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For the French-Brazilian architect, theorist, and painter Sérgio Ferro, looking at architecture from below means putting the building site and building workers at the centre of architectural enquiry. Instead of new trends or big names, Ferro strives for an approach ‘that enables one to see both head and feet at the same time – the magnanimous ideal and the muck down(...)
Architecture from below: An anthology
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For the French-Brazilian architect, theorist, and painter Sérgio Ferro, looking at architecture from below means putting the building site and building workers at the centre of architectural enquiry. Instead of new trends or big names, Ferro strives for an approach ‘that enables one to see both head and feet at the same time – the magnanimous ideal and the muck down below’. The process of building rarely features in architectural history and theory. Ferro argues that this persistent dismissal and neglect of building labour is no mere oversight, but instead a structural necessity of capitalist development which serves to deny labour as the source of value, to make capital’s command appear mandatory, and to maintain the profession’s capacity to act ‘on’ and ‘over’ the building site. Written between 1967 and 2019, these ten essays introduce Sérgio Ferro’s vital thinking by confronting architecture with critical theories ranging from Marx to contemporary authors. They draw on concrete cases in different historical and geographical contexts – from Strasbourg to Brasilia, via Dubai – to disclose how capitalist relations of production have transformed architecture and its relations to artistic practices such as painting and sculpture.
Architectural Theory
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"The Unknown City" takes its place in the emerging architectural literature that looks beyond design process and buildings to discover new ways of looking at the urban experience. A multistranded contemplation of the notion of "knowing a place," it is about both the existence and the possibilities of architecture and the city. An important inspiration for the book is(...)
Urban Theory
October 2002, Cambridge, Massachusetts
The unknown city : contesting architecture and social space
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"The Unknown City" takes its place in the emerging architectural literature that looks beyond design process and buildings to discover new ways of looking at the urban experience. A multistranded contemplation of the notion of "knowing a place," it is about both the existence and the possibilities of architecture and the city. An important inspiration for the book is the work of Henri Lefebvre, in particular his ideas on space as a historical production. Many of the essays also draw on the social critique and tactics of the Situationist movement. The international gathering of contributors includes art, architectural, and urban historians and theorists; urban geographers; architects, artists, and filmmakers; and literary and cultural theorists. The essays range from abstract considerations of spatial production and representation to such concrete examples of urban domination as video surveillance and Regency London as the site of male pleasure. Although many of the essays are driven by social, cultural, and urban theory, they also tell real stories about real places. Each piece is in some way a critique of capitalism and a thought experiment about how designers and city dwellers working together can shape the cities of tomorrow.
Urban Theory
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When it comes to questions like these, making decisions about what ought to be done—or what is the "best" or "right" solution—requires more than sound technical knowledge and strong design talent. It demands a solid understanding of the ethical issues that lie at the heart of architectural practice. (...)
Architectural Theory
January 1900, New York
Ethics and the practice of architecture
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When it comes to questions like these, making decisions about what ought to be done—or what is the "best" or "right" solution—requires more than sound technical knowledge and strong design talent. It demands a solid understanding of the ethical issues that lie at the heart of architectural practice. Ethics and the Practice of Architecture offers a complete, broad-based introduction to this crucial subject. First, it examines basic ethical theories and their application to architecture, and discusses different ways of identifying ethical content in architecture. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, the second part of the book surveys different professional settings and building project processes that frequently hold ethical concerns, and charts the ethical mandates that arise from them. In the final section of the book, thirty case studies explore a wide range of ethical dilemmas encountered in architectural practice, with useful guidance on how to work through them effectively. Arranged by topics that span the key phases of a project from pre-design through post-occupancy evaluation, these case studies allow a detailed look at ethical concerns in real-life situations where multiple issues are often at stake.
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January 1900, New York
Architectural Theory
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Cities in transition
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***ÉPUISÉE / OUT OF PRINT*** "Cities in transition" deals with the effects of globalization and internationalization in relation to urbanism and critical assessment in contemporary theory. The book brings together internationally known authors from many countries including England, the USA, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands. A diversity of critical(...)
