Power and Architecture: The Construction of Capitals and the Politics of Space

321 Pages·2014·32.015 MB·English

by  Michael Minkenberg

Power and Architecture
Space and Place
Bodily, geographic, and architectural sites are embedded with cultural
knowledge and social value. Th is series provides ethnographically rich
analyses of the cultural organization and meanings of these sites of space,
architecture, landscape, and places of the body. Contributions to this
series will examine the symbolic meanings of space and place, the cultural
and historical processes involved in their construction and contestation,
and how they are in dialogue with wider political, religious, social, and
economic institutions.
Volume 1 Volume 8
Berlin, Alexanderplatz: Transforming Performing Place, Practising Memories:
Place in a Unifi ed Germany Aboriginal Australians, Hippies and the
Gisa Weszkalnys State
Rosita Henry
Volume 2
Cultural Diversity in Russian Cities: Th e Volume 9
Urban Landscape in the post-Soviet Era Post-Cosmopolitan Cities: Explorations
Edited by Cordula Gdaniec of Urban Coexistence
Edited by Caroline Humphrey and
Volume 3 Vera Skvirskaja
Settling for Less: Th e Planned
Resettlement of Israel’s Negev Bedouin Volume 10
Steven C. Dinero Places of Pain: Forced Displacement,
Popular Memory and Trans-local
Volume 4 Identities in Bosnian War-torn
Contested Mediterranean Spaces: Communities
Ethnographic Essays in Honour of Hariz Halilovich
Charles Tilly
Edited by Maria Kousis, Tom Selwyn, Volume 11
and David Clark Narrating Victimhood: Gender, Religion
and the Making of Place in Post-War
Volume 5 Croatia
Ernst L. Freud, Architect, and the Case of Michaela Schäuble
the Modern Bourgeois Home
Volker M. Welter Volume 12
Power and Architecture: Th e
Volume 6 Construction of Capitals and the
Extreme Heritage Management: Politics of Space
Th e Practices and Policies of Densely Edited by Michael Minkenberg
Populated Islands
Edited by Godfrey Baldacchino Volume 13
Boom and Bust: Urban Landscapes in
Volume 7 the East since German Reunifi cation
Images of Power and the Power of Images: Edited by Gwyneth Cliver and Carrie
Control, Ownership, and Public Space Smith-Prei
Edited by Judith Kapferer
Power and
Architecture
Th e Construction of Capitals
and the Politics of Space
[ ]
• •
Edited by
Michael Minkenberg
berghahn
N E W Y O R K (cid:129) O X F O R D
www.berghahnbooks.com
First published in 2014 by
Berghahn Books
www.berghahnbooks.com
©2014 Michael Minkenberg
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages
for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book
may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented,
without written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Power and architecture : the construction of capitals and the politics of space /
edited by Michael Minkenberg. — First edition.
pages cm. — (Space and place ; volume 12)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-78238-009-2 (hardback) —
ISBN 978-1-78238-010-8 (ebook)
1. Democracy. 2. Liberalism. 3. Democracy and architecture. 4.
Capitals (Cities)—Case studies. 5. Architecture and state. 6. Symbolism in
architecture. 7. Public spaces—Political aspects. 8. Political geography.
9. Human geography. 10. City planning—History. I. Minkenberg, Michael,
1959– editor of compilation.
JC423.P63 2014
320.01'1—dc23
2013041915
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Printed on acid-free paper.
ISBN: 978-1-78238-009-2 hardback
ISBN: 978-1-78238-010-8 ebook
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
List of Figures viii
List of Maps xiii
Introduction. Power and Architecture: Th e Construction of
Capitals, the Politics of Space, and the Space of Politics 1
Michael Minkenberg
Chapter 1. Capital Architecture and National Identity 31
Lawrence J. Vale
Chapter 2. A City of the People, by the People, for the People?
Democracy and Capital-Building in Washington, DC, Ottawa,
Canberra, and Brasília 53
Michael Minkenberg
Chapter 3. Capital-Building in Post-War Germany 106
Klaus von Beyme
Chapter 4. Berlin: Th ree Centuries as Capital 128
Christoph Asendorf
Chapter 5. Image, Itinerary, and Identity in the “Th ird” Rome 152
Terry Kirk
Chapter 6. “A Capital without a Nation”: Red Vienna,
Architecture, and Spatial Politics between the World Wars 178
Eve Blau
Chapter 7. Th e Ruins of Socialism: Reconstruction and
Destruction in Warsaw 208
David Crowley
Chapter 8. State Building as an Urban Experience: Th e Making
of Ankara 227
Alev Çınar
Chapter 9. Building Capital Mindscapes for the European Union 261
Carola Hein
Notes on Contributors 287
Index 290
Acknowledgments
T
his book is a true collective and transatlantic eff ort. Th e idea was
conceived during my time as Max Weber Chair of German and Euro-
pean Studies at New York University from 2007 to 2010 in numerous
