Modern Forms

Book excerpt: This revised edition of Grospierre’s celebrated tour of modernist architecture has been expanded beyond Europe and North America to a truly global reach, featuring buildings in Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa and South America. Featuring new and revised texts from Barbican, MoMA and independent curators, this book offers intriguing insights into the history of modernist design, the origins of architectural photography and the reasons why architectural forms repeat in otherwise dissimilar countries. Is form still function? How “modern” is modernist architecture? And what has happened to the style’s foundational utopian ideals? Nicolas Grospierre’s masterful photographic survey catalogues both famous and little-known buildings, challenging the viewer to consider modernist architecture’s complicated legacy. Drawn from Grospierre’s ever-expanding archive documenting his travels, these large-format photographs of almost 250 buildings are arranged purely by their shapes, prioritizing form over function and location to give a unique perspective of global structures. Uniform in perspective, and presented without comment, Grospierre’s photographs allow viewers to discover details and colors that a more narrative-focused presentation would prohibit. The work of nearly a quarter of a century, this ever-expanding collection reflects a labor of love, a photographer’s deep obsession, and a celebration of buildings both iconic and mundane all over the world.