Rethinking Modernity-Between the local and the International

209 Pages·2020·35.871 MB·\209

by  Antigoni Katsakou (Author)

RETHINKING MODERNITY
99778811885599446688779911__pprriinntt..iinndddd 11 0088//0044//22002200 1122::1155

RETHINKING MODERNITY:
BETWEEN THE LOCAL AND
THE INTERNATIONAL
BY ANTIGONI KATSAKOU
99778811885599446688779911__pprriinntt..iinndddd 33 0088//0044//22002200 1122::1155
© RIBA Publishing, 2020
Published by RIBA Publishing, 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD
ISBN 9781 85946 879 1
The right of Antigoni Katsakou to be identified as the Author of this
Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988 sections 77 and 78.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright owner.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Commissioning Editor: Ginny Mills
Assistant Editor: Clare Holloway
Production: Jane Rogers
Designed and typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions
Printed and bound by Page Bros, Norwich
Cover image: Atelier Stéphane Fernandez (photograph by Jean
Michel Landecy)
While every efort has been made to check the accuracy and quality
of the information given in this publication, neither the Author nor
the Publisher accept any responsibility for the subsequent use of this
information, for any errors or omissions that it may contain, or for any
misunderstandings arising from it.
www.ribapublishing.com
99778811885599446688779911__pprriinntt..iinndddd 44 0088//0044//22002200 1122::1155
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vii
About the author ix
Foreword by Antonio Millan-Gomez x
Introduction Modernity: A small word for such a big world xv
Chapter 1 Tradition and identity 1
Chapter 2 Modernity and context 21
Chapter 3 Materials and colours 45
Chapter 4 The forbidden wor(l)d: Ornament and 67
decoration in the alternative modern
Chapter 5 Geometry and spatial experience 91
Chapter 6 The modern diaspora: Latin America 111
(by Antigoni Katsakou and
Iliana Miranda-Zacarias)
Chapter 7 Modern diaspora and the British 137
interwar period
Afterword 167
Timeline 173
Endnotes 174
Index 185
99778811885599446688779911__pprriinntt..iinndddd 55 0088//0044//22002200 1122::1155
For Nik and Michael.
99778811885599446688779911__pprriinntt..iinndddd 66 0088//0044//22002200 1122::1155
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All books are collaborative eforts. I am grateful to the editor Ginny Mills for
proposing to write this book, and for thus providing the chance to talk about
projects which I am especially passionate about. A book that focuses on local
contexts demands ‘inside’ information and guidance, therefore I feel obligated
to friends and colleagues around the world for ofering their valuable advice
and expertise: Karina Contreras Castellanos, Anna Victória Wanderley Silva de
Azevedo, Jorge Anibal Manrique Prieto, Fabio Shoyama, Sung-Taeg Nam, María
Cecilia Kesman, Sladjana Markovic and Eveline Galatis. For kindly responding
to my queries, I thank Virginia Gutiérrez, Jakub Heciak, Ania Cymer and Ljiljana
Blagojević.
For sharing her expertise on Mexican modernity, and for her perceptiveness,
special thanks are due to Iliana Miranda-Zacarias. I am particularly grateful to
Antonio Millan-Gomez for his insight, instructive comments, and above all for
sharing my passion for the topics discussed in the book. For contributing with their
feedback along the development of this project, I would like to thank Elisabeth
Tostrup, Maria Angélica da Silva, Spyros Kaprinis and Eleni Axioti.
I am indebted to a number of people who actively ofered their support by
generously providing original material, especially to: Claudio Williams, Bettina
Cetto, Carlos Warchavchik, Elisabeth Selmer, Dimitris Konstantinidis, Alexandra
Tsoukala, Frøde Larsen, Michalis Souvatzidis, Diane Ghirardo, Alejandro Lapunzina,
Luis Carranza and George Makris.
I gratefully acknowledge the generous fund granted by the Society of Architectural
Historians Great Britain for covering, in part, the image fees.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii
99778811885599446688779911__pprriinntt..iinndddd 77 0088//0044//22002200 1122::1155
I would like to express my gratitude to the editorial / production team and
external collaborators of RIBA Publishing, especially Susannah Jayes and Kathryn
Glendenning, for their professionalism.
Finally, I would like to thank my husband Nik for ofering the encouragement I
needed to embark on this laborious task, for his unfailing support, and for his ever
so helpful, creative suggestions; our son, Michael, for being such an inspiration;
my parents, Stamatis and Dina, and my sisters, Dimitra and Sofia, for their
unconditional love that lasts beyond time and makes all things possible.
viii RETHINKING MODERNITY
99778811885599446688779911__pprriinntt..iinndddd 88 0088//0044//22002200 1122::1155
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Antigoni Katsakou is a London-based architect (ARB) and author, holding a PhD in
History and Theory of Architecture from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Lausanne (EPFL, 2011). A graduate of the National Technical University of Athens
(NTUA, Dipl Arch Eng 1999), of Barcelona Tech (UPC, MArch 2001), and a Visiting
Postdoctoral Fellow at the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies (2012-2013) she
has been awarded with various funding grants. She has practiced and taught in
the UK, Switzerland and Greece; she has presented her scholarly work worldwide
and has published in several languages, including the books The Competition Grid
(RIBA Publishing, 2018) and Concevoir des logements (PPUR, 2008).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ix
99778811885599446688779911__pprriinntt..iinndddd 99 0088//0044//22002200 1122::1155