the second industrial revolution (ca. 1870-1914) changed our world like no previous epoch in history. crucial inventions (e.g. electric light, combustion engines, the telephone…) changed life completely and led to rapid economic growth. for the first time, the capitalist order reached almost all regions of the world. closely related to this is the aggressive imperialism of the great european powers, which reinforced an unequal world order that dominates humanity to this day. the second industrial revolution laid the foundations for the quality of life and high development of our world, but also for climate change and the destruction of our planet.

one of the most noticeable effects of this epoch today is a tremendous building boom and rapid growth of settlements. cities in europe, north america and other regions of the world received their appearance very substantially in these five decades. the design of this time often referred to past epochs, but at the same time went completely new ways and formed the basis of modernism. a worldwide overview of the architecture of this period that was often very much influenced by national schools and discourses, reveals an astonishing variety of design ideas. this poster series wants to show the incredible diversity but also the common design ideas of this fascinating heritage. 

this poster is available in black and white.