Finland: Modern Architectures in History (Reaktion Books - Modern Architectures in History)

Buildings speak volumes, not just about their occupants or owners, but about the countries in which they exist. From colonnades to paving stones, the architecture of any building does more than simply date the structure—it celebrates the spirit of a people and a nation.Roger Connah's latest book, Finland, explores the culture and democratic spirit of a country whose buildings carry the indelible markings of Finland's political and physical climate. Nearly all of the country's buildings were constructed after 1917, when Finland gained its independence from Russia. The resulting architecture—often springing from hugely popular public competitions—is emphatically democratic in structure and usage. Finland's extreme northern latitudes, for their part, have given rise to buildings with an acute sensitivity to the physical environment and to the delicate interplay of light and shadow.From museums to schools to subsidized housing developments, Connah's Finland is an important survey of the country's architecture. Fully illustrated and with detailed examinations of many of the Finnish master architects—including Alvar Aalto—it is also a valuable contribution to the studies of modern architecture and Nordic history. (20080201) Buildings speak volumes, not just about their occupants or owners, but about the countries in which they exist. From colonnades to paving stones, the architecture of any building does more than simply date the structure—it celebrates the spirit of a people and a nation. Roger Connah's latest book, Finland, explores the culture and democratic spirit of a country whose buildings carry the indelible markings of Finland's political and physical climate. Nearly all of the country's buildings were constructed after 1917, when Finland gained its independence from Russia. The resulting architecture—often springing from hugely popular public competitions—is emphatically democratic in structure and usage. Finland's extreme northern latitudes, for their part, have given rise to buildings with an acute sensitivity to the physical environment and to the delicate interplay of light and shadow. From museums to schools to subsidized housing developments, Connah's Finland is an important survey of the country's architecture. Fully illustrated and with detailed examinations of many of the Finnish master architects—including Alvar Aalto—it is also a valuable contribution to the studies of modern architecture and Nordic history. Roger Connah's Finland, The First Volume In The New 'modern Architectures In History' Series, Traces Developments In Architecture Since Finland's Independence From Russia In 1917. Finland Spans The Rationalized Developments Of The 1930s, The 'organic' And Vernacular Tendencies Of Finnish Architecture, The Urbanization Of The Post-war Years, The 'golden Age' Of Finnish Modernism In The 1950s, Postmodernism In The 1970s And '80s, And Contemporary Practice And Debates.--jacket. Modern Architecture And The Shape Of History -- Pioneering Finnish Modernism -- Independence : Rehearsals For Modernism -- White Functionalism : The Modern Agenda -- War : Standardization And Solidarity -- Expressive Modernism : The Banquet Years -- Fellow Traveling : Militancy, Mies, And Constructivism -- Deconstruction And Reconstruction -- Late Modernism, Critical Humanism -- History And The Shape Of Modernism. Roger Connah. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 269-271) And Index. Explores the shape of architecture from Finland's independence in 1917. This book assesses the work of well-known heroes of Finnish architecture and others, whose contributions are little known outside Finland. It also discusses the developments in architecture, in relation to the culture and politics of the independent Finland. The qualified enthusiasm about Finland with which the British traveller Mrs Alec Tweedie wrote in Through Finland in Carts was to pre-empt the debate on the primitive and the Picturesque. From museums to schools to subsidized housing developments, Roger Connah's Finland is an important survey of the country's architecture