Victor Bourgeois 1897-1962: modernity, tradition & neutrality

Abstract

Victor Bourgeois (1897?1962) was the leading pioneer of the international Moderne Beweging (modernist movement) in Belgium. He was invited to design a house for the famous Weissenhofsiedlung in Stuttgart in 1927, and between 1928 and 1930 he played an important role in the CIAM (Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne), the most influential platform for modern architecture and urban design of the twentieth century. This book is the first study of Bourgeois' built and textual oeuvre. Despite the refinement of his designs and acuteness of his theoretical insights, he was unjustly forgotten as an architect and urban designer. Architectural historian and curator Iwan Strauven has charted Victor Bourgeois' complete oeuvre, as well as an intellectual biography. This comprehensive monograph is an important contribution to understanding the history of twentieth-century architecture.