Records of the CIAM Belgian section comprise the records of Paul Fitschy, Liège-based secretary of the Belgian Section of the International Congress for Modern Architecture (Congrès internationaux d’architecture moderne), as well as some CIAM-related documents obtained in separate acquisitions. Included are correspondence and documents generated by the Belgian section itself, the central CIAM secretariat in Switzerland, and associated CIAM national sections. The records reflect CIAM’s development as an international organism, devoted to discussion and promotion of modern architecture and city planning. The CIAM congresses, particularly those from 1937 to 1956, are well documented, as are the day-to-day operations of the Belgian section.

The International Congress for Modern Architecture (Congrès internationaux d’architecture moderne, or CIAM) was an influential association of modern architects and city planners united in a search for solutions to the problems of urban areas. Founded in 1928 at the Château de La Sarraz, Switzerland by Le Corbusier, Sigfried Giedion and architectural patroness Hélène de Mandrot, CIAM served for several decades as the organizational center of the modern movement in architecture. Between 1928 and 1957, CIAM organized a series of ten formal congresses and additional CIAM council or CIRPAC meetings under the directorship of its CIRPAC committee (Comité international pour la réalisation des problèmes d'architecture contemporaine), together with an eleventh congress in 1959 under reformulated directorship. These meetings provided a professional forum for debating and disseminating theoretical, aesthetic and technical developments and achievements in the field of modern architecture and city planning.

ca. 6 linear ft. (12 boxes, 1 flatfile)

Publication Rights Contact Library Rights and Reproductions

Access Open for use by qualified researchers.