CIAM
AFTER WORLD WAR II
The impact of war were
1. Most of the cities suffered extensive damage due to aerial bombing.
2. Faced heavy shortage of building materials due to slowing down or lack of
production.
3. Many countries faced financial crises.
4. Industries and Agriculture were disturbed by war. As a result many lost their
jobs and migrated to the big cities in search of new jobs.
Change in Architecture since 1959
So, these issues influenced the character of buildings designed by European
Architects and help evolve new style of Architecture – The International Style
of Architecture
The Congrès Internationaux d’Architecure Moderne (CIAM), 1928 and lasted until 1959
The Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) (or International Congress of
Modern Architecture), founded in 1928 and disbanded in 1959, was a series of international
conferences of modern architects.
The main objective is to spread principles of modern movement focusing on
•Urbanism
•Landscape
•Industrial Design, etc
Saw Architecture as a economic and political tool that could be used to improve the world
through the design of buildings and urban planning.
The documents they produced, and the conclusions they reached, had a tremendous
influence on the shape of cities and towns all over the world.
The organisation's founding declaration was signed by twenty-eight European
Architects at La Sarraz, Switzerland, in 1928 by Le Corbusier. None of the signatories
was British.
LA-SARAZ DECLARATION THE LA-SARAZ DECLARATION
•Modern Technology This declaration in 1928 was signed by 28 Architects
•Standardisation representing
•Cost Efficiency a. France
•Urban Planning b. Switzerland
•Architecture of the state. c. Germany
d. Holland
e. Italy
f. Spain
g. Austria
h. Belgium.
The Declaration also asserted that as society became more industrialised, it was vital that
architects and the construction industry rationalise their methods, embrace new
technologies and strive for greater efficiency.
Topics discussed by 2nd Congress (CIAM II) – 1929 at Frankfurt
THEME – “The Existence Minimum Apartment”
Discussed by 3rd Congress (CIAM III) – 1930 at Brussels
THEME – “Rational methods of Development”
Topics discussed by 4th Congress (CIAM IV) – 1933 at Athens
THEME – “The Functional City”
This congress identified the four primary functions of city:
•Residential
•Work
•Recreation
•Circulation
The city should be designed for maximum comfort and maximum time savings.
Topics discussed by 5th Congress (CIAM V) – 1937 at Paris
THEME – “Dwelling and Leisure”
"The Functional City," which broadened CIAM's scope from architecture into urban
planning
It represented an ambitious project to apply modern methods of architectural analysis and
planning to the city as a whole.
Based on an analysis of thirty-three cities, CIAM proposed that the social problems faced
by cities could be resolved by strict functional segregation, and the distribution of the
population into tall apartment blocks at widely spaced intervals.
These proceedings went unpublished from 1933 until 1942, when Le Corbusier, acting
alone, published them in heavily edited form as the "Athens Charter.“
At this early stage the desire to re-shape cities and towns is clear. Out is the "chaotic"
jumble of streets, shops, and houses which existed in European cities at the time; in is a
zoned city, comprising of standardised dwellings and different areas for work, home, and
leisure.
The Athens Charter
This document remains one of the most controversial ever produced by CIAM. The
charter effectively committed CIAM to rigid functional cities, with citizens to be
housed in high, widely-spaced apartment blocks.
Green belts would separate each zone of the city. The Charter was not actually
published until 1943, and its influence would be profound on public authorities in
post-war Europe.
The observations taken from the studies of 33 cities set guidelines under the titles:
•living,
•working,
•recreation
•and circulation
CIAM demanded that housing districts should occupy the best sites, and a minimum
amount of solar exposure should be required in all dwellings.
For hygienic reasons, buildings should not be built along transportation routes
Modern techniques should be used to construct high apartment building spaces widely
apart, to free the soil for large green parks.
Radiant City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBdUh60dEDQ
PRINCIPLES OF RADIANT CITY
1. Decongestion in the center of cities
2. Augmentation of the density
3. Enlargement of means of circulation
4. Increase in parks and open spaces.
THE END OF CIAM
It didn’t take long for the architects to question
the conclusions reached in Athens. Chief
among the “doubters” were and Peter
Smithson, broke away from CIAM in 1956.In
1953, they had outlined their concerns:
•Belonging is a basic emotional need-its associations are of the simplest order. From
“Belonging”-Enriching sense of Neighborliness.
•The Smithsons worried that CIAM ideal city would lead to isolation and community
breakdown.
•The short narrow street of slum succeeds where spacious redevelopment frequently fails.
The last CIAM X meeting held in 1956 at Dubrounik where the Smithsons group now
known as Team X had taken over. The official demise of CIAM and the succession of Team
X were confirmed in a meeting at otterlow, Holland in 1959 in the presence of the old
master Henry Van de velde.
