Architecture today.ATLAS OF NOVEL TECTONICS tectonics Scientific study of the deformation of the rocks that make up the Earth's crust and the forces that produce such deformation. It deals with the folding and faulting associated with mountain building; the large-scale, gradual, upward and downward movements of the By Reiser+Umemoto. London: Princeton Architectural Press. 2006. [pounds sterling]15.99 When I first held this book in my hands a visceral memory of holding Bernard Tschumi's Questions of Space flashed into my mind. Indeed Novel Tectonics seems to have just as an ambitious point of departure as Tschumi's little book. It wishes to posit questions about the role of architecture and architects on the cusp of the twenty-first century that concern issues of place, difference and systematics systematics: see classification. , notation and geometry. I've always felt that Reiser and Umemoto is a practice that has much still to offer the architectural community and therefore I'm pleased that this book has appeared. In a world where most architectural publishing is unimaginative and kowtows to the convoluted architecturalstar-system and the main protagonists sophist soph·ist n. 1. a. One skilled in elaborate and devious argumentation. b. A scholar or thinker. 2. Sophist Any of a group of professional fifth-century b.c. ideas, Princeton are to be applauded for the breadth of their vision in publishing this book. Often you feel that a little more aggressive polemic po·lem·ic n. 1. A controversial argument, especially one refuting or attacking a specific opinion or doctrine. 2. A person engaged in or inclined to controversy, argument, or refutation. adj. would spice up the book. You still sense a little nervousness when debunking de·bunk tr.v. de·bunked, de·bunk·ing, de·bunks To expose or ridicule the falseness, sham, or exaggerated claims of: debunk a supposed miracle drug. many of the standard, often nonsense, ideas of the great and the good of the architectural establishment. An opportunity has been missed to remind the major players of their folly and rub their noses in it. However, I suspect this is not the way to win friends and influence people particularly in the conservative American architectural scene. Reiser and Umemoto are deep and original thinkers and I look forward to a renaissance in their work that fully reflects the wealth of clear ideas that populate To plug in chips or components into a printed circuit board. A fully populated board is one that contains all the devices it can hold. this text. When all is said and done the book is a worthy contribution to the architectural debate and demands consideration from all who consider themselves involved in contemporary praxis. In terms of the epistemology epistemology (ĭpĭs'təmŏl`əjē) [Gr.,=knowledge or science], the branch of philosophy that is directed toward theories of the sources, nature, and limits of knowledge. Since the 17th cent. of my bookshelves, I don't think this book is top shelf material, along with Mike Webb's Temple Island, Ben Nicholson's Appliance House or Cedric Price's Works II for example. Certainly the shelf below along with the aforementioned Questions of Space, Frances Yates' Art of Memory, Daniel Libeskind's Space of Encounter and the quirky Daily Mail's Well Dressed Englishwoman is ideal company for this book. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion