New French architecture by Maurice Besset

ISBN: ‎ 9780851394749

Architectural P, 1 January 1967

Hardcover, 236 pages

The situation of modern architecture in France is still characterised by conflict between the reactionary conservative force of the Ecole de Beaux-Arts and progressive architects who, now as ever, have to contend with an uncomprehending public. The period after World War II created conditions in France for which architects were by no means prepared. Vast building tasks made it essential for architects, engineers, and sociologists to work together in teams, and it was not until the fifties that a new generation of architects, whose leading representatives had either worked in Le Corbusier's office or were strongly influenced by his thinking, brought about a change. In this book, the author shows that these young people shared the belief, which goes back to Le Corbusier, that all problems of architecture should be approached from the standpoint of "humanism total". How important Le Corbusier's theories have been in stimulating fresh ideas among architects in France is made clear in a special section of the introduction. In harnessing modern technical methods and materials, the example of Jean Prouvé, whose practical research in the field of prefabrication is comprehensively treated in this volume, has had - like French traditional skill with reinforced concrete - an increasing influence. While many buildings in the collection of examples published here reveal only traces of the new conceptions, others represent complete solutions some of which illustrate more important stages in the latest developments. A few buildings demonstrate all too clearly the effects of pressures and misunderstandings which a society, ill-equipped to act in the rôle of client, exerts on creative architects.