Beyond Modernism
L.G.K. Spoormans (TU Delft - Heritage & Architecture)
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Abstract
Various trends and movements influenced the architectural transcendence after Modernism. Well-known histories include European architects calling for human scale and variety and Anglo-Saxon architects adopting a visual language of archetypes, popular taste, and symbolism. In other regions, various emanations and terminology can be found, like Metabolism, Critical Regionalism or Late Socialism. Although there is a growing interest in this young legacy, many buildings of the 1970s and 1980s are threatened with demolition or drastic transformation. They are facing the same issues as the Modern Movement legacy, being disguised at the risk of disappearing. This conference session, therefore, calls for developing and sharing knowledge about architecture dating from the decades after Modernism. Documentation of various international cases, movements, and developments is considered a first step towards comparisons, evaluation, and, finally, informing decision-making about conservation.
This paper discusses some themes and theories, aiming to explore a framework for identifying and discussing similarities and differences in their underlying ideologies and contexts. The first theme addressed is pluralism, as defined by Charles Jencks. Pluralism is observed as a socio-political plurality, with various cultural, geographical and regime-related contexts. Also, on the building scale, the absence of a dominant ideology led to the combination of architectural styles. A second theme is nostalgia, relating e.g. to classical references in post-modern buildings, but also to the increased interest in heritage in the 1970s and onwards. The current interest in the 1970s and 80s legacy can be again considered a nostalgic longing. Opposite of nostalgia, futurism is the last theme discussed. Metabolism and high-tech created visions and solutions to societal and environmental issues, as we are facing today.
Although the themes discussed do not provide a complete or comprehensive representation of the building stock under discussion, they aim to foster discussion on its characteristics and underlying ideologies.