Two Books on Classical and Modernist Architecture

Architecture and Beauty Reading Club

Event Overview

Join Common Sense Society–Hungary for a reading club session on classical and modernist architecture where we will read from Luxembourgish architect and theorist Léon Krier and American journalist and critic Tom Wolfe. This will be the first in a series of three events on architecture and beauty taking place this fall. These events will provide a foundational and educational experience for participants about topics like aesthetic judgment, the history of modernist architecture, and the new classical revival, as well as the meaning of harmony and wholeness in buildings. All three events will highlight the importance of beauty in architecture and in the design of humane places, as well as present the antagonisms that modernist architecture creates in contemporary environments.

The reading club will begin at 6:00 p.m. C.E.T. at CSS’ Andrássy Salon and will be moderated by director of CSS–HU Orsolya Domaniczky and Mathias Corvinus Collegium visiting fellow Stephen Sholl. A guided walking tour and a discussion with a distinguished architectural critic will follow.

This event is limited to fifteen people and is open to CSS–HU members only. Seats are limited, registrations are on a first come, first served basis.

Not a member yet? Consider becoming a member of CSS–HU!

Readings

• Léon Krier: Architecture: Choice or Fate. Chapters 3, 4, and 6
• Tom Wolfe: From Bauhaus to Our House. Chapter 1: The Silver Prince.

Readings will be shared with participants upon registration.

Moderators

Mrs. Orsolya Domaniczky is the director of Common Sense Society–Hungary. She is a political scientist with expertise in the fields of biodiversity and sustainability and is co-owner of a boutique consulting firm. She previously worked as a policy officer for CEEweb for Biodiversity, a network of non-government organizations that promote biodiversity in Central and Eastern Europe. As a Pannonius Fellow with Common Sense Society, Domaniczky studied under Sir Roger Scruton and published on ecology, environmental stewardship, and political philosophy. She received an M.S. in environmental science and policy from Central European University and a B.A. in political science and international relations from Corvinus University of Budapest in addition to studying philosophy at Eötvös Loránd University.

Mr. Stephen Sholl is a visiting fellow with the Mathias Corvinus Collegium and an alumnus of Common Sense Society’s Carolina Fellowship. He holds a B.A. in history from Freed-Hardeman University, an M.A. in international conflict and security studies from the University of Kent, and an M.A. in international and public relations from Virginia Tech. He has researched and written on a variety of topics in history and politics, particularly their relationship to aesthetics.