Architecture, Power and National Identity

Description

The first edition of Architecture, Power, and National Identity, published in 1992, has become a classic, winning the prestigious Spiro Kostof award for the best book in architecture and urbanism. Lawrence Vale fully has fully updated the book, which focuses on the relationship between the design of national capitals across the world and the formation of national identity in modernity. Tied to this, it explains the role that architecture and planning play in the forceful assertion of state power. The book is truly international in scope, looking at capital cities in the United States, India, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Bangladesh, and Papua New Guinea. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Preface to the second edition Preface to the first edition Part 1: The locus of political power 1. Capital and capitol: an introduction How do Government Buildings Mean? The Locus of Postcolonial Power What is a Capitol? What is a Capital? The Symbolic Role of Modern Capitals Three Kinds of Modern Capital Evolved capitals: London, Paris, Vienna, and Berlin London Paris Vienna Berlin Evolved capitals renewed: Rome, Moscow, and Athens Rome Moscow Athens Evolutionary breaks: designing a new capital 2. National identity and the capitol complex What is National Identity? Dimensions of National Identity in Architecture and Urban Design National vs. subnational identity National vs. Personal Identity National vs. supranational identity 3. Early designed capitals: for union, for imperialism, for independence Washington, D.C.: The First Modern Designed Capital Colonialism and Early Designed Capitals Canberra: A Capital Designed for Democracy New Delhi: A Capital Designed for Empire Ankara: A Capital Designed for Independence 4. Designed capitals after World War Two: Chandigarh and Brasília Chandigarh: The First Modernist Designed Capital Brasília: Integrating a Nation-State, Segregating a Government 5. Designed capitals since 1960 Islamabad: Building “Dynapolis” for the Status Quo After 1960: The Global Spread of Designed Capitals Abuja: Nigeria’s Washington, D.C.? Dodoma: A Socialist Capital Alternative? Capitol Versus Capital Parliament as Architecture and as Institution Part 2: Four postcolonial capitol complexes in search of national identity 6. Papua New Guinea’s concrete haus tambaran Waigani City Center Building National Symbolism Subnational and Supranational Symbolism Tourist Architecture? 7. Sri Lanka’s island parliament Geoffrey Bawa’s Architectural Pluralism The Politics of a Parliamentary Island The Sinhalese Master Plan Implementing Nationalism: The Limits of a Master Plan 8. Precast Arabism for Kuwait Prestressed Concrete in a Prestressed Society Utzon’s Arabism The nomad’s tent The bazaar The covered square Precast Arabism 9. The acropolis of Bangladesh Kahn’s Misconnections The National Assembly and government hierarchy Response to climate The National Assembly and national religion The citadels and the city Misconnections: The Costs and Benefits Resisting A Conclusion 10. Designing power and identity Approaching Capitol Design Capitol complex as beyond politics? Capitol complex as microcosm? Capitol complex as idealization? Capitol Complex as Critical Synthesis? Four Temptations of Nationalism National Identity: Can it be Designed? Toward a Good Capitol Notes Illustration credits Index