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book (design) story #634

peter meyer:
moderne architektur und tradition

dr. hans gisberger & cie., zürich, 1928
size: ?? x ?? cm
designer: (unknown)

"modern architecture and tradition" by architect and art historian peter meyer (1894–1984, see also story 307) was one of the first books published by hans girsberger.

the design of the 1927 first edition was nearly identical ...

... to this second, revised edition.

the uncredited book design is clean and modernist with asymmetrically arranged titles in uppercase narrow sansserif.

neat typography with uppercase sansserif also for the headlines inside.

the photo section on coated paper features photomontage-style plates on the right with captions on the left.

meyer advocates a modern architecture, however warns of "machine-cult" ideology and "pseudo-functionalism" as propagated by some modernist (bauhaus) architects: he shows rietveld's schroeder house as such an example, ...

... while he speaks positively of ernst may's praunheim estate in frankfurt or the cité moderne in brussels.

the relationship between functionality and form is explained with the example of trains and cars.

below modern buidings by may, le corbusier, gropius, ...

... and swiss examples by häfeli, burckhardt and schmidt & artaria, among others.

modern interiors by le corbusier, may, kienzle, and perret brothers.