wiedler.ch

book (design) story #95

sigfried giedion:
befreites wohnen

orell füssli verlag, zürich/leipzig (schaubücher 14), 1929
size: 19 x 13 cm
designer: sigfried giedion

the "schaubücher" were a series of modern photo books launched by the zürich-based orell füssli verlag in the late 1920s. this book with the title "befreites wohnen"(liberated living) was compiled by sigfried giedion (1988-1968), an important promoter of modern architecture (see story 52).

this book is also an early swiss example of "new typography", complete with asymmetric page layout, sans-serif type, fat rules, photo bleeds, and large numbers for pages and illustrations. the designer of the "schaubücher" series is still not known – but i suppose giedion suggested the "typophoto" cover and "new typography" style layout of the inner pages of his book. the repetition of slogans – light, air, opening – is similar to the previous book's jacket. featured on the cover are the modernist "rotach" houses designed by max ernst haefeli in 1928.

giedion's manifesto-like text claims:

we want to be liberated from:
the house with eternal value
the house with expensive rent
the house with thick walls
the house as a monument
the house with high costs to enslave us
the house that exploits women as cheap labour.

instead we need:
the cheap house
the open house
the house that makes our life easier.

old architecture is compared to a prison, while a clean, airy hospital serves as a typical example of modern architecture.

the spread below is fond of this steam ship's modern design, but criticises its pseudo-retro interior.

the reader learns about modern steel skeleton construction ...

... and healthy, modern clinics in davos, at that time a major ressort for tuberculosis patients (see next book story).