Walter Curt Behrendt - The Triumph of the New Building Style

While the modern movement was trying to establish its unity, (Doktoringenieur) Walter Curt Behrendt (1884-1945) published The Victory of the New Building Style (1927), announcing that Modern Architecture had proven itself. Cities devastated by World War I needed to be rebuilt. Daily life had new norms, but architecture had already been able to create new forms suitable for them: Victory!

Mass production, synthetic materials, industrialized building methods, and brand-new structural possibilities…

Unadorned surfaces, flat roofs, frameless windows, airy terraces…

Machine and human, system and freedom no longer exclude each other: The Victory of the New Building Style.

Published in 1927, this pioneering text lays out the theoretical foundations of Modern Architecture. Behrendt emphasizes architecture's role in social transformation during the post-war reconstruction process. Developed under the influence of the Bauhaus and New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit) movements, this thought examines the relationship between functionalism, industrial production, and modern lifestyles.

Original Title: Der Sieg des neuen Baustils