Modernist glazing technology used as a political narrative
Loading...
Supplementary material
Other Title
Authors
Hochstein, Gina
Author ORCID Profiles (clickable)
Degree
Grantor
Date
2025-05
Supervisors
Type
Conference Contribution - Oral Presentation
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
Germany (West)
1958 Brussels World’s Fair (Expo 58)
Cold War
glass in architecture
transparency in architecture
nationalism and architecture
modern movement (architecture)
exhibition buildings
architectural design
1958 Brussels World’s Fair (Expo 58)
Cold War
glass in architecture
transparency in architecture
nationalism and architecture
modern movement (architecture)
exhibition buildings
architectural design
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
Hochstein, G. (2025, May, 8-9). Modernist glazing technology used as a political narrative [Paper presentation]. 8th International Conference of Contemporary Affairs in Architecture and Urbanism (ICCAUA2025), Alanya University, Turkey.
https://hdl.handle.net/10652/7182
Abstract
The paper discusses the use of glazing technology and modernist practice. Glass has been used beyond its functional determinism, even politically and symbolically. Modernist architects pursued the concept of clarity and certainty and used glass to encapsulate these ideals. Transparency, as an inherent nature of glass, leads to the perception of clarity that could then become a metaphor for both democracy and technology. In 1958, when the World Exposition was held in Brussels, the Cold War geopolitics was a significant part of a divided Germany. Glazing became a distinct feature that framed a post-Second World War society outside. West Germany, a relatively young republic, sought to showcase and express their democracy and national narrative by using extensive glazing at the World Exposition. Their pavilion could be seen as a vehicle for the politicisation of modern architecture or as a volume to display their freedoms and success to a global audience.
Publisher
Permanent link
Link to ePress publication
DOI
Copyright holder
Author
Copyright notice
All rights reserved