discussions with colleagues and students about the ongoing and con-
troversial reconstruction of the old and new German capital, Berlin; the
transatlantic diff erences in urban planning and design; and the role of
national capitals in a post-national setting. A visit to Washington, DC
during Barack Obama’s fi rst inauguration as president of the United
States accelerated and intensifi ed my interest in capital cities as stages
for symbolic political theater and substantial decision making. From
there, it was only a small step to solicit experts who shared my interest in
these questions to join me for a book project which would bridge studies
in urban planning, architectural history and comparative politics.
I want to thank the authors for their uncomplicated cooperation,
their readiness to join me in this project, and their patience with my
many interventions in their writing process. I owe special thanks to my
graduate student assistants at NYU, Alisa Shadrin, Suzanne Bayard, and
Stephanie Newell, for their invaluable fact and fi gures fi nding and edi-
torial work. At European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), my
assistant Greta Schabram provided outstanding help in continuing the
editing process as well as the coordination and communication with the
authors all the way to the end. I also thank Roy Scivyer at Viadrina for
his assistance in solving problems of translation. Furthermore, I want to
thank the sponsors of the Max Weber Chair at NYU and in particular
the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD New York) for their
fi nancial contributions which made possible the preparation of the book
manuscript. A fi nal thank you goes to Ann Przyzycki DeVita, former
senior editor at Berghahn Books, for her encouragement to and support
for putting this volume together, and to the publisher’s editorial associ-
ate Adam Capitanio and associate production editor Elizabeth Berg who
expertly steered me through the production process.
My thanks are accompanied by a sad note. Not long after deliver-
ing his manuscript, Terry Kirk passed away in October 2009. Th e con-
tributors to this book will miss him as an inspiring colleague and a dear
friend.
Figures
0.1. Regime type, political process, and public architecture 11
0.2. Paris: View of the royal axis and the Seine River 13
0.3. Th e Mall in London: Modest monumentalism 17
0.4. London’s capital icons, old and new: Th e London Eye and
the Houses of Parliament 20
1.1. Sri Lanka’s Island Parliament, on a highly charged
nationalist site 39
1.2. Aboriginal forecourt to the Australian Parliament building,
Canberra 39
1.3. Parliament building, Papua New Guinea, inspired by a
Sepik province Haus Tambaran 40
1.4. Model of proposed north-south axis for Hitler’s Berlin 43
1.5. Military parade in 1966, Red Square, Moscow 44
1.6. Mao’s portrait above the gate to the Forbidden City, Beijing 45
1.7. Th e National Assembly building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is
set implacably apart from its city 46
1.8. Th e vast plaza of Chandigarh, separating monumental
buildings, and separating the Capitol Complex from the city 47
1.9. Confederation Boulevard, Ottawa, urban design to promote
Canadian unity 49
2.1. Washington, DC: Th e United States Capitol Building 78
2.2. Th e Supreme Court in Washington, DC 80
2.3. Bird’s-eye view of Ottawa and Hull (1876) 82
2.4. Ottawa: Parliament Building, Centre Block 83
2.5. Ottawa: Supreme Court 84
Figures ix
2.6. Canberra: View of land axis from the top of the Parliament
Building, with the Old Parliament Building (center), the
High Court (right), the War Memorial and Mt. Ainslie
(background) 88
2.7. Canberra: Parliament Building 89
2.8. Canberra: Parliament Building, aerial view 90
2.9. Brasília: Monumental axis and Parliament Building 95
2.10. Brasília: Supreme Federal Court and fi gure of Justitia 96
2.11. Brasília: Th e Presidential Palace: Th e ramp to power 96
2.12. Brasília: Th e two Houses of Parliament 97
3.1. Bundeskanzleramt (Federal Chancellor’s Offi ce) in Bonn 111
3.2. Schlange (Th e Serpent) 118
3.3. Bundeskanzleramt Berlin (Federal Chancellor’s Offi ce in
Berlin) 119
3.4. CDU Zentrale Berlin (Christian Democratic Union
Headquarters in Berlin) 120
3.5. SPD Zentrale Berlin (Social Democratic Party Headquarters
in Berlin) 121
4.1. Berlin, Armory (main entrance), 1695–1729 133
4.2. Berlin, Armory (backside), with the new Exhibition Hall by
Ioeh Ming Pei, 1998–2003 134
4.3. Berlin, Forum Friedericianum, Library, 1775–1780 136
4.4. Berlin, Forum Friedericianum, St. Hedwig’s Cathedral,
1747–1773 137
4.5. Berlin, Altes Museum, 1823–1830 140
4.6. Berlin, “Large-Load-Bearing Body,” begun 1941 145
4.7. Berlin, House of Representatives, 1997–2001 148
5.1. Rome, Victor Emanuel Monument, Giuseppe Sacconi,
1883–1923 155
5.2. Fascist rally in Piazza Venezia/Foro Italico (Istituto Luce),
1940 158