- Catherine Bauer Wurster
Catherine Krause Bauer Wurster (
May 11 ,1905 in Elizabeth,New Jersey – 1964) was a leading member of a small group of idealists who called themselves "housers " because of their commitment to improving housing for low-income families. In her lifetime, she dramatically changed the concept of social housing in theUnited States and inspired a generation of urbanactivist s to integrate public housing into the emergingwelfare state of the mid-20th century.After spending one year as an architecture student at
Cornell University , she transferred toVassar College from which she graduated in 1926.In the late 1920s, Bauer spent time in
Paris , where she befriendedFernand Léger ,Man Ray , andSylvia Beach . Back inNew York , she fell under the spell of American urban criticLewis Mumford , who, as a mentor and lover, profoundly influenced her life. It was at his urging that she became involved with the architects of change in post-World War I Europe , among themErnst May ,André Lurçat , andWalter Gropius . Convinced that good social housing could produce good social architecture, and moved by the visible ravages ofthe Depression , she became a passionate leader in the fight for housing for the poor.She co-authored the
Housing Act of 1937 and advised five presidents onurban strategies . Her book, "Modern Housing", published in 1934, is regarded as a classic. In 1936 she was awarded aGuggenheim Fellowship .After her marriage to
San Francisco area architectWilliam Wurster , both withstood accusations of disloyalty during the Red Scare of the 1950s. Bauer Wurster was also involved in founding the progressive architectural research groupTelesis .She died in a fall during a solo mountain hike in 1964. A bust of Catherine Bauer Wurster is located in the Environmental Design Library in Wurster Hall at UC Berkeley. The same sculpture can be found in the lobby of the HUD office in Washington D.C.
References
* "Houser", by
Peter Oberlander andEva Newbrun . (2000)External links
* [http://www.nhi.org/online/issues/books/112a.html Book review of "Houser"] by the
National Housing Institute
* [http://www.igs.berkeley.edu/publications/par/Nov1999/OberlanderNewbrun.html Book review of "Houser"] by the Institute of Governmental Studies atUniversity of California, Berkeley .
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