Joze Plecnik Architect: 1872-1957

The Yugoslavian architect Jozé Plecnik followed what he believed to be a coherent language of architecture in trying to "build a better world through architecture." He cannot be classified in terms of any of the movements - modernism, classicism, secessionism, eclecticism, regionalism, and the like that characterize the turbulent aesthetic tendencies of this century. Instead, as these essays by leading European scholars and the 300 accompanying illustrations of his work show, Plecnik's long career offers an invaluable example of the richness and diversity of early modern architecture. François Burkhardt is Advisor to the President of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.