Author Description

1950-1954: Architecture of the Avant-Garde. This volume covers the first half of the 1950s, a time characterized by great optimism. The consequences of World War II had largely been overcome, the most urgent needs of the population were satisfied, and economic prospects looked bright. Architecture and design looked for new forms of expression, for new materials and their applications - and the possibilities seemed limitless. Volume III shows contemporary trends of the time through detailed reports on the ninth Triennial in Milan and about designers like Tapio Wirkkala, Finn Juhl, Carlo de Carli, Carlo Mollino, Piero Fornasetti, Marco Zanuso, Harry Bertoia and George Nelson. Via features on Le Corbusier's famous Unité d'Habitation in Marseille, the groundbreaking Case Study Houses by Charles and Ray Eames, the efforts of Richard Neutra in California, the work of Oscar Niemeyer in Brazil, and the futuristic Olivetti Showroom by Studio BBPR in New York.