Building children's worlds : the representation of modern architecture and modernity in picturebooks

Children are the future architects, clients and users of our buildings. The kinds of architectural worlds they are exposed to in picturebooks during their formative years may be assumed to influence how they regard such architecture as adults. Contemporary urban environments the world over represent the various stages of modernism in architecture. This book reads that history through picturebooks and considers the kinds of national identities and histories they construct. Twelve specialist essays from international scholars address questions such as: Is modern architecture used to construct specific narratives of childhood? Is it taken to support ‘negative’ narratives of alienation on the one hand and ‘positive’ narratives of happiness on the other? Do images of modern architecture support ideas of ‘community’? Reinforce ‘family values’? If so, what kinds of architecture, community and family? How is modern architecture placed vis-à-vis the promotion of diversity (ethnic, religious, gender etc.)? How might the use of architecture in comic strips or the presence of specific kinds of building in fiction aimed at younger adults be related to the groundwork laid in picturebooks for younger readers? This book reveals what stories are told about modern architecture and shows how those stories affect future attitudes towards and expectations of the built environment. "Children are the future architects, clients and users of our buildings. The kinds of architectural worlds they are exposed to in picture books during their formative years may be assumed to influence how they regard such architecture as adults. Contemporary urban environments the world over represent the various stages of modernism in architecture. This book reads that history through picturebooks and considers the kinds of national identities and histories they construct. 12 specialist essays from international scholars address questions such as: Is modern architecture used to construct specific narratives of childhood? Is it taken to support 'negative' narratives of alienation, on the one hand, and 'positive' narratives of happiness, on the other? Do images of modern architecture support ideas of 'community'? reinforce 'family values'? If so, what kinds of architecture, community and family? How is modern architecture placed vis-à-vis the promotion of diversity (ethnic, religious, gender etc.)? How might the use of architecture in comic strips or the presence of specific kinds of building in fiction aimed at younger adults be related to the groundwork laid in picturebooks for younger readers? This book reveals what stories are told about modern architecture and shows how those stories affect future attitudes towards and expectations of the built environment"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Contributors Introduction Part One: Modernity 1 Building for the Future – Children as Future Citizens in Swedish Picturebooks of the 1930s 2 A Modern Utopia: Architecture, Modernity and Ladybird books in Post-War Britain 3 Reading as Building: Modernist Architecture and book Space in Picturebooks 4 Representations of Modern Architecture and Urbanism in Colombian Children’s Literature from the mid-20th century onwards Part Two: Domestic space 5 Domestic Architecture and Environmental Design in Australian Picturebooks 6 The House, Where Everything Begins 7 Architecture and Interior Design in Italian Picturebooks: A Case Study of Bruno Munari 8 Representations of Architecture in Children’s Picturebooks in Australia, Singapore and China 9 Building Diversity in British and American Children’s Picturebooks (2000 to Present) Part Three: Urban Space 10 Highly Modern Ideal Homestead 11 Architecture and Magic – Mapping the London of Children’s Fantasy Fiction 12 Ordinary Cityscapes and Architecture in Jörg Müller’s Picturebook Oeuvre Index