Eric Mumford’s book “The CIAM Discourse on Urbanism, 1928-1960”
Eric Mumford’s book “The CIAM Discourse on Urbanism, 1928-1960” enabled me to learn a lot this week. One of the major takeaways from this book was that top experts in any field, including architecture, could join hands with the goal of helping humanity but instead turn to a syndicate for individual benefits. In Mumford’s book, he talks of CIAM, which is an international group of architects whose original mission was to come up with a common agenda for modern urbanism and revolutionize architecture. Founded in 1928 in Switzerland, the Congres Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM), the group of architects had a larger vision, but its eventuality shows how it had deviated from its original mission and vision (Mumford 201). The world was rapidly changing, and its best-known experts in architecture, including Richard Neutra, Walter Gropius, and Le Corbusier, were always sought by hundreds of others worldwide for their doctrine in shaping the urban environment.
The concept for a “Functional City” is given a significant focus. Their idea was viable and could transform the urban environment and shape its future. They envisioned in creating the “Core” or “The Heart of the City” as a model of modern urban city (Mumford 202). The members could often meet for deliberations of their mission and inclusion of new members. In the implementation of their projects, however, they did not make differences between the western world and Asia and the rest of the developing world. They could go to become a syndicate in the field of literature, which often sought to win over authorities without regard to their political orientation. Hence, it resulted in its eventual dissolution in 1959after its younger members led by Team 10 sought to revise its mission.