20S x CCMHT | Revisiting 'Directions of 20th Century Architecture'

On August 18th, 1949, Forum 49 hosted a panel discussion called ‘Directions in 20th Century Architecture’ featuring architect Marcel Breuer, the artist and filmmaker György Kepes, and architect and journalist, Peter Blake, who was then curator for Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art. All three speakers were engaged in the then-raging debate about whether modern houses should use the materials and methods of vernacular, regional architecture, or employ universal, standardized, machine-made components. Breuer had just finished building his own experimental house in Wellfleet and one for the Kepes family not far away. Both houses were modest-sized, environmentally sensitive, outposts for art-making and creative congregation. By coincidence this 75th anniversary of Forum 49 is also the year the Cape Cod Modern House Trust is seeking to purchase, restore and re-open Breuer’s house as a platform for scholarship and new creative work. By looking back at the Forum 49 discussions, this talk will explore the relevance of Breuer’s work today, as well as the process of preserving his summer house and the archiving of its contents.