Zeitschrift
archithese 3.2015
Balkan Beats
The evolution of architecture in the 20th century can be read as a history of alliances. Associations like the Werkbund, CIAM, Team 10 or the Texas Rangers acted as reform movements with a political or pedagogical agenda to spread their ideas – and finally also push them through – with the joint force of the collective. Our young millennium currently sees a renaissance of collaborative concepts and the establishment of unprecedented networks facilitated and expedited by digitalization and globalization. Can traditional structures still keep pace with these developments?
What is the general framework of these new collectives – open community, secret society or lobbyism? It is time to take a look under the surface and explore the mechanisms of these associations. How do they work, what keeps them together, and what powers them?
The recent crisis has thrown the architectural profession into economic and professional angst, and one could see a parallel in this to the previous century. Might it be that this uncertainty has led the architect – the great individualist – back into the collective? Isn’t the main purpose of alliances protection? But against whom?
The present issue of archithese examines these underlying structures of architecture on various levels. Architects like Max Bill, Le Corbusier or Esther McCoy developed their own strategies for reaching their goals and operated from their own networks. While Bill entered parliament as a politician to directly inject his idea of environmental design into the political discourse – a commitment that is rare amongst designers up to today – Le Corbusier’s upbringing in a Masonic milieu significantly expedited his career. Even today, some architects’ careers would not have come very far without a certain amount of external support, just think of SuperDutch or New Wave Denmark. In retrospect, many heroes of the American scene owe their legendary reputation to the architect and writer Esther McCoy, who, despite her achievements, has been largely forgotten by architectural historiography.
A fate similar to that of the young generation of contemporary architects in Southern Europe, who are already being called the „lost generation“. The dramatic slump of the Spanish and also the Italian construction industry has forced young architects, most of all, to question the traditional idea of the egomaniac artist-architect and to find new definitions as agents of society with social competence and community spirit. They thereby rediscover long-forgotten potential and areas for themselves and know how to make creative use of the possibilities of the 21st century to digitally connect and organize collective projects. But how does politics react to this new situation? While architectural associations used to mainly promote the interests of their members, they now for the first time in history face serious competition in the form of architectural trade unions in countries like Denmark or Spain. May it be that the profession felt their interests weren’t sufficiently represented anymore? Have the associations become tools of the economy and the construction industry?
A classic example of successful lobbyism can be found in the strategic methods of the Hamburg-based corporation ECE with its foundation „Stiftung Lebendige Stadt“ (Foundation for a Living City) for the major project MILANEO on the Stuttgart 21 area. The fusion of economy and politics achieves a certain blur here. And thus the economic lust for profit dominates the public good – which should customarily be protected by politics – thereby turning the city into prey. Lobbyism is no longer a pariah; it has become part of the establishment. We can at present already observe the emergence of new forms of dependencies, for example in the area of copyright legislation for new contracting forms like the Australian Project Alliance or in the transferral of estate archives, as is the case with the Barragán archives. So, what is the current state of the profession? – The time has come for new alliances.
The Editors
BALKAN BEATS
10 Was ist ‹ der Balkan › ? Kategorien wie Osteuropa, Ostmitteleuropa oder Südosteuropa sind keine neutralen geografischen Bezeichnungen | Ulf Brunnbauer
16 Städtebauliche Setzung und behutsame Transformation Split baut sich um | Maroje Mrduljaš
24 Tirana ist (k)eine Insel. Das experimentelle Rahmenwerk für Raum- und Architekturinterventionen in der albanischen Hauptstadt | Kristo Saimir
32 Urbanisierung der Strände. Transformation spätmoderner Tourismusarchitekturen in Bulgarien und Kroatien | Anke Hagemann und Michael Zinganel
40 Designing the Balkans. Nine portraits of new and established architectural practices | Daniela Meyer
52 Don’t Drown Belgrade. A report from Belgrade Waterfront | Iva Cukic, Dubravka Sekulic, Ljubica Slavkovic, Ana Vilenica
58 Identity Edits. Flagging territories with religious architecture | Azra Akšamija
64 Legendendichtung statt Zukunftsmusik. Denkmäler als politische Werkzeuge in den Nachfolgestaaten Jugoslawiens | Jørg Himmelreich
70 Spannungsfelder. Tendenzen in der zeitgenössischen Architektur Bulgariens | Aneta Vasileva
76 Agenten des Wandels. Wie Architekten und Urbanisten in Südosteuropa ihre Städte verändern | Kai Vöckler
ARCHITEKTUR AKTUELL
82 Modular und flexibel. Bruno Fioretti Marquez Architekten Kindergarten Cassarate, Lugano | Katharina Jacobi
86 Tektonische Schichtung statt Big Box. Meyer Stegemann Architekten Gewerbepark Morgenstern, Frauenfeld | Richard Zemp
RUBRIKEN
90 Neues aus der Industrie
93 Premium Brands Online
96 Vorschau und Impressum
What is the general framework of these new collectives – open community, secret society or lobbyism? It is time to take a look under the surface and explore the mechanisms of these associations. How do they work, what keeps them together, and what powers them?
