Mass Housing: Modern Architecture and State Power - a Global History

A comprehensive history of modernist mass housing, from its global emergence in the 20th century to its 21st-century renaissance in East Asia, is presented in this book. It explores the relationship between built form, ideology, and political intervention, tracing the history from Europe to the USA, the Soviet Union, and international outposts.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 688 pages
Publication date: 25 March 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Shortlisted for the prestigious Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion 2021 (The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain), this groundbreaking work is poised to become the definitive reference on the subject. Literary Review This comprehensive and meticulously researched volume offers the first comprehensive account of one of modernism's most influential and contentious architectural legacies: the 20th-century pursuit of providing 'homes for the people.' Vast programs of mass housing, encompassing high-rise, low-rise, state-funded, and modernist-style structures, emerged as a truly global phenomenon, leaving a lasting impact that has experienced both disillusionment in the West and a remarkable renaissance in the bustling, overcrowded cities of East Asia. By adopting a global perspective on the history of Modernist mass-housing production, this authoritative study seamlessly blends architectural history with the broader social, political, cultural dimensions of mass housing, particularly the intricate "mass politics of power and state-building throughout the 20th century." Through an insightful exploration of the interplay between built form, ideology, and political intervention, the book reveals how mass housing not only reflected the transnational ideals of the Modernist project but also emerged as a vital legitimizing pillar of nation-states worldwide. In a captivating narrative that likens the spread of mass housing to a "Hundred Years War of successive campaigns and retreats," the book traces the history of this phenomenon across continents, from Europe to the United States, the Soviet Union, and a network of international outposts. It culminates in an optimistic resurgence in China and the East, raising crucial questions about whether we are witnessing a new dawn for mass housing or another potential "great housing failure in the making." This seminal work is a must-read for scholars, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding the complex and multifaceted legacy of modernist mass housing.

Weight: 1866g
Dimension: 190 x 247 x 36 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474222501