Cities in transition
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***ÉPUISÉE / OUT OF PRINT*** "Cities in transition" deals with the effects of globalization and internationalization in relation to urbanism and critical assessment in contemporary theory. The book brings together internationally known authors from many countries including England, the USA, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands. A diversity of critical positions on spatial and social questions is discussed on an international level. The theme of globalization is queried concerning the relation of urban and port developments in Tokyo's Bay Area and in Rotterdam. Cities have historically allowed the coming about of national economies, politics and societies we can think of as centralized. In several contributions this aspect is examined from the viewpoint of the flâneur, a creature of the metropolis, Parisian above all. As for their present day economic function, cities provide agglomeration economies, with a massive concentration of information on the latest developments. The book argues for a new reflexivity related to both economic and cultural understanding of our world. Cities in Transition is the third volume in the "Stylos critical landscape" series, issued by the Faculty of architecture of Delft university of technology.
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March 2001, Rotterdam
Urban Theory
Nietzsche for architects
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Nietzsche’s philosophy is provocative and complex and has been hugely influential on modern intellectual history and European culture. But his critical approach and writing style invites misunderstandings, sometimes with disastrous consequences. His ideas—or those loosely associated with him—are often briefly cited in scholarly studies in architectural theory and history.(...)
Nietzsche for architects
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Nietzsche’s philosophy is provocative and complex and has been hugely influential on modern intellectual history and European culture. But his critical approach and writing style invites misunderstandings, sometimes with disastrous consequences. His ideas—or those loosely associated with him—are often briefly cited in scholarly studies in architectural theory and history. His ideas are thought to have influenced the theories and designs of such iconic architects as Le Corbusier, Henry van de Velde, Bruno Taut, Louis H. Sullivan, Lebbeus Woods, and Peter Eisenman, as well as competing approaches to architecture and design, such as those adopted by the Bauhaus School and the Nazis. In the bewildering array of architectural positions that lay claim to Nietzsche as an influence, how can we begin to make sense of Nietzsche’s own approach to architecture? And how can we identify within his complex philosophy the key ideas and themes we require to make sense of his contribution to architecture? This first introduction to Nietzsche’s philosophy written specifically for architects locates his evaluation of appropriate and inappropriate architecture in the body of his writings and presents a clear overview of Nietzsche’s insights into architectural design alongside his advice for architects and designers.
Critical Theory
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Aeolian Winds and the Spirit in Renaissance Architecture introduces new dimensions of thinking about architectural theory. Investigating Renaissance pneumatic architecture with respect to other disciplines of arts and sciences, the collected essays substantiate the thesis that pneuma (air, wind, spirit, soul) is a fundamental link for establishing harmony among the human(...)
Aeolian winds and the spirit in renaissance architecture
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Aeolian Winds and the Spirit in Renaissance Architecture introduces new dimensions of thinking about architectural theory. Investigating Renaissance pneumatic architecture with respect to other disciplines of arts and sciences, the collected essays substantiate the thesis that pneuma (air, wind, spirit, soul) is a fundamental link for establishing harmony among the human body, a building, and the cosmos. While much of sixteenth and seventeenth century scholarship has been devoted to the mathematics of ideal architecture, the book proves that essence, wind and ventilation are all part of the classical principles of building, and that one of the primary goals of Renaissance architects was to enhance the powers of pneuma so as to foster the art of well-being. This volume, written by leading architectural historians and scholars, delineates ancient and Renaissance theories and practice of pneumatology, and indicates a link to contemporary environmental questions. It examines Anaximenes, Hippocrates, Galen, Trento, Romano, Alberti, Serlio, Palladio, Scamozzi and other thinkers and humanists. Moreover, the essays illustrate the most famous examples of hygienico-therapeutic villas, including Rotonda, La Rocca Pisana and Eolia, a pneumatic model of Renaissance Venetian architecture.
Architectural Theory
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Media art histories
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Digital art has become a major contemporary art form, but it has yet to achieve acceptance from mainstream cultural institutions; it is rarely collected, and seldom included in the study of art history or other academic disciplines. In MediaArtHistories, leading scholars seek to change this. They take a wider view of media art, placing it against the backdrop of art(...)
Media art histories
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Digital art has become a major contemporary art form, but it has yet to achieve acceptance from mainstream cultural institutions; it is rarely collected, and seldom included in the study of art history or other academic disciplines. In MediaArtHistories, leading scholars seek to change this. They take a wider view of media art, placing it against the backdrop of art history. Their essays demonstrate that today's media art cannot be understood by technological details alone; it cannot be understood without its history, and it must be understood in proximity to other disciplines--film, cultural and media studies, computer science, philosophy, and sciences dealing with images. Contributors trace the evolution of digital art, from thirteenth-century Islamic mechanical devices and eighteenth-century phantasmagoria, magic lanterns, and other multimedia illusions, to Marcel Duchamp's inventions and 1960s kinetic and op art. They reexamine and redefine key media art theory terms--machine, media, exhibition--and consider the blurred dividing lines between art products and consumer products and between art images and science images. Finally, MediaArtHistories offers an approach for an interdisciplinary, expanded image science, which needs the "trained eye" of art history.
