Karl Langer: Modern Architect and Migrant in the Australian Tropics(Bloomsbury Studies in Modern Architecture)

Despite a European training and an early career working with Peter Behrens, a migration from Vienna to the Australian state of Queensland positioned the architect Karl Langer (1903-1969) at the very edge of both European and Australian modernism. Confronted by tropical heat and glare, the economics of affordable housing, fiercely proud and regional architectural practices, and a suspicion of the foreign, Langer moulded the European language of international modernism to the unique climatic and social conditions of tropical Australia. This book will tell Langer's story through a series of edited essays focused on key themes and projects. Published as part of the Bloomsbury Studies in Modern Architecture series, which brings to light the work of significant yet overlooked modernist architects, it is both an examination of an architect's work and international legacy, and also a case study in the trans-global dissemination of design ideas. Studying the architect's built and proposed work, both regional and metropolitan, the scale and reach of Langer's practice will be considered for the first time, showing how, given his continued influence on the contemporary culture of tropical design, Langer has been unjustly ignored by the historiography of both Australian and Modernist architecture to date.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations List of Contributors Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: Modern and Migrant Architect, Deborah van der Plaat and John Macarthur (University of Queensland Australia) 2. Karl Langer and Vienna, Philip Goad (University of Melbourne, Australia), Andrew McNamara (Queensland University of Technology, Australia) and Andrew Wilson (University of Queensland, Australia) 3. Australia is our fate, Fiona Gardiner and Don Watson (University of Queensland, Australia) 4. Bend like bamboo: Always bounce back, Don Watson and Fiona Gardiner (University of Queensland, Australia) 5. The spell of the sunny south, the urge for 'light, sun and air.' Karl Langer's Australian writings, Deborah van der Plaat (University of Queensland, Australia) 6. Bridging Continents: Karl Langer's contributions to housing, Andrew Wilson (University of Queensland, Australia) 7. Man about Town, Robert Riddel (University of Queensland, Australia) 8. A Touch of Vienna, a Pinch of America, and a Whiff of Exoticism. Karl Langer's Architecture for Leisure and Lifestyle in Australia, Janina Gosseye (TUDelft, The Netherlands) 9. A League of His Own: Karl Langer's Landscape Australia, Andrew Saniga (University of Melbourne, Australia) Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Deborah van der Plaat is Senior Lecturer at the School of Architecture at The University of Queensland. John Macarthur is Professor of Architecture and Director of Research in the School of Architecture, the University of Queensland, Australia.

Review :
This lavishly-illustrated volume is a fine piece of transnational architectural history writing, documenting the fascinating trajectory of a migrant architect who imported innovative ideas from cosmopolitan Vienna to the provincial Australian tropics and produced work of remarkable local sensitivity. A compelling, innovative and timely story of migration, politics and creative collaboration from occupied Vienna to the tropics of Australia. This impressive constellation of authors each bring a fascinating, and carefully researched dimension to the Karl Langer story, not forgetting the crucial contribution made by Gertrude Langer. [A]n important and much-needed addition to the history of Australian modern architecture. The book is compact, well written, edited … and supported with hitherto unpublished primary material held at the University of Queensland … Karl Langer: Modern Architect and Migrant in the Australian Tropics is an important addition to the discourse on Australian modernism.