''Space, Time and Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition'' is a book by

Sigfried Giedion Sigfried Giedion (sometimes misspelled Siegfried Giedion; 14 April 1888, Prague – 10 April 1968, Zürich) was a Bohemian-born Swiss historian and critic of architecture. His ideas and books, ''Space, Time and Architecture'', and ''Mechaniza ...

first published (by Harvard University Press) in 1941. It is a pioneering and influential standard history giving in integrated synthesis the background and cultural context of

modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...

and

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

, set in their manifold cultural relationships "with other human activities and the similarity of methods that are in use today in architecture, construction, painting, city planning and science." The book was immediately recognized for the author's "monumental and catholic curiosity which compels him to penetrate long neglected nineteenth century by-lanes and reveal to modern eyes their importance for an appreciation of the complex culture of that period and our own." The book had its genesis in the

Charles Eliot Norton Lectures The Charles Eliot Norton Professorship of Poetry at Harvard University was established in 1925 as an annual lectureship in "poetry in the broadest sense" and named for the university's former professor of fine arts. Distinguished creative figures ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in the spring of 1938, and it was recognized from the outset as a series of related essays on seminal topics in the organization of human spaces, obtaining fresh insights, not from a panoramic survey, "but by isolating and examining certain specific events intensively, penetrating and exploring them in the manner of the

close-up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long s ...

" as Giedion outlined his method. Giedion revised and enlarged the book five times after the first edition in 1941: 2nd edition 1949; 3rd edition 1954; 4th edition 1962; 5th edition 1967. The book has continued to be printed since then, most recently in 2009. All editions have been published by the original publisher,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

. The book has also been translated into German (''Raum, Zeit, Architektur''), French (''Espace, temps, architecture''), Spanish (''Espacio, tiempo y arquitectura''), Italian (''Spazio, tempo, architettura'') and Japanese (間・時間・建築). The major change from the first to the second edition was the predominance of coverage given to the Finnish architect

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

, more than any other architect in the book, including

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

, when Aalto had barely been mentioned in the first edition. The reason given for this, is that Giedion saw Aalto as the architect best demonstrating the move away from International Style modernism synonymous with the Bauhaus towards a more

organic architecture Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world. This is achieved through design approaches that aim to be sympathetic and well-integrated with a site, so buildings, furni ...

.Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen, "Giedion's Aallto", ''Ptah'', 1:2000, pp.3-7.

References

{{reflist

External links

''Guardian'' review of 5th revised and enlarged reprint, 2008
Modernist architecture Architecture books