ZODIAC 1
International Magazine of Contemporary Architecture
Bruno Alfieri [Publishing Director], Roberto Sambonet [Art Director]
Bruno Alfieri [Publishing Director], Roberto Sambonet [Art Director]: ZODIAC 1 | International Magazine of Contemporary Architecture. Milan: Edizioni di Comunità, 1957. Original Edition [International magazine of contemporary architecture issued twice yearly under the auspices of the Ing. C. Olivetti & Co.] Text in English and Italian with some German and a section of French translations. Quarto. Photo illustrated glossy wrappers. ‘Compliments of Ing. C. Olivetti & Co.’ wrapper. Publishers plain cardboard slipcase. 274 [xx] pp. Illustrated articles plus vintage advertising and a section containing the issue's French translation. Wrappers slightly age-toned and textblock edges uniformly sunned. Few leaves slightly tacky due to a combination of glossy paper and heavy ink coverage. Interior unmarked and very clean. Out-of-print and uncommon. A very good copy housed in a good example of the Publishers slipcase.
8.5 x 10.5 softcover book with 274 pages of modern architecture, beautifully designed and printed in Italy. Illustrated with numerous black & white photographs and drawings with some color. This first issue of ZODIAC offered an amazingly prescient overview of Modern Architecture in Europe and America, circa 1957.
Contents
- A new architectural magazine by Adriano Olivetti
- Apollo in the Democracy by Walter Gropius
- Revolution, Evolution, Konvention by Ulrich Conrads
- Architettura e ideologicaby Giulio Carlo Argan
- History and the Architectby S. Giedion
- Connection between painting, Sculpture and Architecture by Victor Pasmore
- Struttura colore e luceby Ettore Sottsass, Jr.
- Recenti tendenze dell'architettura civile in Italia by F. Bettonica and G. F. Frattini
- The vanishing American house by Peter Blake
- Tradizione e attualita nel disegno by Ernesto N. Rogers
- Una struttura di P. L. Nervi a Parigiby Giulia Veronesi
- Buildings for Business and Government in Americaby Arthur Drexler
- Centre commercial pour piétons a Rotterdamby W. Sandberg
- Les grands magasins de Rotterdamby W. Sandberg
- The planned shopping center in Americaby Victor Gruen
- Garage at Loughborough
- The Cooper Taber Factoryby E. Maxwell Fry
- Factory at Hemel Hampsteadby E. Maxwell Fry
- Sucrerie a El Palmar
- Lettre de Bruxelles: salut au Constructivismeby Victor Bourgeois
- Lettre de Paris: une propositionby Lucien Hervé
- Courrier de Milan:
- 1. L'exposition international d'architecturea la Triennale by Giuseppe Mazzariol
- 2. Deux grate-ciels a Milan by Pier Carlo Santini
- Lettre de Mexiqueby Max Cetto
- Livre et revues
- English and French translations
- Plus vintage advertisements including Poltronova, Olivetti
Born and educated in Germany, Walter Gropius (1883-1969) belongs to the select group of architects that massively influenced the international development of modern architecture. As the founding director of the Bauhaus, Gropius made inestimable contributions to his field, to the point that knowing his work is crucial to understanding Modernism. His early buildings, such Fagus Boot-Last Factory and the Bauhaus Building in Dessau, with their use of glass and industrial features, are still indispensable points of reference. After his emigration to the United States, he influenced the education of architects there and became, along with Mies van der Rohe, a leading proponent of the International Style.
In Apollo in the Democracy Gropius underscores why our disoriented, specialized society has lost many of its artistic goals, and what the architect can do to restore them.