Description
Records of the CIAM Belgian section comprise the records of Paul Fitschy, Liège-based secretary of the Belgian Section of
the International Congress for Modern Architecture (Congrès internationaux d'architecture moderne), as well as some CIAM-related
documents obtained in separate acquisitions. Included are correspondence and documents generated by the Belgian section itself,
the central CIAM secretariat in Switzerland, and associated CIAM national sections. The records reflect CIAM's development
as an international organism, devoted to discussion and promotion of modern architecture and city planning. The CIAM congresses,
particularly those from 1937 to 1956, are well documented, as are the day-to-day operations of the Belgian section.
Background
The International Congress for Modern Architecture (Congrès internationaux d'architecture moderne, or CIAM) was an influential
association of modern architects and city planners united in a search for solutions to the problems of urban areas. Founded
in 1928 at the Château de La Sarraz, Switzerland by Le Corbusier, Sigfried Giedion and architectural patroness Hélène de Mandrot,
CIAM served for several decades as the organizational center of the modern movement in architecture. Between 1928 and 1957,
CIAM organized a series of ten formal congresses and additional CIAM council or CIRPAC meetings under the directorship of
its CIRPAC committee (Comité international pour la réalisation des problèmes d'architecture contemporaine), together with
an eleventh congress in 1959 under reformulated directorship. These meetings provided a professional forum for debating and
disseminating theoretical, aesthetic and technical developments and achievements in the field of modern architecture and city
planning.
Extent
6.0 linear feet
(12 boxes, 1 flatfile)
Restrictions
Contact
Library Rights and Reproductions.
Availability
Open for use by qualified researchers.