Designing Modernity

Bilingual edition (English/Arabic) / Zweisprachige Ausgabe (englisch/arabisch)

Designing Modernity: Architecture in the Arab World 1945–1973 is the result of a fascinating investigation by international experts into the influences of modernist architecture in the Arab world. Ten case studies provide the foundation for a thorough exploration of the relevant cultural-historical, sociopolitical, climatic and demographic aspects. Questions concerning the region’s reciprocal relationship with modernist architecture in the period from 1945 to 1973 are investigated through the biographies of selected buildings and building complexes from Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco. Texts, contemporary images, architectural drawings and archival material are used to document the process from commissioning and design through to completion and building use.