Notes on the Useful Arts — Technological Progress as a Basis for Modern Architecture

Övrig text i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2019

It is a commonplace that Modern Architecture is a product of the Industrial Revolution, as practically all representatives of the Modern Movement refer, in some way or another, to technology and regard it as the foundation of their architecture. According to established historiography it is not only inspired by avantgarde art, but also draws on 19th century engineering and the “anonymous ethos” of modern mass-society—it is architecture for the “Machine Age”.
A closer look reveals that art and technology have both accompanied humankind from the beginning and share the same root—creative imagination. With the Industrial Revolution, however, technology has not only opened up unprecedented new possibilities, but has also divorced itself from art, leading to technology—i.e., handicrafts, engineering, and industry—on the one hand being considered artless, and art on other hand—i.e., poetry, music and the visual arts—useless.