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March 2007, Cambridge
Architectural Theory
Freud for architects
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''Freud for architects'' explains what Freud offers to the understanding of architectural creativity and architectural experience, with case examples from early modern architecture to the present. Freud’s observations on the human psyche and its influence on culture and social behavior have generated a great deal of discussion since the 19th century. Yet, what Freud’s(...)
Freud for architects
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''Freud for architects'' explains what Freud offers to the understanding of architectural creativity and architectural experience, with case examples from early modern architecture to the present. Freud’s observations on the human psyche and its influence on culture and social behavior have generated a great deal of discussion since the 19th century. Yet, what Freud’s key ideas offer to the understanding of architectural creativity and experience has received little direct attention. That is partly because Freud opened the door to a place where conventional research in architecture has little traction, the unconscious. Adding to the difficulties, Freud’s collection of work is vast and daunting. ''Freud for architects'' navigates Freud’s key ideas and bridges a chasm between architecture and psychoanalytic theory. The book highlights Freud’s ideas on the foundational developments of childhood, developments on which the adult psyche is based. It explains why and how the developmental stages could influence adult architectural preferences and preoccupations, spatial intuition, and beliefs about what is proper and right for architectural design. As such, ''Freud for architects'' will be of great interest to students, practitioners, and scholars in a range of disciplines including architecture, psychoanalysis, and philosophy.
Architectural Theory
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The life and work of the outstanding Catalan-Majorcan philosopher, logician, and mystic Ramon Llull continues to fascinate thinkers, artists, and scholars worldwide The primary idea of Ramon Llull’s teachings—to enable rational and therefore trustworthy dialogue between cultures and religions through a universally valid system of symbols—is today still topical and of(...)
Critical Theory
April 2019
Dia-logos:Ramon Llull's method of thought and artistic practice
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The life and work of the outstanding Catalan-Majorcan philosopher, logician, and mystic Ramon Llull continues to fascinate thinkers, artists, and scholars worldwide The primary idea of Ramon Llull’s teachings—to enable rational and therefore trustworthy dialogue between cultures and religions through a universally valid system of symbols—is today still topical and of great relevance, especially in the tensions prevailing in globalized spaces of possibility. This book addresses Lullism as a remarkable and distinctive method of thinking and experimenting. The origins and impact of Ramon Llull’s oeuvre as a modern thinker are presented, and their interdisciplinary and intercultural implications, which continue to this day, are explored. Ars combinatoria, generative and permutative generation of texts, the epistemic and poetic power of algorithmic systems, plus the principle of unconditional dialogue between cultural groups and their individual members, are the most important coordinates of this combinatorial–dialogical media and communication theory, which appeared very early in the history of science, technology, and art. It was developed in the work of Ramon Llull during the transition from the thirteenth to the fourteenth century when Arab-Islamic, Jewish, and Christian cultures intersected.
Critical Theory
The largest art
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In "The largest art", Brent Ryan argues that urban design encompasses more than architecture, and he provides a foundational theory of urban design beyond the architectural scale. In a "declaration of independence" for urban design, Ryan describes urban design as the largest of the building arts, with qualities of its own. Ryan distinguishes urban design from its sister(...)
The largest art
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In "The largest art", Brent Ryan argues that urban design encompasses more than architecture, and he provides a foundational theory of urban design beyond the architectural scale. In a "declaration of independence" for urban design, Ryan describes urban design as the largest of the building arts, with qualities of its own. Ryan distinguishes urban design from its sister arts by its pluralism: plural scale, ranging from an alleyway to a region; plural time, because it is deeply enmeshed in both history and the present; plural property, with many owners; plural agents, with many makers; and plural form, with a distributed quality that allows it to coexist with diverse elements of the city. Ryan looks at three well-known urban design projects through the lens of pluralism: a Brancusi sculptural ensemble in Romania, a Bronx housing project, and a formally and spatially diverse grouping of projects in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He revisits the thought of three plural urbanists working between 1960 and 1980: David Crane, Edmund Bacon, and Kevin Lynch. And he tells three design stories for the future, imaginary scenarios of plural urbanism in locations around the world.
Urban Theory