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INTRODUCTION:
Legacy and Action
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 1928. At the fourth congress, held in 1933, the group conceived of
the Athens Charter, a document that adopted a conception of modern architecture
and urban planning, in functional terms, which were unique and provocative.
In 1950, following the Second World War (1939-45), some younger CIAM members
envisioned other ways of considering the role of building within the context
of urban design. They established themselves as Team X (Ten), but now
independent of CIAM, and with a new agenda. Team X argued for a fresh
appreciation of architecture in general, and particularly within the social
life of cities, in light of the destructive war years and the monumental
task of rebuilding European cities. Aldo Van Eyck was a founding member
of Team X, and perhaps its most persuasive spokesperson.
Since the late 1960s, Architects, Designers, Planners for Social Responsibility
(ADPSR) in the United States, has extended the concept of architecture
as a social art to include the other environmental professionals who,
ideally, work as partners in the construction of the built environment.
In the United States and Canada, a parallel effort is that now undertaken
in the realms of community design, nonprofit practice, and community design-build
projects as promoted by the Association for Community Design (ACD) and
most recently by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture's
(ACSA) Architecture in Society Initiative.
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