congrs international d'architecture moderne

The Congrs International d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) (International Congress of Modern Architecture) (1928 - 1959) was the think tank of the Modern Movement (or International Style) in architecture. It was both an organisation and a series of meetings.

Formation and Membership

The 20th century abounds with manifestos in which the term "architecture as a social art" is variously voiced. Among the many propositions that command our attention are the concepts and buildings of architects associated with the International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM), founded in June 1928 at the Chateau de la Sarraz in Switzerland, by a group of 28 European architects organized by Le Corbusier, Hlne de Mandrot (owner of the castle), and Sigfried Giedion (the first secretary-general). Other founder members included Karl Moser (first president), Victor Bourgeois, Pierre Chareau, Josef Frank, Gabriel Guevrekian, Max Ernst Haefeli, Hugo Hring, Arnold Hchel, Huib Hoste, Pierre Jeanneret (cousin of Le Corbusier), Andr Lurat, Ernst May, Fernando Garca Mercadal, Hannes Meyer, Werner Max Moser, Carlo Enrico Rava, Gerrit Rietveld, Alberto Sartoris, Hans Schmidt, Mart Stam, Rudolf Steiger, Henri-Robert Von der Mhll, and Juan de Zavala Other notable members later included Alvar Aalto and Hendrik Petrus Berlage.

Influence

The organisation was hugely influential. It was not only engaged in formalising the architectual principles of the Modern Movement, but also saw architecture as an economic and political tool that could be used to improve the World through the design of buildings and through urban planning. At the fourth congress, held in 1933, the group conceived of the "Athens Charter", a document that adopted a functional conception of modern architecture and urban planning which was unique and provocative. The Charter, based on discussions held ten years earlier, claimed that the problems faced by cities could be resolved by strict functional segregation, and the distribution of the population into tall apartment blocks at widely spaced intervals. The ideas were widely adopted by town planners in the rebuilding of Europe following World War II, although by then some CIAM members were having doubts about some of the concepts. As CIAM members travelled world-wide after the war, many of its ideas spread outside Europe, notably to the USA. Unfortunately the implementation of many of the ideas was frequently poorly executed in the post-war era, often due to tight financial constraints, sometimes compounded by a poor understanding of the concepts by architects.

CIRPAC

The elected executive body of CIAM was CIRPAC, the Comit International pour la Rsolution des Problmes de l’Architecture Contemporaine (International Committee for the Resolution of Problems in Contemporary Architecture).

Conferences

CIAM's conferences consisted of:

1928, CIAM I, La Sarraz, Switzerland, Foundation of CIAM
1929, CIAM II, Frankfurt, Germany
1930, CIAM III, Brussels, Belgium
1933, CIAM IV, Athens, Greece
1937, CIAM V, Paris, France
1947, CIAM VI, Bridgwater, England, Reaffirmation of the Aims of CIAM
1949, CIAM VII, Bergamo, Italy
1951, CIAM VIII, Hoddesdon, England
1953, CIAM IX, Aix-en-Provence, France
1956, CIAM X, Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia

Disbanding

The CIAM organisation disbanded in 1959 as the views of the members diverged. Le Corbusier had left in 1955, objecting to the increasing use of English during meetings.