Birth of a Style-04 Politics and Architecture

It is a well-known fact that politics influences everything that happens in a society, and architecture is no exception. This could well be the subject of an entire book.

In the context of a new style, it is the socio-political context that decides the nature of the building, its character and its outward appearance. Architecture is a deliberate act and not entirely dependent on circumstantial factors. The overall form & scale of a structure depends on factors like resources & technology, but architecture cannot happen unless somebody is willing to pay for it, and thus right from the beginning of the human civilization architecture has always depended on the vision of its patrons.

It is therefore no wonder that the Bauhaus came under attack after Hitler came to power with a vision to reinstate the glorious traditions of Germany in the Third Reich. The architecture promoted by Bauhaus, with its pure-geometry and spartan look ran contrary to this vision. In exactly the same way, Stalin was highly critical of the Constructivist architecture, which was similar to the Bauhaus architecture in its external appearance. To the uninitiated, both the Bauhaus & Constructivist architecture seem like composed of simple rectangular blocks, but both of these movements rejected the classical, ornamental styles of architecture in favor of a kind of architecture that was concerned with the well-being of the people occupying the spaces and functional in its character. In classical architecture, the outward appearance of the buildings was based on the vision of its patrons, the kings and religious establishment, to impress the populace with its grandeur and decorative facades. This was not on the agenda of both of these movements.

It is ironical that Bauhaus came under attack in Germany as an effect of communist propaganda to dilute and vilify the German traditions, while Constructivism was branded as an effect of capitalist propaganda designed to demean the communist revolution.

Which proves that all dictators think alike, whatever the color of their politics. Public Architecture emerges as the collective will of the people, but this is determined by those actually wielding the power on behalf of them. To people in general & to the so-called representatives of the people (who are the de-facto dictators of today) it is the symbolism that decides the issue, not the functional aspects. This is an unfortunate but true state of affairs of public architecture.