What was it like to grow up in a Modernist residence? Did these radical environments shape the way that children looked at architecture later in life?

The authors ‘conducted interviews with people who were the first to spend their childhoods in avant-garde domestic spaces, uncovering both serene and poignant memories. The recollections range from the ambivalence of philosopher Ernst Tugendhat who lived in the famous Mies van der Rohe house in Brno (1930) to the fond reminiscing of the youngest daughter of the Schminke family, who still dreams of her Hans Scharoun-designed ship-like villa in Löbau (1933). The book provides a refreshing perspective on these icons of Modernism.

Contemporary atmospheric photography offers an original view of the well-known buildings, also including Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in Marseille (1953) and J. J. P. Oud’s row houses at the Weissenhof Estate in Stuttgart (1927). The photographs capture the mood of the architecture and were taken to resonate with the childhood memories of their inhabitants.’

Author Julia Jamrozik Toronto Metropolitan University

Coryn Kempster, architect

328 pages