
Contested Legacies
Critical Perspectives on Postwar Modern Housing
Leuven University Press
Published on 30. November 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
232 pages
978-94-6270-372-8 (ISBN)
Description
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 the value of often-overlooked modern open spaces and reconsider the technological advances 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.
Free ebook available at OAPEN Library, JSTOR, Project Muse, and Open Research Library
Contributors: Umberto Bonomo (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile), Flavia Brito do Nascimento (Universidade de Sao Paulo), Gaia Caramellino (Politecnico di Milano), Federico Coricelli (Politecnico di Torino), Jesse Honsa (KU Leuven), Michael Klein (TU Wien), Andrea Migotto (KU Leuven), Nicola Russi (Politecnico di Torino), Heidi Svenningsen Kajita (University of Copenhagen), Martino Tattara (KU Leuven)
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.
Free ebook available at OAPEN Library, JSTOR, Project Muse, and Open Research Library
Contributors: Umberto Bonomo (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile), Flavia Brito do Nascimento (Universidade de Sao Paulo), Gaia Caramellino (Politecnico di Milano), Federico Coricelli (Politecnico di Torino), Jesse Honsa (KU Leuven), Michael Klein (TU Wien), Andrea Migotto (KU Leuven), Nicola Russi (Politecnico di Torino), Heidi Svenningsen Kajita (University of Copenhagen), Martino Tattara (KU Leuven)
Reviews / Votes
Theline 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 This wide-ranging book takes the
study of postwar 'welfare state' mass housing to a completely new level - no
longer content merely to plead the intrinsic interest or variety of an
unfashionable subject, or just to factually document it. Instead, Contested Legacies presents a vital, critical analysis of how
this vast patrimony can now be transformed to face the future, both as a
massive resource of homes and of embodied carbon, but also as a potent cultural
and social heritage. In the process, the book ideologically harnesses and
energises the sheer vastness, idealistic ambition, and diverse inhabitant
experiences of postwar mass housing in a wide variety of European and South
American countries, so as to present a head-on challenge to today's practices
of neoliberalism.Miles Glendinning, University of Edinburgh
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Leuven
Belgium
Target group
College/higher education
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Illustrations
Illustrated with colour section of 30 pp.
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
500 gr
ISBN-13
978-94-6270-372-8 (9789462703728)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Andrea Migotto is an architect and researcher at the Faculty of Architecture of KU Leuven.
Martino Tattara is an architect and an associate professor at the Faculty of Architecture of KU Leuven.
Martino Tattara is an architect and an associate professor at the Faculty of Architecture of KU Leuven.
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
Flavia Brito do Nascimento
CHAPTER 9. MODERNISM IS DEAD, LONG LIVE MODERNITY: THE BIJLMER AND THE PROJECT OF 'INCOMPLETENESS'
Andrea Migotto
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
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
Flavia Brito do Nascimento
CHAPTER 9. MODERNISM IS DEAD, LONG LIVE MODERNITY: THE BIJLMER AND THE PROJECT OF 'INCOMPLETENESS'
Andrea Migotto
ABOUT THE AUTHORS