Architectural photographs as agents of travel and information. Virgil Bierbauer travels to circulate visual information in the Architectural Press in Interwar Hungary

Resumo

Architectural  photographs were circulated extensively  in  professional networks and the  printed  press during  the  interwar  period to  disseminate  the  latest news about modern architecture. In addition to contributing to the accumulation of pictorial information about buildings, these images were substitutes for travel while also stimulating the desire to explore.

Ter es Forma (Space and Form), a leading architectural periodical, publicised international  modern architecture in interwar Hungary, and was under the editorship of the architect Virgil Bierbauer between 1928  and 1942.  Bierbauer established a continuously growing international  network of connections that facilitated the distribution  of his own works in the international  architectural press as well as the acquisition of information  about the activities of his contemporaries.

Although he never managed to go overseas, Bierbauer was an avid traveller and his network covered not only Europe but also the United States and Japan. He took study trips in order to visit particular buildings, urban ensembles and exhibitions as well as to  participate  in  congresses. He  also  took   the opportunity   to  study   the  built environment  during his holidays. Although he was an amateur  photographer himself, he preferred to publish images by professional photographers in his journal.

I argue that  by facilitating the flow of information, architectural photographs served as substitutes for travel. Thus, I place the notion of travel as an analogy for both the transfer and the reception of modern architecture via photographic images in the magazine Teres  Forma. In addition, I trace Bierbauer's attitude towards actual travel and the notion  of travel with  different case studies and how his approach permeated the  printed  page. I also analyse  Bierbauer's own travels  and  how  his experiences affected his editorial activities in terms of layout and content.