Alternative Modernities

“For a long time, the modern in architecture has been identified with the work of an avant-garde originating from central Europe and the USA. It was not until the post-war period, particularly during the 1970s, that an alternative concerned with different corners of the world and lesser-known architects became the object of systematic study. Rethinking Modernity deals with this alternative modern, casting a closer look at the concepts and design tools that engendered it, through the work, especially during the period between the two world wars, of architects [...] who are often considered as the ‘silent’ or ‘neglected’ figures of the modern. [...] by juxtaposing such projects with those of well-known masters, the book highlights contradictions inherent in the work of the pioneers that make the direct connection of the alternative with the mainstream apparent, and accentuate the importance that alternative analytical gazes hold for an expanded interpretation of the modern.”

From the introduction of Rethinking Modernity; between the local and the international,

by Antigoni Katsakou, London: RIBA Publishing, 2020