contested legacies: critical perspectives on post-war modern housing

In the light of the current housing and environmental crisis and increasing social inequalities, there is a growing sense of urgency for architecture as a discipline to engage with the transformation in housing evident in the postwar period. Rather than conceiving this task as a technical matter, this book proposes to reassess the conditions and legacy of this large and ubiquitous housing stock. By foregrounding the mismatch between constructed cultural, social and ideological narratives and the everyday realities of residents, the contributors rediscover the value of often-overlooked modern open spaces and reconsider the technological advances that paved the way for this large-scale construction.

Contested Legacies advances a new notion of heritage which, rather than seeking to preserve the past, sets outs to actively transform what exists to meet current societal needs. It offers an ’atlas’ of exemplary cases, each illustrating a defining yet often neglected aspect of modern postwar housing, from which present engagement and active reflection can grow, making the book an appealing read for both scholars and housing practitioners worldwide.

Free ebook available at OAPEN Library, JSTOR, Project Muse, and Open Research Library

Contributors: Umberto Bonomo (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Flávia Brito do Nascimento (Universidade de São Paulo), Gaia Caramellino (Politecnico di Milano), Federico Coricelli (Politecnico di Torino), Jesse Honsa (KU Leuven), Michael Klein (TU Wien), Andrea Migotto (KU Leuven), Nicola Russi (Politecnico di Torino), Heidi Svenningsen Kajita (University of Copenhagen), Martino Tattara (KU Leuven)

Andrea Migotto is an architect and researcher at the Faculty of Architecture of KU Leuven.

Martino Tattara is an architect and an associate professor at the Faculty of Architecture of KU Leuven.