YONA FRIEDMAN Pro Domo

Description

In 1958 Yona Friedman published his first manifesto on “mobile architecture” and founded GEAM (Groupe d’Etude d’Architecture Mobile), which proposed different strategies and actions geared to the adaptation of architectural creation to modern user requirements for social and physical mobility. In this initial manifesto, Friedman claims that architectural knowledge cannot be the exclusive property of professionals and specialists, and suggests writing guides or manuals, which explain topics related to architecture and urban planning in clear and simple terms. Pro Domo is “a collection of fragments of scattered topics,” a set of “milestones” selected by the author himself, a personal selection chosen according to sentimental value, spanning 50 years of production.

Biography: Yona Friedman Born in 1923 in Budapest (Hungary).Lives and works in Paris (France). Yona Friedman rose to prominence with his manifesto L’Architecture Mobile and his idea for La Ville Spatiale. He aimed to provide maximum flexibility through huge ‘superstructures’ over existing cities and other locations. Future inhabitants were free to construct their dwellings within these structures.
Friedman’s ideas led him to go beyond architecture. His sphere of engagement broadened to include sociology, economics, mathematics, information science, planning, visual art and film-making. Although Friedman’s oeuvre would seem to encompass a wide field, all his life he has adhered to principles based on the requirement of individual freedom.
In embracing the unpredictability of human behaviour, he has always sought to provide people with the knowledge and structures to determine their own living environment. Among the means devised by Friedman were manuals that illustrate basic skills in the fields of architecture, urban planning and administration for the non-specialist.

320 pages / 15,5 x 21,5 cm