Architecture and Modernity : A Critique

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spaces. With simple means a differentiation is accomplished between the different

parts of the public areas. The urban spaces, such as streets, paths, public lawns, are

given quality by the interplay of rhythm and proportion; the sizes of these spaces (the

distance between the rows, the length of rows and blocks, the width of the paths,

streets, and strips of grass) are neither random nor minimal. Rather, their effect is

one of well-proportioned spaces with a high level of functionality. The transition be-

tween private, semiprivate, and public areas is skillfully achieved with the tiny front

gardens, low hedges, and light metal constructions that serve as stakes for fasten-

ing washing lines. This attention to detail ensures that the criterion of cost-

effectiveness does not mean that all nonessential features are given short shrift.

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Blocks in Westhausen designed

by Ferdinand Kramer. View of the

north facade.