TOWARDS A MONUMENTAL FORMALISM In this chapter, the rise of the
“About 1952 there was a significant shift
modernism is put in its social and historical
within Modernism from what had come to be
context. The vision of the modernist architects
called Functionalism, or the International Style,
is presented in relation to the reconstruction
toward a monumental formalism. There was
of European cities after the Second World War.
increasing interest in highly sculptural masses and
The global urban view of the modernists meets
spaces, as well as in the decorative qualities of
the vision for a ‘new man’ in a ‘new society’.
diverse building materials and exposed structural
The chapter determines the modernist
systems.”10
approach to understand how our cities changed during the XXth century.
The idea of the ‘high-rise building’ became a new concept of the modern society
The Second World War presents itself as
after the War. As the functional modernism
a traumatic event in Western Europe from which
brought to the city a significant rise of the sanitary
a real shift in the modernist movement appeared.
conditions, the after War formalist modernism
This move occurs within the architecture style and
handled the urban fabric. Formalism appeared
the urban planning as well. Modernist movement
as an answer to the yet named concern of ‘the
before WWII is an architectural response to the
parsimonious use of land’ but moreover to the
needs of a plot, to the needs of comfort for
desire for many cities to build up a new sense
everyone. After the war, the architect became
of image and identity. With this new ideology,
politically engaged in the urban development and
towers played an important role in the urban
started designing big scale projects in order to redefine the city. 10 BUSH-BROWN Albert, WATKIN David John, Western architecture: After World War II, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2018
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