Totalitarian architecture

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Historical photograph of the New Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany

Totalitarian architecture is a term utilized to refer to the relationship between totalitarianism and architecture, often (though not always) in the context of alleged "approved styles" of architecture within totalitarian regimes.[1] Most commonly, the term is used to describe an observed fixation on Neo-Classicism and realism within specific regimes.[1] Such fixations on neo-Classicism are not unique to totalitarian regimes, however, and manifest in other political and social systems historically and globally.[2][3] Beyond Neo-Classicism, descriptions of the architecture of totalitarian regimes sometimes focus on brutalist architecture, often in the context of Le Corbusier and his associations with Benito Mussolini.[4] In contrast to these views, several authors have upheld brutalism and socialist realism as modernist art forms which exist beyond simply being physical manifestations of totalitarian ideology.[5][6]

Though many architects and architectural historians believe that similarities exist in the planning and construction of buildings within totalitarian regimes, the notion that there is a universal style of totalitarian architecture is generally not supported, with the term being applied to a variety of governments and time periods across the relevant literature.[7] [8]

Overview[edit]

Terminology and application[edit]

The term "totalitarian architecture" was initially developed as a means of comparing the architecture of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to that of the Soviet Union.[9] Much of the study on architecture under totalitarian regimes and the related terminology was developed after the Second World War as people began to reconcile with extant buildings that invoked totalitarian ideals long after the associated regimes had collapsed.[10] Redevelopment of cities involving large-scale demolition of previous buildings was often executed by totalitarian regimes as a way of physically reshaping society to the desires of the nascent totalitarian states and their leaders.[11]

Architect and architectural historian Dmitry Khmelnitsky [ru; uk; de] wrote that the concept of totalitarian architecture is usually associated with Stalin's neoclassicism and that it "strives to symbolize an abstract idea by architectural means. Usually, this is the idea of the greatness of statehood and power."[12] Elizaveta Likhacheva [ru], art historian and director of the Shchusev Museum of Architecture, noted that the concept of totalitarian architecture has become widespread in art criticism and journalism, but "not all serious researchers perceive it as a correct concept."[13] No true definition exists of a single unified style of "totalitarian architecture," and the term is generally considered as a descriptor of the trends within the architecture of totalitarian regimes in Europe rather than as a school of architecture in and of itself.[7][8]

In contrast to its usage as an umbrella term for the architecture of different totalitarian governments, Tony Ward described totalitarian architecture as a manifestation of the architect's traditional role when corrupted in an inherently alienating society. In this context, totalitarian architecture is taken to refer to architectural applications intended to render human subjects to the most non-human role possible, often manifesting in the offices of government agencies or within American prisons.[14]

The imperial style of Japan is sometimes also grouped under the label of totalitarian architecture.[15][16] However, art historian Yu Suzuki argued that the totalitarian style in Japan was not nearly as uniform as in Germany or Italy due to the lack of direct control over architects.[16]

Analysis[edit]

As all architecture is inherently a product of the society in which it was constructed, the architecture of totalitarian regimes can be used to glean information on the ethos and desires of its creators, making it a popular subject for analysis by architectural historians.[17] The architecture of totalitarian regimes is often viewed in terms of how it manifests dominant state propaganda.[18][19][20] While the architecture of fascist Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Spain often invoked notions of racial supremacy, colonialism, and Christian supremacy, Stalinist architecture (such as the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy) frequently emphasized the cultural diversity of the Soviet Union, presenting an idealistic image of collectivization across ethnically diverse regions.[10]

The goals of totalitarian regimes in constructing memorials to their leaders and the aesthetic qualities of religious architecture are often compared, such as Lenin's Mausoleum invoking the shape of the Pyramid of Djoser.[21] Other tombs‘ architectural typologies, such as Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Georgi Dimitrov Mausoleum, have also been described as examples of architecture promoting totalitarianism as a political religion.[21][22][23][24]

The remnants of the architecture of European totalitarian regimes can be seen as a part of European cultural heritage. According to the Council of Europe, "studying the architecture of Europe's totalitarian regimes...is a way to enhance the European identity in its unity and diversity. The idea of Europe originated from the wounds of World War II and the fall of Fascism and Nazism. It entered a new phase after the downfall of Communism, opening the way to a broader and more comprehensive idea of a Europe based on fundamental values such as political liberty, freedom of expression and assembly, democracy and the rule of law."[25] The European cultural organization ATRIUM collects photographs of abandoned buildings which have outlived the regimes that constructed them and "that still stand as monuments to another time."[26]

