MONOCULTURE – Modernist architecture

(c)scan: M HKA, Published by Les Editions de Minuit
La Charte D'Athènes, 1957
Book , 21 x 21 cm
paper, ink

Based on the proceedings of the fourth meeting of CIAM dedicated to the principles of the Functional City, The Athens Charter (so-called because the Congress in 1933 was held on board the SS Patris en route from Marseille to Athens) is considered the manifesto of CIAM. Edited by Le Corbusier, the charter has 95 points on the planning and construction of cities. Among the topics covered are: the distribution of a population into high-rise housing blocks, strict functional segregation of the city zones, the separation of residential areas and transport routes, and the preservation of pre-existing historic buildings. These principles are often discussed in relation to ‘hygienist’ discourse – for example, when it comes to historical architecture, it is stressed that the cult of the past must not take precedence over the current housing conditions, which have an impact on the well-being and moral health of individuals.