Erich Mendelsohn's buildings, erected throughout Germany between 1920 and 1932, epitomized architectural modernity for his countrymen. In this study, Kathleen James examines his department stores, office buildings and cinemas, the downtown counterparts to the famous housing projects built during the same years in Frankfurt and Berlin. Demonstrating the degree to which their dynamic presence stemmed from Mendelsohn's attention to their consumer-oriented functions, James shows Mendelsohn to be more than an Expressionist, as he is usually characterized.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
1. A concrete monument to relativity; 2. Rhythms of motors and speed of life: the appeal of foreign modernisms; 3. The docking of the Mauretania and other experiments in 'style Mendelsohn'; 4. An architecture of the metropolis; 5. Advertising, transparency and light: no Rococo Palace for Buster Keaton; 6. Banana wholesalers and combines that run department stores; 7. A splendid demonstration of the modern spirit; Conclusion.
