The Rationalist Reader incorporates the first documentary
collection of writing on rationalism in twentieth century
architecture, providing an accessible introduction to the subject,
direct insight into the thinking of individual architects and their
critics, and a current re-evaluation of the context from which they
emerged.
Key texts, including new translations, are placed within a wider
historical and philosophical context by Alan Colquhoun, and
considered with particular reference to nineteenth century
architectural theory by Charles Rattray. Two separate documentary
sections address the thinking behind rationalist architecture
within the Modern Movement and Rational Architecture as its
counterpart within Neo-rationalism. German architectural historian
Thilo Hilpert and Dutch architect and critic Henk Engel, provide
introductions to the two periods, while Cambridge historian
Nicholas Bullock contributes a linking piece focused on French
experience post-war. A postscript samples retrospective views.
The two sets of documents, identified with the periods 1920 1940
and 1960 1990, are arranged under comparative headings, allowing
the reader to establish correspondences between the key themes of
rationalist architecture.
When the historical experience of many young architects is
confined to masters and iconic buildings located within the general
flux of modernity, here the trajectory of rationalism in twentieth
century architecture is seen to veer between a scientific
methodology identified with generic models, and a formal paradigm
of typological consistency. With its immediate philosophical
origins in Enlightenment culture, the development of rationalism in
nineteenth century architecture prefaced the volatility of later
interpretations of rationalist architecture outlined and documented
in this book.
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