prewar and postwar residential building construction process

The Bauhaus emphasized logical, utilitarian design that adopted a “form follows function”, “less is more” ethos for a new postwar period by combining fine arts, crafts, design, architecture, and technology. It sought to rebuilt society and fix the catastrophes caused by the war.

The Bauhaus movement was founded by Walter Gropius six months after the end of World War I. This resulted in several architectural styles that rejected the past and hoped for a new future that represents it all the damage, the technology, and even the need to express. Cities needed to be rebuilt fast many people were homeless and displaced and services were destroyed. The third approach sought completely getting rid of what is damaged and destroyed and building from scratch. The second approach inspired the principles from pre-war architecture but did not seek to imitate: buildings that are balanced, monumental, of order but do not include unnecessary ornamentation or excessive decoration. This approach resulted in exact replicas of classic architecture that do not, anymore, serve the communities’ needs and lifestyles. This approach was romantic people were nostalgic for their old and ‘normal’ life and perceived war only as an event interrupting their ongoing flow of normal. The first one mainly revolved around restoring what has been destroyed into its pre-war condition. Several architectural schools and styles were born because of World Wars and how architects approached different ways of fixing the aftermath-these approaches can be abstracted into three main principles. The ‘contrast’ here lies in how these two opposing processes affect and synergize with each other. Wars destroy cities to the ground, leaving people with traumas, loss, and grief that need time to be survived contrasting this slow process is the rapid and urgent need to actually make up for these losses and recreate the community. Whatever affects human, affects his perception of space and his need for a different one to satisfy his ever-changing needs.

Courtesy of Westend 61 So, How does War Affect Architecture?Īrchitecture is affected by everything the normal everyday life, the big achievements, and the massive downfalls of history. An aerial view of the restored fortress village of Bourtange.

Prewar and postwar residential building construction process