Montage and modern architecture: Giedion's implicit manifesto

Abstract

While montage has long been recognized as a fundamental principle of the avant-garde, its specific import in modern architecture has been overlooked. This state of neglect persists amidst the contemporary revival of montage in architectural practice and theory. The essay addresses this lacuna by exploring how the montage principle informed a milestone of modern architectural discourse: Sigfried Giedion's book, Building in France, Building in Iron, Building in Ferroconcrete – first published in 1928. This seminal work is revisited by means of four critical categories (‘assemblage’, ‘elevation’, ‘cinematism’, and ‘exposition’), each of which reveals a distinct aspect of the book. The analysis of multiple layers of meaning indicates that montage had a profound impact on Giedion's operative criticism. Indeed, the essay suggests that Building in France be regarded as an implicit manifesto of architectural montage.