Morality and Architecture Revisited

Rating:
Summary: A petty rant against the Modernist machine
Review: It doesn't seem as though there are many buyers for this book. It is just as well as David Watkin couldn't be any more wrong-headed about Modern architecture even if he made more of an effort to understand its principles. He charts the evolution of modern architectural thought from Pugin's classic text, Contrasts, published in 1836, to Nicholas Pevsner's
Pioneers of Modern, published a century later. Along the way Mr. Watkin provides snippets of thought from some of the leading lights of the Modern movement, ranging from Viollet-le-Duc to Le Corbusier. Mr. Watkin does state that he in no way presents a full portrait of any one of these individuals, but is more or less culling from their copious texts to provide a commentary on the presumed thesis of a moral imperative in Modern architecture.

The fallacy to this argument is that few architects and critics of this period saw architecture in moral terms, but rather in ethical terms. Pugin did give the idea of modern architecture an ecclesiastical spin, but Viollet-le-Duc and Le Corbusier both saw a modern movement along ethical lines, a truth in materials and forms of structural expression. These architects pointed to the major works in Greek and Gothic architecture as the ideological origins of a modern architecture.

Few architectural historians would argue with this premise, except to say that the Renaissance was rather callously left out of the picture. After all, it too was a form of classical revival. But Mr. Watkin not only dishes the Modernists for their summary dismissal of Renaissance architecture, but for their rather short-sighted views on Greek and Gothic architecture.

Morality and Architecture Revisited (first published in the 1970's) amounts to little more than a petty tirade against the Modern movement. Mr. Watkins seemed to be most upset with its rather confined historic view of Modern architecture and its various technological conceits. Mr. Watkins' text lacks any thorough examination on the subject, but rather presents a "cut-and-paste" of quotes excised from the various Modernist texts, which he chose to cross-examine as though Modern architecture were on trial.

Modern architecture has survived the test of time. It attempted to resolve many of the pressing housing and municipal concerns that arose after World War I and grew to be a major shaper of cities in the wake of World War II. Its original socialist agenda was transmuted into many variants, including fascism, for good and for bad. What is needed are more holistic views of Modern Architecture, like that of William J.R. Curtis, rather than reprints of the rants against the machine that occurred in the 1960's and 70's.

Rating:
Summary: A petty rant against the Modernist machine
Review: It doesn't seem as though there are many buyers for this book. It is just as well as David Watkin couldn't be any more wrong-headed about Modern architecture even if he made more of an effort to understand its principles. He charts the evolution of modern architectural thought from Pugin's classic text, Contrasts, published in 1836, to Nicholas Pevsner's
Pioneers of Modern, published a century later. Along the way Mr. Watkin provides snippets of thought from some of the leading lights of the Modern movement, ranging from Viollet-le-Duc to Le Corbusier. Mr. Watkin does state that he in no way presents a full portrait of any one of these individuals, but is more or less culling from their copious texts to provide a commentary on the presumed thesis of a moral imperative in Modern architecture.

The fallacy to this argument is that few architects and critics of this period saw architecture in moral terms, but rather in ethical terms. Pugin did give the idea of modern architecture an ecclesiastical spin, but Viollet-le-Duc and Le Corbusier both saw a modern movement along ethical lines, a truth in materials and forms of structural expression. These architects pointed to the major works in Greek and Gothic architecture as the ideological origins of a modern architecture.

Few architectural historians would argue with this premise, except to say that the Renaissance was rather callously left out of the picture. After all, it too was a form of classical revival. But Mr. Watkin not only dishes the Modernists for their summary dismissal of Renaissance architecture, but for their rather short-sighted views on Greek and Gothic architecture.

Morality and Architecture Revisited (first published in the 1970's) amounts to little more than a petty tirade against the Modern movement. Mr. Watkins seemed to be most upset with its rather confined historic view of Modern architecture and its various technological conceits. Mr. Watkins' text lacks any thorough examination on the subject, but rather presents a "cut-and-paste" of quotes excised from the various Modernist texts, which he chose to cross-examine as though Modern architecture were on trial.

Modern architecture has survived the test of time. It attempted to resolve many of the pressing housing and municipal concerns that arose after World War I and grew to be a major shaper of cities in the wake of World War II. Its original socialist agenda was transmuted into many variants, including fascism, for good and for bad. What is needed are more holistic views of Modern Architecture, like that of William J.R. Curtis, rather than reprints of the rants against the machine that occurred in the 1960's and 70's.