Abstract

Historically, architecture takes its scale from the size and shape of the human body, the irreducible unit of measurement for human dwelling. The humanity of architecture, along with the architecture of humanity, is in danger of being lost. All buildings speak: some more directly than others. The building, a former Public Health Department, was opened on 27 September 1937, was famous for its commitment to providing free parks, gardens, clinics, nursery schools, and other public amenities to a largely working‐class population. Another pioneering design in the field of progressive education was the ‘School on the Sound’ by architect Kaj Gottlob in Copenhagen. The Dutch were pioneers of high‐quality public housing, recruiting the best and most visionary architects. There is another building type in the modern period indelibly associated with humanism and the civic ideal, though somewhat of a different order, and that is the crematorium.