The minimum dwelling : the housing crisis, housing reform, the dwelling for the subsistence minimum, single family, rental and collective houses, regulatory plans for residental quarters, new forms of houses and apar tments, the popular housing movement

Karel Teige (1900-1951), one of the most important figures of avant-garde modernism of the 1920s and 1930s, influenced virtually every area of art, design, and urban thinking in his native Czechoslovakia. His Minimum Dwelling, originally published in Czech in 1932, and appearing now for the first time in English, is one of the landmark architectural books of the twentieth century.The Minimum Dwelling is not just a book on architecture, but also a blueprint for a new way of living. It calls for a radical rethinking of domestic space and of the role of modern architecture in the planning, design, and construction of new dwelling types for the proletariat. Teige shows how Gropius, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, and others designed little more than new versions of baroque palaces, mainly for the new financial aristocracy. Teige envisioned the minimum dwelling not as a reduced version of a bourgeois apartment or rural cottage, but as a wholly new dwelling type built on the cooperation of architects, sociologists, economists, health officials, physicians, social workers, politicians, and trade unionists.The book covers many subjects that are still of great relevance. Of particular interest are Teige's rejection of traditional notions of the kitchen as the core of family-centered plans and of marriage as the foundation of modern cohabitation. He describes alternative lifestyles and new ways of cohabitation of sexes, generations, and classes. The detailed programmatic chapters on collective housing remain far ahead of current thinking, and his comments on collective dwelling presage communal living experiments of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the communal facilities in contemporary condominium buildings and retirement communities. The long-awaited English-language publication of Karel Teige's influential book on the minimum dwelling as a new housing type for the working class. Karel Teige (1900-1951), one of the most important figures of avant-garde modernism of the 1920s and 1930s, influenced virtually every area of art, design, and urban thinking in his native Czechoslovakia. His Minimum Dwelling, originally published in Czech in 1932, and appearing now for the first time in English, is one of the landmark architectural books of the twentieth century. The Minimum Dwelling is not just a book on architecture, but also a blueprint for a new way of living. It calls for a radical rethinking of domestic space and of the role of modern architecture in the planning, design, and construction of new dwelling types for the proletariat. Teige shows how Gropius, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, and others designed little more than new versions of baroque palaces, mainly for the new financial aristocracy. Teige envisioned the minimum dwelling not as a reduced version of a bourgeois apartment or rural cottage, but as a wholly new dwelling type built on the cooperation of architects, sociologists, economists, health officials, physicians, social workers, politicians, and trade unionists. The book covers many subjects that are still of great relevance. Of particular interest are Teige's rejection of traditional notions of the kitchen as the core of family-centered plans and of marriage as the foundation of modern cohabitation. He describes alternative lifestyles and new ways of cohabitation of sexes, generations, and classes. The detailed programmatic chapters on collective housing remain far ahead of current thinking, and his comments on collective dwelling presage communal living experiments of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the communal facilities in contemporary condominium buildings and retirement communities. "Karel Teige (1900-1951), one of the most important figures of the European avant-garde, influenced virtually every area of art, design, and urban thinking in the 1920s and 1930s. His Minimum Dwelling, originally published in Czech in 1932 and appearing now for the first time in English, is one of the landmark architectural books of the twentieth century.". "Minimum Dwelling is not just a book on architecture; it is a blueprint for a new way of living, calling for a radical rethinking of domestic space and of the role of modern architecture in the planning, design, and construction of new dwelling types for the proletariat. Teige goes far beyond Gropius, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, and other architects whose proposals Teige viewed as little more than new versions of baroque palaces, mainly for the new financial aristocracy. Teige envisioned the minimum dwelling not as a reduced version of a bourgeois apartment or rural cottage, but as a wholly new dwelling type built with the cooperation of architects, sociologists, economists, health officials, physicians, social workers, politicians, and trade unionists.". "The book covers many subjects that are still of great relevance. Of particular interest are Teige's rejection of traditional notions of the kitchen as the core of family-centered plans and of marriage as the foundation of modern cohabitation. He describes alternative lifestyles and new ways of cohabitation of sexes, generations, and classes."--BOOK JACKET. 0262201364......Page 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Translator’s Foreword......Page 8 Translator’s Introduction......Page 12 Foreword......Page 32 1. Introductory Remarks: Toward a Dialectic of Architecture and a Sociology of Dwelling......Page 40 2. The Housing Crisis......Page 63 3. The International Housing Shortage......Page 93 4. Modern Architecture and Housing in Czechoslovakia......Page 129 5. The Face of the Contemporary City......Page 137 6. Dwelling and Household in the Nineteenth Century......Page 189 7. The Evolution of Dwelling Types and Contemporary Housing Reform......Page 208 8. Model Settlements and Housing Exhibitions......Page 216 9. The Modern Apartment and the Modern House......Page 247 10. The Minimum Dwelling......Page 265 11. Low-, Medium-, or High-Rise Houses?......Page 304 12. Modern Site Planning Methods......Page 333 13. Toward New Forms of Dwelling......Page 354 14. The Antithesis between City and Country......Page 425 15. Conclusion......Page 430 Other Publications by Karel Teige......Page 436 Name Index......Page 440