Light, Air and Openness

"In this groundbreaking book, Paul Overy takes a fresh look at the geometric forms and sparkling surfaces of the new architecture. He explores the preoccupations of the period with air and sunshine, space, health, hygiene and whiteness, and how, together with the Utopian notions of 'the clean machine' and the model factory, these concerns became fundamental to the development of new architectural and design practices. Individual buildings, including both little-known and more familiar examples in Europe and the United States by architects such as Adolf Loos, Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, Jan Duiker, Berthold Lubetkin and Richard Neutra, are examined within the context of class and social control, luxury and austerity, race and colonialism." "Illustrated with many unusual photographs, including those that capture the buildings in their early state, Light, Air and Openness is an original and refreshing reinterpretation of the modern movement in architecture and design."--BOOK JACKET.