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- Title
‘Who Should Be the Author of a Dwelling?’ Architects versus Housewives in 1950s France.
- Authors
Rudolph, Nicole
- Abstract
This article draws upon archival sources, architectural trade publications and contemporary social science to trace the design and reception of the ‘cell’, a functionalist, rational apartment that was the building block of apartment complexes that sprung up all over France during the 1950s and 1960s. I argue that French Modernist architects, shaped by both professional and socio-political concerns, believed their streamlined interiors to be key to building a classless society and restoring French greatness and thus rejected the dwelling preference and expertise of French homemakers when designing their homes. Nevertheless, Frenchwomen tried to ignore architectural dictates when it came to homemaking, and ultimately, in a changed political climate, their preferences convinced the national housing ministry to redefine its norms and standards for apartments.
- Subjects
FRANCE; HOUSEWIVES; 20TH century French history; ARCHITECTURAL design -- Social aspects; HOME economics; INTERIOR architecture; APARTMENT buildings; HISTORY; SOCIAL history
- Publication
Gender & History, 2009, Vol 21, Issue 3, p541
- ISSN
0953-5233
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1468-0424.2009.01565.x