Modern Forms

This revised edition of Grospierre's celebrated tour of modernist architecture has been expanded beyond Europe and North America to a truly global reach, featuring buildings in Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa and South America. Featuring new and revised texts from Barbican, MoMA and independent curators, this book offers intriguing insights into the history of modernist design, the origins of architectural photography and the reasons why architectural forms repeat in otherwise dissimilar countries.

Is form still function? How »modern« is modernist architecture? And what has happened to the style's foundational utopian ideals? Nicolas Grospierre's masterful photographic survey catalogues both famous and little-known buildings, challenging the viewer to consider modernist architecture's complicated legacy. Drawn from Grospierre's ever-expanding archive documenting his travels, these large-format photographs of almost 250 buildings are arranged purely by their shapes, prioritizing form over function and location to give a unique perspective of global structures. Uniform in perspective, and presented without comment, Grospierre's photographs allow viewers to discover details and colors that a more narrative-focused presentation would prohibit. The work of nearly a quarter of a century, this ever-expanding collection reflects a labor of love, a photographer's deep obsession, and a celebration of buildings both iconic and mundane all over the world.

*The publisher wishes to acknowledge an error included in the expanded version of Modern Forms, which slipped its attention prior to going to press. The captions to the photographs of buildings located in Crimea are described as, 'Crimea, Russia'. At the time of editing and printing, September 2021, while Crimea was de facto a part of Russia, it remained de jure part of Ukraine. The editors of the book would like to stress how utterly they condemn the annexation of Crimea by Russia, Russian aggression toward the sovereign territory of Ukraine and that they by no means question the territorial integrity of Ukraine by dint of this technical error. The author has stated his perennial fascination with the many manifestations of modernism worldwide and, independently of state, territory, or politics, always considered the art form an expression of peace.*