrating eyes and red hair that looks ready to blaze. She says to him: “You said you loved me. Forever. If you leave me, I’ll have to kill you. You know that.”
We’ve all had girlfriends like that, haven’t we? (more…)
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Editor’s note: This is a transcript of Robert Stark’s July 4, 2016 interview with Charles Krafft. We would like to thank Hyacinth Bouquet for this transcript.
Robert Stark: This is Robert Stark. I am joined here with Charles Krafft. Charles, it is great having you on the show.
Charles Krafft: Well, thank you; and nice to talk to you again, Robert. (more…)
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To be sure, [Heidegger’s] empty formula of “thoughtful remembrance” can also be filled in with a different attitudinal syndrome, for example with the anarchist demand for a subversive stance of refusal, which corresponds more to present moods than does blind submission to something superior. But the arbitrariness with which the same thought-figure can be given contemporary actualization remains irritating. (more…)
Library of Congress Reading Room
2,115 words
Library of Congress Reading Room
Earlier this month, the Architectural Record obtained a draft copy of an executive order that, if implemented, would have a significant impact on federal architecture. Titled “Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again,” the order states that “the classical architectural style shall be the preferred and default style” (more…)
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Greg Johnson talks to Rich Houck about the importance of the English conservative philosopher Roger Scruton, who died on January 12, 2020. Then they answer reader questions about how to persuade normies and hostiles of White Nationalism. (more…)
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I took an interest in architecture a few years back, after reading Crawford’s The World Beyond Your Head. The book described the effects of the arrangement of space on how we perceived and acted in the world. The effects of arranged space could be negative—the distraction of eye-catching advertisements and flashing lights—or positive—the machine-like feeling of cooking in a well-stocked and well-organized kitchen. (more…)
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Frederic Spotts
Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics
New York: The Overlook Press, 2003
Leaders throughout history have frequently deployed the arts as a means by which to display their power. Hitler is unusual, however, in that art was central to his political vision. He was intensely interested in the arts (painting, sculpture, music, and architecture) and dreamed of forging a state whose artistic and cultural achievements would rival those of ancient Greece and Rome. (more…)
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Imre Makovecz was one of the great architects of the late twentieth century and the most notable proponent of organic architecture in Hungary. His works are characterized by an idiosyncratic style that melds modern influences with motifs inspired by Hungarian folklore. He designed nearly five hundred buildings over the course of his life, about half of which were built.