The recent crisis has thrown the architectural profession into economic and professional angst, and one could see a parallel in this to the previous century. Might it be that this uncertainty has led the architect – the great individualist – back into the collective? Isn’t the main purpose of alliances protection? But against whom?
The present issue of archithese examines these underlying structures of architecture on various levels. Architects like Max Bill, Le Corbusier or Esther McCoy developed their own strategies for reaching their goals and operated from their own networks. While Bill entered parliament as a politician to directly inject his idea of environmental design into the political discourse – a commitment that is rare amongst designers up to today – Le Corbusier’s upbringing in a Masonic milieu significantly expedited his career. Even today, some architects’ careers would not have come very far without a certain amount of external support, just think of SuperDutch or New Wave Denmark. In retrospect, many heroes of the American scene owe their legendary reputation to the architect and writer Esther McCoy, who, despite her achievements, has been largely forgotten by architectural historiography.
A fate similar to that of the young generation of contemporary architects in Southern Europe, who are already being called the „lost generation“. The dramatic slump of the Spanish and also the Italian construction industry has forced young architects, most of all, to question the traditional idea of the egomaniac artist-architect and to find new definitions as agents of society with social competence and community spirit. They thereby rediscover long-forgotten potential and areas for themselves and know how to make creative use of the possibilities of the 21st century to digitally connect and organize collective projects. But how does politics react to this new situation? While architectural associations used to mainly promote the interests of their members, they now for the first time in history face serious competition in the form of architectural trade unions in countries like Denmark or Spain. May it be that the profession felt their interests weren’t sufficiently represented anymore? Have the associations become tools of the economy and the construction industry?
A classic example of successful lobbyism can be found in the strategic methods of the Hamburg-based corporation ECE with its foundation „Stiftung Lebendige Stadt“ (Foundation for a Living City) for the major project MILANEO on the Stuttgart 21 area. The fusion of economy and politics achieves a certain blur here. And thus the economic lust for profit dominates the public good – which should customarily be protected by politics – thereby turning the city into prey. Lobbyism is no longer a pariah; it has become part of the establishment. We can at present already observe the emergence of new forms of dependencies, for example in the area of copyright legislation for new contracting forms like the Australian Project Alliance or in the transferral of estate archives, as is the case with the Barragán archives. So, what is the current state of the profession? – The time has come for new alliances.
The Editors
BALKAN BEATS
10 Was ist ‹ der Balkan › ? Kategorien wie Osteuropa, Ostmitteleuropa oder Südosteuropa sind keine neutralen geografischen Bezeichnungen | Ulf Brunnbauer
16 Städtebauliche Setzung und behutsame Transformation Split baut sich um | Maroje Mrduljaš
24 Tirana ist (k)eine Insel. Das experimentelle Rahmenwerk für Raum- und Architekturinterventionen in der albanischen Hauptstadt | Kristo Saimir
32 Urbanisierung der Strände. Transformation spätmoderner Tourismusarchitekturen in Bulgarien und Kroatien | Anke Hagemann und Michael Zinganel
40 Designing the Balkans. Nine portraits of new and established architectural practices | Daniela Meyer
52 Don’t Drown Belgrade. A report from Belgrade Waterfront | Iva Cukic, Dubravka Sekulic, Ljubica Slavkovic, Ana Vilenica
58 Identity Edits. Flagging territories with religious architecture | Azra Akšamija
64 Legendendichtung statt Zukunftsmusik. Denkmäler als politische Werkzeuge in den Nachfolgestaaten Jugoslawiens | Jørg Himmelreich
70 Spannungsfelder. Tendenzen in der zeitgenössischen Architektur Bulgariens | Aneta Vasileva
76 Agenten des Wandels. Wie Architekten und Urbanisten in Südosteuropa ihre Städte verändern | Kai Vöckler
ARCHITEKTUR AKTUELL
82 Modular und flexibel. Bruno Fioretti Marquez Architekten Kindergarten Cassarate, Lugano | Katharina Jacobi
86 Tektonische Schichtung statt Big Box. Meyer Stegemann Architekten Gewerbepark Morgenstern, Frauenfeld | Richard Zemp
RUBRIKEN
90 Neues aus der Industrie
93 Premium Brands Online
96 Vorschau und Impressum
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