Reyner Banham
Encyclopedia
Peter Reyner Banham was a prolific architectural critic and writer best known for his 1960 theoretical treatise Theory and Design in the First Machine Age (1960) and for his 1971 book Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. In the latter he categorized the Los Angeles experience into four ecological models (Surfurbia, Foothills, The Plains of Id, and Autopia) and explored the distinct architectural cultures of each ecology.
Banham was based in London, but lived primarily in the United States from the late 1960s until the end of his life. He studied under Anthony Blunt
at the Courtauld Institute of Art
, then Siegfried Giedion and Nikolaus Pevsner
. Pevsner invited him to study the history of modern architecture, following his own work Pioneers of the Modern Movement (1936). In Theory and Design in the First Machine Age, Banham cut across Pevsner's main theories, linking modernism
to built structures in which the 'functionalism
' was actually subject to formal strictures. Later, he wrote a Guide to Modern Architecture (1962, later titled Age of the Masters, a Personal View of Modern Architecture).
Banham had connections with the Independent Group
, the 1956 This Is Tomorrow
art exhibition – considered by many to the birth of pop art
– and the thinking of the Smithson
s and of James Stirling
, on the 'New Brutalism', which he documented in his 1966 book The New Brutalism: Ethic or Aesthetic?. He predicted a "second age" of the machine and mass consumption. The Architecture of Well-Tempered Environment (1969) follows Sigfried Giedion
's Mechanization Takes Command (1948), putting the development of technologies such as electricity and air conditioning
ahead of the classic account of structures. In the 1960s, Cedric Price
, Peter Cook
, and the Archigram
group also found this to be an absorbing arena of thought.
Green thinking
(Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies) and then the oil shock
of 1973 affected him. The 'postmodern
' was for him uneasy, and he evolved into the conscience of postwar British architecture. He broke with utopian and technical formalism
. Scenes in America Deserta (1982) talks of open spaces and his anticipation of a 'modern' future. In A Concrete Atlantis: U.S. Industrial Building and European Modern Architecture, 1900-1925 (1986) Banham demonstrates the influence of American grain elevators and "Daylight" factories on the Bauhaus
and other modernist projects in Europe.
As a professor, Banham taught at the University of London
, the State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo
, and through the 1980s at the University of California, Santa Cruz
. He had been appointed the Sheldon H. Solow Professor of the History of Architecture at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
shortly before his death, but he never taught at the institution. He was also featured in the short documentary Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles; in his book on Los Angeles, Banham said that he learned to drive so he could read the city in the original.
In 2003, Nigel Whiteley published a biography of Banham, Reyner Banham: Historian of the Immediate Future.
Banham was based in London, but lived primarily in the United States from the late 1960s until the end of his life. He studied under Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
at the Courtauld Institute of Art
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. The Courtauld is one of the premier centres for the teaching of art history in the world; it was the only History of Art department in the UK to be awarded a top...
, then Siegfried Giedion and Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
. Pevsner invited him to study the history of modern architecture, following his own work Pioneers of the Modern Movement (1936). In Theory and Design in the First Machine Age, Banham cut across Pevsner's main theories, linking modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
to built structures in which the 'functionalism
Functionalism
Functionalism may refer to:* Functionalism , or structural functionalism, a theoretical tradition within sociology and anthropology* Functionalism * Functionalism...
' was actually subject to formal strictures. Later, he wrote a Guide to Modern Architecture (1962, later titled Age of the Masters, a Personal View of Modern Architecture).
Banham had connections with the Independent Group
Independent Group
The Independent Group met at the Institute of Contemporary Arts London from 1952-55. The IG consisted of painters, sculptors, architects, writers and critics who wanted to challenge prevailing modernist approaches to culture. They introduced mass culture into debates about high culture,...
, the 1956 This Is Tomorrow
This is Tomorrow
This Is Tomorrow was a seminal art exhibition in August 1956 at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, facilitated by curator Bryan Robertson. The core of the exhibition was the ICA Independent Group.-History:...
art exhibition – considered by many to the birth of pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
– and the thinking of the Smithson
Smithson
Smithson is a common English and American surname that may refer to:*Alison and Peter Smithson, British architects*Forrest Smithson, American athlete*Gerald Smithson, English cricketer...
s and of James Stirling
James Stirling (architect)
Sir James Frazer Stirling FRIBA was a British architect. He is considered to be among the most important and influential British architects of the second half of the 20th century...
, on the 'New Brutalism', which he documented in his 1966 book The New Brutalism: Ethic or Aesthetic?. He predicted a "second age" of the machine and mass consumption. The Architecture of Well-Tempered Environment (1969) follows Sigfried Giedion
Sigfried Giedion
Sigfried Giedion was a Bohemia-born Swiss historian and critic of architecture....
's Mechanization Takes Command (1948), putting the development of technologies such as electricity and air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
ahead of the classic account of structures. In the 1960s, Cedric Price
Cedric Price
Cedric Price was an English architect and influential teacher and writer on architecture.The son of an architect, Price was born in Stone, Staffordshire and studied architecture at Cambridge University Cedric Price (11 September 1934 – 10 August 2003) was an English architect and influential...
, Peter Cook
Peter Cook (architect)
Professor Sir Peter Cook, founder of Archigram , former Director the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London and the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London, has been a pivotal figure within the global architectural world for over half a century. His ongoing contribution to...
, and the Archigram
Archigram
Archigram was an avant-garde architectural group formed in the 1960s - based at the Architectural Association, London - that was futurist, anti-heroic and pro-consumerist, drawing inspiration from technology in order to create a new reality that was solely expressed through hypothetical projects...
group also found this to be an absorbing arena of thought.
Green thinking
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
(Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies) and then the oil shock
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
of 1973 affected him. The 'postmodern
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
' was for him uneasy, and he evolved into the conscience of postwar British architecture. He broke with utopian and technical formalism
Formalism
The term formalism describes an emphasis on form over content or meaning in the arts, literature, or philosophy. A practitioner of formalism is called a formalist. A formalist, with respect to some discipline, holds that there is no transcendent meaning to that discipline other than the literal...
. Scenes in America Deserta (1982) talks of open spaces and his anticipation of a 'modern' future. In A Concrete Atlantis: U.S. Industrial Building and European Modern Architecture, 1900-1925 (1986) Banham demonstrates the influence of American grain elevators and "Daylight" factories on the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
and other modernist projects in Europe.
As a professor, Banham taught at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, the State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
, and through the 1980s at the University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
. He had been appointed the Sheldon H. Solow Professor of the History of Architecture at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
New York University Institute of Fine Arts
The Institute of Fine Arts is one of the 14 divisions of New York University . It offers a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy, the Advanced Certificate in Conservation of Works of Art, and the Certificate in Curatorial Studies...
shortly before his death, but he never taught at the institution. He was also featured in the short documentary Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles; in his book on Los Angeles, Banham said that he learned to drive so he could read the city in the original.
In 2003, Nigel Whiteley published a biography of Banham, Reyner Banham: Historian of the Immediate Future.
External links
- Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles BBC documentary
- Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles bus tour
- Reyner Banham papers, 1930-1990 (bulk 1970-1988). Getty Research Institute. Los Angeles, California. The collection contains draft manuscripts, printed material and research notes for eight of Banham's published books, for unpublished projects, and many articles and reviews related to the history of architecture and design.