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Paul Overy's excellent new book examines the roots of the movement and comes to some interesting conclusions as to why Modernism remains so very sure of itself. It is often taken as axiomatic, for instance, that somehow the brutal shock of the Great War with its industrial-scale killing capability stimulated the rise of what was still a fledgling movement in Europe. This is true to the extent that wars always accelerate the advance of technology - particularly the planes and ships beloved of such architects as Le Corbusier. It is also true that the example of new factory buildings, with their need for large, uninterrupted spaces, had much to do with influencing change in architecture. But Overy suggests that it has as much to do with late 19th century notions of healthcare. In particular, he believes, the cult of the sanatorium led directly to the new architecture.

In a Europe ravaged by industrial pollution and tuberculosis, with antibiotics yet to be discovered, the Victorian obsession with fresh air was taken to new heights. Sanatoria with large windows and open balconies were built in mountain resorts and forest retreats. Old ways of building did not lend themselves to this kind of healthcare. Doctors insisted on light and air, the dissolving of the barrier between indoor and outdoor. These new super-clinics could not be allowed to harbour germs and dust: they had to be efficient wipe-clean places. As early as 1907, the astonishingly modern-looking Queen Alexandra Sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland, contained all the key ingredients: flat roofed, big-windowed, concrete-framed, balconied, white-painted, minimalist. Architects were Otto Pfleghard and Max Haefeli. Structural engineer was Robert Maillart, deploying the Hennebique reinforced-concrete system. Nor was this the first of its kind - a prototype, also in Davos, had existed as early as 1902, developed by Dr. Karl Turban and architect Jacques Gros. The key was the openable all-glass, south-facing wall. It quickly became apparent that conventional bricklayers and carpenters could not produce such a building. New techniques were duly borrowed from industrial and transport buildings.

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jdwt


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rt 66 revisited

endangered motels
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From the Redwoods to the beaches, parts of California soon may be inaccessible to visitors.

Under the cloud of the Golden State's current fiscal crisis, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently asked each department and agency in the state to reduce its budget by up to 10 percent. The Department of Parks and Recreation came up with a proposal that sent a shock wave through the state: Close 48 state parks and reduce lifeguards at some beaches to cut $8.8 million from the 2008-2009 state budget.

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