A number of buildings and memorials created by totalitarian regimes have been demolished, especially in Poland and Ukraine, based on legislation such as The Law on the Prohibition of Propagation of Communism or Any Other Totalitarian System Through The Names of All Public Buildings, Structures and Facilities.[27][28] A demolition of the Palace of Culture and Science in Poland was debated.[29]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Totalitarian architecture by A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, James Stevens Curl, Oxford Reference
  2. ^ Doordan, Dennis P. (2002). Twentieth-century architecture. New York: H.N. Abrams. p. 106. ISBN 0810906058.
  3. ^ Adam, Peter (1992). Art of the Third Reich. New York: H.N. Abrams. p. 223. ISBN 0810919125. Adam states: "Neoclassicism [...] was by no means exclusive to Germany or to totalitarian systems"
  4. ^ Dalrymple, Theodore (Autumn 2009). "The Architect as Totalitarian.Le Corbusier's baleful influence". City Journal. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  5. ^ International Council on Monuments and Sites (2013). Socialist Realism and Socialist Modernism: World Heritage Proposals from Central and Eastern Europe. Berlin: Bässler. ISBN 978-3-930-38890-5.
  6. ^ Highmore, Ben (2017). The Art of Brutalism: Rescuing Hope from Catastrophe in 1950s Britain. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-22274-6.
  7. ^ a b Hökerberg, Håkan (2018). Architecture As Propaganda in Twentieth-Century Totalitarian regimes. Edizioni Polistampa. ISBN 978-8859618355.
  8. ^ a b Mijolla-Mellor, Sophie; Tuncel, Gökçe (2019). "Existe-t-il une architecture totalitaire ?". Topique. 146.
  9. ^ Mzhelsky, Viktor (2019-08-28). "К Вопросу Об Изменениях В Стилистике Советской Архитектуры 1930-Х Годов" [Changes in Soviet Architectural Styles in the 1930s]. Vestnik Tomskogo Gosudarstvennogo Arkhitekturno-stroitel'nogo Universiteta. Journal of Construction and Architecture (in Russian). 21 (4): 125–137. doi:10.31675/1607-1859-2019-21-4-125-137. ISSN 2310-0044. S2CID 203300570.
  10. ^ a b Urbanism, architecture, and dictatorship. Memory in transition by Harald Bodenschatz, The Routledge Companion to Italian Fascist Architecture
  11. ^ Maria de Betania Cavalcanti Totalitarian states and their influence on city-form - the case of Bucharest. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research Vol. 9, No. 4, 1992
  12. ^ Khmelnitsky, Dmitry (2007). Архитектура Сталина. Психология и стиль [Stalin's architecture. Psychology and style] (in Russian). Progress Publishers. p. 362. ISBN 978-5-89826-271-6.
  13. ^ Likhacheva, Elizaveta (2020-06-15). "Тоталитарная архитектура. Часть I" [Totalitarian architecture. Part I]. culture.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  14. ^ Totalitarianism, Architecture and Conscience by Tony Ward, Journal of Architectural Education
  15. ^ Konovalova, Nina (2020). "Японская Архитектура 1930-Х Годов: В Поисках Национальной Идентичности" [Japanese Architecture of the 1930s: Choosing National Identity]. Questions of the History of World Architecture (in Russian) (1): 269. doi:10.25995/NIITIAG.2020.50.58.013. ISSN 2500-0616. S2CID 245920517 – via eLibrary.Ru.
  16. ^ a b Suzuki, Yu (2014-02-28). "Архитектура тоталитарной эпохи 1930-1940-х годов в Японии" [Architecture of Totalitarian Epoch in 1930s - 1940s in Japan]. Observatory of Culture (in Russian) (1): 75–81. doi:10.25281/2072-3156-2014-0-1-75-81. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  17. ^ Totalitarian architecture and urban planning. History and legacy, an editorial by Esempi di Architettura, ISSN (print): 2384-9576
  18. ^ Antoszczyszyn, Marek (2017). "Manipulations of Totalitarian Nazi Architecture". IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 245 (5): 052062. Bibcode:2017MS&E..245e2062A. doi:10.1088/1757-899X/245/5/052062. ISSN 1757-8981. Totalitarian architecture. Generally it might be defined as architecture created in frames of totalitarian State activity & under its strict control, due to its thorough character of the policy in order to strengthen & spread its ideology.
  19. ^ Ua Caspary (12 January 2017). "Digital Media as Ornament in Contemporary Architectural Facades: Its Historical Dimension". In Stephen Monteiro (ed.). The Screen Media Reader: Culture, Theory, Practice. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-5013-1167-3. Totalitarian architecture, for instance, utilised specific propagandistic and symbolically loaded icons for its purposes"
  20. ^ Antoszczyszyn, M. (2016). "Manipulations of architecture of power; German New Reichschancellery in Berlin 1938 - 1939 by Albert Speer". Technical Issues. nr 3. ISSN 2392-3954. Totalitarian architecture was supposed to achieve political benefits thanks to some perceptional codes, consciously hidden in it. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  21. ^ a b Tracing Religion and Cult in the Architecture of European Totalitarian Regimes of the XX Century, by Sasha S. Lozanova and Stela B. Tasheva, Design. Art. Industry (DAI). Issue 5, link
  22. ^ The Mausoleum of Georgi Dimitrov as lieu de mémoire by Maria Todorova, The Journal of Modern History, Volume 78, Number 2
  23. ^ In a Russia Torn by Past, Some Come to Praise Lenin, Some to Bury Him, by Peter Ford, The Christian Science Monitor
  24. ^ Post-Communist Romania at Twenty-Five: Linking Past, Present and Future. Edited by Lavinia Stan and Diane Vancea. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2015, page 48, review
  25. ^ "ATRIUM - Architecture of Totalitarian Regimes of the 20th Century In Europe's Urban Memory". Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  26. ^ Schwab, Katharine (2016-09-09). "Hunting For The Architectural Relics Of Totalitarianism". Fast Company. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  27. ^ Chapple, Amos (2020-10-23). "Then And Now: Soviet Monuments Disappear Under Poland's 'Decommunization' Law". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  28. ^ "From acceptance to negation: how Soviet war memorials are treated in Europe". realnoevremya.com. 2019-11-12. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  29. ^ "The Movement to Destroy Warsaw's Tallest Building". nextcity.org.

External links[edit]

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