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Full-Text Articles in Architecture
The Persistence Of The Open Flame: Work And Waste In The Healthy, Modern Home, William Braham
The Persistence Of The Open Flame: Work And Waste In The Healthy, Modern Home, William Braham
William W. Braham
Historical accounts of the modern house report the progressive elimination of work as the household evolved from a site of production to one of consumption. Ruth Cowan has explored the ironies of that development, demonstrating that women of the late twentieth century actually engage in “more work” than their predecessors despite such labor-saving tools as the vacuum cleaner, microwave, and automobile. In contrast to both claims, there are other versions of this tale that glorify the waste of time, labor or energy. The modern household contains numerous sites and occasions where the inefficient and laborious are specifically cultivated in the …
Correalism And Equipoise: Observations On The Sustainable, William Braham
Correalism And Equipoise: Observations On The Sustainable, William Braham
William W. Braham
Modern environmentalism originates with the recognition of ecological connectivity and the negative effects of technological intervention. This paper examines critical concepts developed by the architect Frederick Kiesler and the critic-historian Sigfried Giedion for their relevance to that discourse. Kiesler's principle of Correalism and Giedion's appeal for Equipoise offer both a prehistory to the current mandates about sustainability and cautions about its limitations. The sustainable is ultimately a social condition that cannot be applied therapeutically nor ever wholly institutionalized
A Wall Of Books: The Gender Of Natural Colors In Modern Architecture, William Braham
A Wall Of Books: The Gender Of Natural Colors In Modern Architecture, William Braham
William W. Braham
This essay examines a decorative convention-the display of books in modern interiors-that appears in both The International Style (1932) by Henry Russel Hitchcock and Philip Johnson and The Personality of a House (1930) by Emily Post. Looking at books in this way constitutes a partial history of the architectural palette that arises from the privileging of natural over applied finishes. The internal logic of that practice and its class and gender characterizations are discussed in the context of the separation of architecture from interior design. The "natural" palette and its host of attendant conventions is everywhere visible in contemporary architecture …