Towards the Modern Block: Evolution of anUrban Type in Kay Fisker’s Prewar Architecture

espanolSegun el pensamiento actual, la imagen tradicional de la ciudad europea esta generalmente asociada a el bloque urbano. A la manzana le corresponde una arquitectura que aparece firmemente anclada a la trama de la ciudad sin ninguna posibilidad de evolucion, sobre todo si se compara con las experimentaciones realizadas entre las dos guerras mundiales, dominadas por teorias visionarias de las ciudades jardin y de las casas altas aisladas. Kay Fisker (1893- 1965), que entre los anos Veinte y Treinta construyo numerosas manzanas en Copenaghen, a traves de una personal busqueda paciente, puso este elemento como protagonista, representando una de las felices excepciones con respecto a este topico. EnglishAccording to current thinking, the traditional image of european cities is usually associated to that of the housing block. This name refers to an architectural element that seems to be closely connected to the cities’ patterns and doesn’t therefore seem to be inclined to evolving – especially if one compares it to the experimentations that took place in the period of time between the two World Wars, dominated by visionary theories such as that of the garden cities and of isolated high-rise apartments. Kay Fisker (1893-1965) designed several blocks in Copenhagen between the Twenties and the Thierties. He used the block as the main element of his personal patient research, this way becoming one of the few exceptions to this cliche.