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THE BLOCK OF FLATS

In the XVIIth century the house changes according to the different social and economic situation of the people in Rome or in Paris as well as in Venice. The tenement is an immediate social problem: no hygiene, total exploitation of the space, very low building cost, no comfort, etc. Anyway, in the XIXth century, the studies of engineers, like Krupps in Essen, were able to overcome this problem. In the province of Vicenza houses for workers were built in Schio and Valdagno. Between the two world wars, the collective house is the subject of urban studies, which foster quite appreciated residential blocks.

While in Italy and Germany there is a certain eclecticism in building houses, in the USA and in France, Frank Wright and Le Corbusier, give birth to a new connection between men and environment. The new ideas they suggest are brought to the masses through reviews and columns in architecture and design journals, besides ordinary papers and magazines, too. This air of novelty contributes quite a lot to develop a deeper love for the house, to improve a common taste in style, to make any citizen aware of his own needs and also to fix the architects' tasks.

Our researches point out the idea that a house must be endowed with four functions: a sitting room, a bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom. Nowadays quite a number of laws safeguard the citizens who build their own house and guarantee the values between property and quality of life.

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