León, Ana María, author.

Modernity for the masses : Antonio Bonet's dreams for Buenos Aires / Ana María León.

First edition.

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2021.

281 pages : illustrations, maps, plans ; 27 cm.

Lateral exchanges : architecture, urban development, and transnational practices

"Ana María León's manuscript studies how the discourse and practice of modern architecture was transformed by its encounter with large populations and volatile politics in midcentury Argentina. The country saw a shift in power from landowning elites to the working class beginning in the 1930s, and with that shift came large migrations from the countryside into Buenos Aires. The urgent need for housing that followed created both an opportunity and a set of challenges for architecture--practical challenges, certainly, but also political and philosophical ones. How close to the centers of power should potentially revolutionary populations live? How dense or dispersed should their housing be? As these questions suggest, this is ultimately a study of the place where, in the author's words, "the discourse of modern architecture met the mandates of totalitarian governments." A deeply interdisciplinary work, Modernity for the Masses accesses architecture, politics, and culture through the work of Catalan architect Antonio Bonet--and specifically, through the unbuilt housing projects of Bonet. (The "dreams" of the subtitle evoke the strong influence of surrealism and psychoanalysis on both Bonet and the culture more broadly.) The focus on unbuilt work not only allows a new perspective on Bonet (himself understudied), but it permits a crucial perspective on the shifting nature of political regimes in the postwar years. As León writes, "These were far from schematic or utopian projects--these housing schemes were sponsored by different authoritarian regimes and reached a high degree of design development before folding to different political and economic circumstances. As such, they stand in for a particular combination of ambition and frustration common to South American modern architecture--one in which the potential of the new was alternatively bolstered and discarded by different regimes.""-- Provided by publisher.

9781477321782 hardcover
1477321780 hardcover
electronic book
9781477321799
electronic book other
9781477321805

Bonet Castellana, Antoni, 1913-1989 Criticism and interpretation.
Bonet Castellana, Antoni, 1913-1989.
Architecture and society Argentina Buenos Aires History 20th century.
Unbuilt architectural projects Argentina Buenos Aires History 20th century.
Housing Political aspects Argentina Buenos Aires History 20th century.
Architecture et société Argentine Buenos Aires Histoire 20e siècle.
Projets d'architecture non réalisés Argentine Buenos Aires Histoire 20e siècle.
Architecture and society.
Housing Political aspects.
Unbuilt architectural projects.
Argentina Buenos Aires.

Criticism, interpretation, etc.
History.

Lateral exchanges.

Location: Library main 309572
Call No.: BIB 254791
Status: External loan