Summary of the introduction on Modernity in the book "Architectural Positions" (Part 1)

The authors of the book Architectural Positions are Tom Avermaete and Klaske Havik. Tom Avermaete is an architect and researcher with a special interest in the contemporary public realm and the architecture of the city. Klaske Havik is architect and writer and also involved with the section Architecture and Modernity at the TUDelft.

I think the introduction of this book gives a very clear overview of the thoughts about modernity by the most important thinkers on this topic related to the public sphere. Because public space is an major part of the public sphere these theories are very interesting while studying the city of today.

Schiphol

The first alinia the airport Schiphol is being described as a new build city because it offers all kinds of services one could find in a city. The services are being listed: shops, hotels, offices, bars and restaurants; schilphol has its own partition of the Rijksmuseum and a branch of the Salvation Army taking care of the homeless. Besides that there is a Schiphol-police force, a prison and even a mortuary. The centre of the AirportCity is Schiphol Plaza. This space has everything which makes a urban space appealing. It is full of shops, restaurants, bars and hotels. Besides that it is open 24 hours a day and totally sheltered from the weather. It is a space which is always clean and safe by its tight security services and airport police.

The question arises: is this space part of the public domain? Can a space monitored by cameras and mechanisms be a public space? The authors address the following idea about junkies, beggars and rough sleepers: “they hardly dare to enter the modern cathedrals of steel and glass”.

The anthropologist Marc Augé qualifies these new spaces as “non-places”. He writes: “Non-places are spaces of transport and transit that are lacking any historical significance and strong symbolism. If a place can be defined as relational historical and concerned with identity, then a space which cannot be defined as relational historical or concerned with identity will be a non-place.” (Augé, 1995) His statement is that these places does not promote a public experience. They are not capable of bringing people together like cities’ traditional public spaces can!

The German philosopher Jürgen Habermas already stated in 1962 in his work Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit that the public domain is under constant pressure from all sorts of forces and even risks vanishing completely. (Habermas, 1962) The question is addressed: “When a space is defined by restrictions, to what extent are we still free agents?” Following Habermas Michael Sorkin addresses: “The effort to reclaim the city is the struggle of democracy itself. “ (Sorkin, 1992)

They authors address the essential questions on this topic: What influence does architecture have? How can architecture accommodate and represent public life? In order to search for answers one should study the public sphere in the context of modernity. This is for the following reason: “Modernity has affected the way in which architecture approaches the public sphere.”

Modernity

While talking about modernity one should be specific about the difference of the terms ‘modernization’, ‘modernity’ and ‘modernism’. Modernization refers to the process of innovation. Modernity is the experience of modernization, it is the condition arising from technical and socio-economic innovation. Modernism refers to the artistic and intellectual reflection on modernity.

Another important term according modernity is ‘normalization’. Normalization refers to the reorganization of society by new common norms. Modernization caused “a search for a great, new rational world order.” Rational control, structuring, and regulation of life are the keywords.

The authors refer to Michel Foucault if they state that “modern society maintain the illusion of a perfectible world.” Humans who behave unpredictably, irrationally, or in a uncivilized way are being re-educated in specialized institutions: prisons, workhouses and boarding schools. (Foucault, 1963)

Modernity and its stages

According to the Dutch philosopher René Boomkens there are four “historical and philosophical stages of modernity”:

The 1st stage starts in the mid-nineteenth century. This was a time of new inventions, scientific breakthroughs and the rise of industry.

The 2nd stage was the period between the world wars. There was a process of liberation from the past, progress, aim at the future and emancipation. There was a strong utopian believe the perfectibility of society. The reaction on this movement was worried about a return to barbarism.

The 3rd stage was more diffuse. There was a growth of economical prosperity and social mobility but there was also a an increasing process of individualization.

The 4th stage is postmodernity. A claim that modernity brought not only freedom but also alienation and social exclusion. The destructive and volatile aspects of modernity are being enlightened.

- Augé, M. (1995). Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity. New York: Verso.
- Avermaete, T. en Havik, K. (2009). Architectural Positions - Architecture, Modernity and the Public Sphere: An Everyday Triad. . Amsterdam: SUN publishers.
- Boomkens, R. (1998). Een drempel-wereld. Moderne ervaring en stedelijke openbaarheid.Rotterdam: NAi Publishers.
- Foucault, M. (1963). Naissance de la clinique . Paris: PUF.
- Habermas, J. (1962). Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit. Untersuchungen zu einer Kategorie der bürgerlichen Gesellschaft. . Darmstadt: Luchterhand.
- Sorkin, M. (1992). Variations on a Theme Park. New York : Hill & Wang.