
Contested Legacies
Critical Perspectives on Postwar Modern Housing
Edited by Andrea Migotto and Martino Tattara
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Edited volume - paperback
VIEW Edited volume - free ebook - ePUB VIEW Edited volume - free ebook - PDFNew insights on the controversial and often-overlooked postwar large-scale housing estates.
In the light of the current housing and environmental crisis and increasing social inequalities, there is a growing sense of urgency for architecture as a discipline to engage with the transformation in housing evident in the postwar period. Rather than conceiving this task as a technical matter, this book proposes to reassess the conditions and legacy of this large and ubiquitous housing stock. By foregrounding the mismatch between constructed cultural, social and ideological narratives and the everyday realities of residents, the contributors rediscover some of the tropes of modern housing, such as the impact of technological innovations or the often overlooked character of open spaces, and unveil the intellectual and practical tools that paved the way for this large-scale construction.
Contested Legacies advances a new notion of heritage which, rather than seeking to preserve the past, sets outs to actively transform what exists to meet current societal needs. It offers an ‘atlas’ of exemplary cases, each illustrating a defining yet often neglected aspect of modern postwar housing, from which present engagement and active reflection can grow, making the book an appealing read for both scholars and housing practitioners worldwide.
Contributors: Umberto Bonomo (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Flávia Brito do Nascimento (Universidade de São Paulo), Gaia Caramellino (Politecnico di Milano), Federico Coricelli (Politecnico di Torino), Jesse Honsa (KU Leuven), Heidi Svenningsen Kajita (University of Copenhagen), Michael Klein (TU Wien), Andrea Migotto (KU Leuven), Nicola Russi (Politecnico di Torino), Martino Tattara (KU Leuven)
Ebook available in Open Access.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).
INTRODUCTION. THE PAST AND FUTURE OF POSTWAR HOUSING ESTATES: FACTS, HERITAGE, PROJECT
Andrea Migotto and Martino Tattara
PART 1. THE MODERN HOUSING PROJECT IS A SOCIAL PROJECT: A CRITICAL READING
CHAPTER 1. SOCIAL HOUSING AND THE REGIMES OF TIME: A FEW MOMENTS WITHIN THE LONG LINES OF (SOCIAL) HOUSING IN VIENNA AND AUSTRIA
Michael Klein
CHAPTER 2. TOO BIG? DEBUNKING SCALE MYTHS WITH THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL ARCHITECT’S DEPARTMENT
Jesse Honsa
CHAPTER 3. A SOCIAL CRITIQUE OF THE LARGE-SCALE MODERN HOUSING PROJECT
Martino Tattara
PART 2. INTERPRETATIONS OF THE ‘UNBUILT’ SPACE: FORMS, CATEGORIES, AND TERMS
CHAPTER 4. BELOW THE SHADOWS
Federico Coricelli and Nicola Russi
CHAPTER 5. THE COMMON SPACE PROJECT: THE CASE OF LATIN AMERICAN NEIGHBOURHOOD UNITS
Umberto Bonomo
PART 3. AGENTS MEAN HISTORIES: ACCOUNTING FOR MULTIPLE EXPERIENCES AND AGENCIES IN POSTWAR HOUSING ESTATES
CHAPTER 6. LIVING TOGETHER: (THE MULTIPLE) ‘STORIES’ OF AN ORDINARY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN POST-WWII TURIN
Gaia Caramellino
CHAPTER 7. GOSSIP AND COMPLAINT: WAYS OF (RE-)PRODUCING THE SOCIAL IN HOUSING ‘EXPERTLY’
Heidi Svenningsen Kajita
PART 4. CULTURES OF TRANSFORMATION
CHAPTER 8. HOUSING COMPLEXES IN BRAZIL: A MODERNIST HERITAGE
Flávia Brito do Nascimento
CHAPTER 9. MODERNISM IS DEAD, LONG LIVE MODERNITY: THE BIJLMER AND THE PROJECT OF ‘INCOMPLETENESS’
Andrea Migotto
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Format: Edited volume - paperback
Size: 234 × 156 mm
232 pages
Illustrated with colour section of 30 pp.
ISBN: 9789462703728
Publication: December 15, 2023
Languages: English
Martino Tattara is an associate professor at the Faculty of Architecture of KU Leuven and cofounder of the architectural office Dogma.
Miles Glendinning, University of Edinburgh
The line of reasoning in Contested Legacies is intriguing and novel. The focus on the transformation of postwar housing over time suggests a new orientation within architectural research that is productive not just for the architectural field but for society at large. In terms of social and material sustainability, researching the transformations of large-scale postwar housing is increasingly urgent, and this book contributes to a growing field of architectural research critically assessing the heritage of the recent past.
Thordis Arrhenius, KTH Royal Institute of Technology