The geometry of habitat
Architectural constants in the early housing proposals of Candilis- Josic-Woods
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20868/cn.2025.5581Keywords:
Candilis-Josic-Woods, modern housing, projective mechanisms, structural grid, habitatAbstract
Georges Candilis, Alexis Josic, and Shadrach Woods constitute a key reference for understanding the trajectory of modern architecture after the Second World War. This study focuses on the early phase of their work, beginning in 1952, which has scarcely been published or subjected to critical analysis. It comprises a series of competitions and experimental projects on housing, shaped by the climate of critique and transformation fostered by Team X, of which they were both founders and active participants.
This period, characterized by unbuilt proposals, marked years devoted to testing projective mechanisms aimed at rethinking habitat and addressing large-scale design. Their residential projects are significant as laboratories of ideas that would later be developed more fully. Candilis, Josic, and Woods remained fervently modern architects, yet they succeeded in challenging those dogmas of the Modern Movement that they regarded as having failed.
Downloads
References
Athanasopoulos, Georgios-Spyrudon. 2020. Emerging spanning trees in the work of Candilis-Josic-Woods. Nexus network journal, 23: 121-134.
Avermaete Tom. 2005. Another modern: the post-war architecture and urbanism of Candilis-Josic-Woods. Rotterdam: Nai Publishers.
Candilis, George. 1954. L’espirit du plan de masse de l’habitat. L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, 57: 1-7.
Candilis, George. 1969. Hábitat. Encyclopedia Universalis: 103.
Candilis , George; Josic, Alexis; Woods, Shadrach. 1959a. Proposition pour un hábitat évolutif. Technique et Architecture, 2: 11.
Candilis , George; JosiC, Alexis; Woods, Shadrach. 1959b. Repenser le problème. L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, 87: 10.
Chaljub, Bénédicte. 2010. Candilis-Josic-Woods. Gollion: Infolio.
Ecochard, Michel. 1955. Habitat musulmán au Maroc. L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, 60: 36-38.
Farini de Orleans-Borbón, Elena. 2013. Procesos configurativos: de la trama a la noción de campo en los mat-building. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, tesis doctoral.
Gil Guinea, Luis. 2016. Lugares intermedios: la filosofía del umbral en la arquitectura del Team 10. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, tesis doctoral.
Godofroy, Georges. 1955. Les problèmes démographiques marocains. L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, 60: 34-35.
Godofroy, Georges. 1955. Problèmes d’habitat de type europèen. L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, 60: 46-47.
Goldhagen, Sarah Williams; Legault, Réjean. 2000. Anxious modernisms: experimentation in postwar architectural culture. Montreal: Canadian centre for architecture.
Joedicke, Jürgen. 1968. Candilis–Josic–Woods: una década de arquitectura y urbanismo. Barcelona: Gustavo Gilli.
Juárez Chicote, Antonio; Rodríguez Ramírez, Fernando. 2014. El espacio intermedio y los orígenes del Team X. Revista proyecto, progreso, arquitectura, 11: 52-63.
Martín Domínguez, Guiomar. 2016. Piezas y tramas: intersecciones críticas entre la geometría modular y la revisión de la modernidad, 1950-75. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, tesis doctoral.
Palacios Labrador, Luis; Alonso Romero, Beatriz. 2021. When a patio becomes a city: (In)volution of Carrières Centrales, Casablanca (1953-2018). Architectural research in Finland, 1: 62-82.
Pío Fontana, María; Mayorga Cárdenas, Miguel; Alzate , Edisson. 2014. Candilis-Josic-Woods y Le Corbusier: las ventanas no son un hueco en la pared. Dearq, 15: 84-101.
Rodríguez Ramírez, Fernando. 2016. Shadrach Woods y el nacimiento de una arquitectura infraestructural. Revista europea de investigación en arquitectura, 5: 171-187.
Sanz Alarcón, Juan Pedro; Centellas Soler, Miguel; García Martínez , Pedro. 2013. La construcción teórica y práctica de un nuevo hábitat moderno: unos patios y una calle (1946-1954). Revista proyecto, progreso, arquitectura, 9: 84-95.
Smithson, Alison. 1969. Team 10 Primer. London: Studio Vista.
Woods, Shadrach. 1960. Stem. Architectural Design, 5.
Woods, Shadrach. 1962. Web. Le carré bleu, 3.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
