home | natasa govedarica | advisor: ricardo castro
 
 
political landscape      
 
         
 
architecture of power
     
 
:: thesis
 

 

Political power can be expressed in many forms. Many political regimes, however, make especially powerful use of the physical environment. Here, work of architectural art, serves as a visual metaphor, where its size, permanence, strength, protectiveness, and organizational structure of the institution it stands for play an important symbolic role.

Berlin ’s master plan, for example, is one of the examples. Here, Hitler’s grandiose plans for a new monumental Berlin proposed a reshaping of the capital’s center to the dramatic extent. Architect, Albert Speer, envisioned massive cross-axial ensemble of colossal buildings with idea to out scale every effort at architecture and urban design that the world had ever known. Hitler consciously sought to express the values and aspiration of Nazi regime through monumental, neoclassical and blocky architecture, executed in the heavy stone. New Reich Chancellery was one of the buildings that were intended to symbolize glory of the Germany . Its interior is luxuriously decorated, and the design utilizes incredible linear distance and spatial progression (refer to the plan). Here, the route to Hitler’s office represents a long journey of 725 ft. This architectural preparation was exactly what Furer wanted, as “one should have the feeling that one is visiting the master of the world”.

 

 
 

:: course of investigation

     
     

 

Use of architecture as an image served as a strong propaganda tool during fascist regime. This is an example of propaganda material from November 1932, with words: Hitler Builds!

from: www.calvin.edu

 

 

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design research metodology | school of architecture | mcgill university