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No longer does it suffice to judge a building solely by its appearance; it must be measured and certified. When architects talk about 'Excellence', 'Sustainability', 'Well-being', 'Liveability', 'Placemaking', 'Creativity', 'Beauty' and 'Innovation', what do they actually mean? And what does this jargon tell us about the future of our homes, cities and planet?
'With dry wit, humor, and honesty, sets out to debunk the myths of contemporary architecture.' Jaxson Stone, Metropolis
'feels like a stealth mission - an effort to slip something explosive into the carry-on luggage of the TED Talks class.' Will Wiles, Literary Review
'Reflects on the current state of his field, arguing that constraints on creative autonomy, overcommercialization and a poor understanding of good design have transformed 'spaces of spontaneity into preprogrammed, overdetermined areas.' The New York Times Book Review
'No one else is identifying the problems or suggesting potential exits from them as wittily or as intelligently as he is.' Tim Abrahams, Architectural Record
'Acerbic on an industry that continues to wallow in its self-congratulatory vocabulary while ignoring its role in the climate crisis and the brutalities of late capitalism' - Edwin Heathcote, Financial Times
List of contents
Introduction
1. Tears and Love
- starchitecture
2. Officially Amazing
- world-class
3. Everyone a Winner
- excellence
4. Crisis? What Crisis?
- sustainability
5. All WELL
- wellbeing
6. VancouverTM
- liveability
7. Here nor There
- placemaking
8. Rule Bohemia!
- creativity
9. The B Word
- beauty
10. Architecture without Architects
- innovation
Appendix: The Principles of Profspeak
Acknowledgements
Notes
Index
About the author
Reinier de Graaf (1964, Schiedam) is a Dutch architect and writer. He is a partner in the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), where he leads projects in Europe, Russia and the Middle East. Reinier is the co-founder of OMA's think-tank AMO and Sir Arthur Marshall Visiting Professor of Urban Design at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Four Walls and a Roof: The Complex Nature of a Simple Profession and the novel The Masterplan. He lives in Amsterdam.
Summary
Leading architect Reinier de Graaf punctures the myths of contemporary architecture
Report
In this perceptive study, Dutch architect Reinier de Graaf expounds on the state of 21st-century architecture. De Graaf's biting prose rails against the canon of modern architecture, and he interweaves real-world examples throughout. Passionately argued and expertly told, this is a rousing architectural critique. Publishers Weekly
