Overview
There is no shortage of books about Le Corbusier, or Mies van der Rohe, or De Stijl. This one is different, however, in a number of ways. First, it does not treat them as separate subjects, but in relation to each other. While their response to De Stijl throws some new light on Le Corbusier and Mies, it is above all De Stijl that can be more sharply defined in relation to them. Second, the purpose of the study is to excavate the philosophical foundations of the work, rather than merely to describe and discuss the work itself. Third, it looks for connections between the aims and ideals of the 1920s and such 'post-modern' concerns as the creation of habitable 'places' and the survival of the historical city. The book's central theme is the striving for universality as opposed to the individual and the particular. The foundation manifesto of De Stijl begins: 'There exists an old and new consciousness of the age. The old is directed towards the individual. The new is directed towards the universal' (1918). This first opposition is intersected, however, by a second one: that between the open and the closed. The universality aimed at by De Stijl artists like Van Doesburg and Mondrian resembled that of the universe itself: it was boundless. Their paintings continued, in theory, beyond the limits of the canvas; their architecture sought to abolish the wall as the boundary between interior and exterior space. But each of Le Corbusier's buildings and paintings was itself a self-contained universe, held within a clear frame. Mies fluctuated between the two ideals; in the 1920s, in such designs as the brick country house and the Barcelona Pavilion, he outdid even the De Stijl architects in openness, but in his later work in America he reverted to the closed neo-classical box.
Full Product Details
Author: Richard Padovan
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint: Spon Press
Dimensions:
Width: 18.90cm
, Height: 1.40cm
, Length: 24.60cm
Weight: 0.470kg
ISBN: 9780419240303
ISBN 10: 0419240306
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 13 December 2001
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Each of these books has shown Padovan to be a master of clarity and Towards Universality is no exception...Padovan is crystal clear -- this book is a little classic. <br>-Patrick Hodgkinson, Emeritus Professor, University of Bath, The Architect's Journal, March 7, 2002 <br>
'Padovan is crystal clear - this book is a little classic.' The Architects Journal
Author Information
Richard Padovan lectures at the University of Bath. He has worked as an architect in various European countries.
