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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bucharest's face today - the architectural background, 3 Jul 2003
This is comprehensive book about the architecture of the Modern Movement in Romania. While several monographs of the most renowned architects of that time are available, this book focuses on the architectural programs and on coherent urban locations, like the characteristic north-south boulevard. This way, the works of many other architects of that time and style come into the deserved light. Of course, there are special chapters dedicated to Marcel Iancu, the pioneer of the Modern Movement, and to Horia Creanga, the one who designed the "Modernism Manifest", the ARO building. But the book does not present the Romanian Modernism as collection of independent works of different architects. It presents the overall contribution which gave Bucharest?s face today. The core lies, as said, in the presentation of the north-south boulevard. The original contribution of the Romanian Modern Architecture ? the new buildings, luxury blocks of flats and no minimal dwellings as elsewhere ? have been designed for the city centre.
The urbanistic approach is completed by a detailed presentation of the city?s master plan, which permitted this development and which also contributed to give an unitary look of the works of modernism. This way an even larger perspective is achieved, not only of works of the numerous talented architects named in the book, but also on the common buildings of the interwar time.
The architectural programme characteristic for the so-called "inter-bellum" time in Romania has been the residential one, and to this is credit given largely in the book. However, significant works done within other programs are also shortly presented. A special attention is given to the architectural exhibitions, which served well showing strikingly the new architectural concepts. The same is valid for locations. Although the overwhelming mass in modern buildings can be found in the capital, in Bucharest, those in other localities, especially on the seaside or in the mountains are presented.
The residential buildings architects of Romanian modernism showed their skills is not limited to the blocks of flats. The single family house flourished as well, not as low-cost housing but as villas. Characteristic typological examples for this residence type are also analysed in this book.
An original note is given by an incurs to the vulnerability of the Modern Movement buildings to the earthquakes affecting regularly large parts of Romania, especially the capital.
Explanations about the theoretical background, exemplified on the contributions of Marcel Janco to leading publications of the time, round the book. Finally, everything is set into the Romanian historical and architectural context, which might be less known to some English speaking readers. Thus a little part is dedicated to the Romanian "Art Nouveau", the Neo-romanian style, which did not coexist, but marked many of the architects of the Modern Movement.
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