1st Edition

Twentieth Century Town Halls Architecture of Democracy

By John Stewart Copyright 2019

    This is the first book to examine the development of the town hall during the twentieth century and the way in which these civic buildings have responded to the dramatic political, social and architectural changes which took place during the period. Following an overview of the history of the town hall as a building type, it examines the key themes, variations and lessons which emerged during the twentieth century. This is followed by 20 case studies from around the world which include plans, sections and full-colour illustrations. Each of the case studies examines the town hall's procurement, the selection of its architect and the building design, and critically analyses its success and contribution to the type’s development. The case studies include:

    Copenhagen Town Hall, Denmark, Martin Nyrop

    Stockholm City Hall, Sweden, Ragnar Ostberg

    Hilversum Town Hall, the Netherlands, Willem M. Dudok

    Walthamstow Town Hall, Britain, Philip Dalton Hepworth

    Oslo Town Hall, Norway, Arnstein Arneberg and Magnus Poulsson

    Casa del Fascio, Como, Italy, Guiseppe Terragni

    Aarhus Town Hall, Denmark, Arne Jacobsen with Eric Moller

    Saynatsalo Town Hall, Finland, Alvar Aalto

    Kurashiki City Hall, Japan, Kenzo Tange

    Toronto City Hall, Canada, Viljo Revell

    Boston City Hall, USA, Kallmann, McKinnell and Knowles

    Dallas City Hall, USA, IM Pei

    Mississauga City Hall, Canada, Ed Jones and Michael Kirkland

    Borgoricco Town Hall, Italy, Aldo Rossi

    Reykjavik City Hall, Iceland, Studio Granda

    Valdelaguna Town Hall, Spain, Victor Lopez Cotelo and Carlos Puente Fernandez

    The Hague City Hall, the Netherlands, Richard Meier

    Iragna Town Hall, Switzerland, Raffaele Cavadini

    Murcia City Hall, Spain, Jose Rafael Moneo

    London City Hall, UK, Norman Foster

    Introduction.  The History of the Town Hall.  The Development of the Twentieth Century Town Hall.  The Case Studies  Copenhagen Town Hall.  Stockholm City Hall.  Hilversum Town Hall.  Walthamstow Town Hall.  Oslo Town Hall.  Casa del Fascio, Como.  Aarhus Town Hall.  Saynatsalo Town Hall.  Kurashiki Town Hall.  Toronto City Hall.  Boston City Hall.  Dallas City Hall.  Mississauga City Hall.  Borgoricco Town Hall.  Reykjavik City Hall.  Valdelaguna Town Hall.  The Hague City Hall.  Iragna Town Hall.  Murcia City Hall.  London City Hall.  Epilogue.  Bibliography.  Index

    Biography

    John Stewart is an architect and writer who until recently led one of the UK's largest multi-disciplinary architectural practices. In his architecture he specialised in major public building projects such as schools, libraries, law courts and theatres. His own designs have won numerous awards and been widely published and he was twice selected as one of the best 40 architects under forty in the UK. He has lectured, taught and examined at numerous Schools of Architecture in the UK.