Camps as Architecture

Since 1945, camps as temporary mass accommodation whether refugee, prisoner of war or concentration camps have long been ignored in architectural history or only discussed on the sidelines. In her book, Antje Senarclens de Grancy now examines the camps at the beginning of the 20th century for the first time in the context of modern architecture and urban planning. As if under a burning glass, developments of modernity condense, accelerate and radicalize in the camp type: ideas of rationalization and hygiene, of standardization and prefabrication, of urban planning and the treatment of individuals in the event of war and catastrophe. The focus is on refugee camps during the First World War as instant cities for internment and control set up by the state and planned by architects. The book offers a new perspective on modern housing and urban planning. Furthermore, it presents architecture as a fundamental constant of global camp history. The volume is illustrated with previously unpublished images from Central European sources on building in times of war.