Using a social approach to explain the formal aspects of early twentiethcentury architecture this book demonstrates that the move away from historicalstyles and... » 

Using a social approach to explain the formal aspects of early twentiethcentury architecture this book demonstrates that the move away from historicalstyles and towards an engagement with space was predicted in part by a shift inthe public for architecture. By the 1910s German architects and their patronsaddressed the working and lower middle classes in buildings which they hopedwould by being experienced in the same way regardless of social station helptranscend the countrys deep political divisions.The author vividly illustrates the ways in which buildings designed by many ofGermanys most celebrated architects such as Max Berg Bruno Taut PeterBehrens Otto Bartning Dominikus Bohm Heinrich Tessenow Albert Speer HansHenslemann and Hans Scharoun were embedded in widely held beliefs about thepower of architecture to influence society. Shared by architects and patronsacross the political spectrum these ideas inspired their attempts literally tobuild community. «