Die ernste Postmoderne - Architektur und Städtebau im letzten Jahrzehnt der DDR

Kirsten Angermann examines a previously insufficiently considered period of GDR architecture with the 1980s. The architecture of the 1980s, on an architectural and urban scale, is understood in this work as a last, independent phase of development in the construction of the GDR. It is dedicated to the central thesis that it can be classified into architectural postmodernism. The genesis of a postmodern architecture in the GDR is examined and its characteristic features worked out. The focus is on both buildings and planning as well as the specialist discussions led around postmodernism and architectural development. These are contextualised against the socio-political background of construction in a socialist state. In "Serious Postmodernism", an overview of the various expressions and manifestations of postmodern theory and postmodern design in architecture and urban planning of the GDR is provided for the first time. The work is not limited to Berlin as the capital of the GDR, but widens the view of projects in district and district cities. For the comprehension of the discussions and positions within the specialist discourse around postmodernism in the GDR, the work refers to previously unseen or drawn sources and can demonstrate elements of this discourse via the debates partially literally logged therein, which substantially complements the discourse that can be learned from published sources.