5 comments about A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series).

1. I bought this book after reading the glowing reviews on amazon. It was also an inspiration for Will Wright to make SimCity and the SIMS..... so I had high expectations.
   
   I was shocked to find how opinionated and philosophical the book is. I expected the book to look at the history of cities, towns, etc. and describe patterns that already exist (much like the GoF's software design patterns book talks about patterns that people actually use). Instead the book presents a series of ideals about how the world should be structured.
   
   If these ideals came from concerns I could identify with, I would take it more seriously. But instead they attack "problems" which I do not perceive to exist. For example, on p. 43 "The homogeneous and undifferentiated character of modern cities kills all variety of life styles and arrest the growth of individual character." This statement is contrary to my experience. I have met many great characters from cities, and seen profound cultural differentiation emerge from cities (e.g. jazz, abstract painting, hippie culture, punk, you name it). But the authors proceed as if cities killing character is axiomatic. I agree that there is a rural character that is not present in cities. But citydwellers have another type of character which is equally valid.
   
   I have only made it through the first 100 pages. In these pages are so many naive ideas about mixing cityspace and vacant space. I live in Los Angeles so I know about sprawl & I also know a lot about cars -- while they are aiming for less sprawl then LA, they also neglect traffic congestion. They claim that making small roads in places make people reluctant to drive there.... the experience worldwide (worst in Malaysia, I hear) is that people use whatever roads are present, and if the roads are small, they then just end up sitting in traffic. The author's are naive in their structuring of space, nowhere do they cite any hard evidence of how these structures function.
   
   I might make it the rest of the way through.... at least it's an easy read, with so many repetitions in how the models work you can kinda skim through it. I like the spirit of the book, it is reminiscent of P.M.'s bolo'bolo.... but where bolo'bolo comes from a purely emotional position, these authors take themselves seriously and believe what they are saying is objectively true. I give the book 3 stars because it is nice to see someone work through the ideas of bolo'bolo (which was actually written ~6yrs after alexander's book). I would give 5 stars to a book that did so by looking more at actual data of how spaces are utilized, and presented designs that didn't have obvious flaws in them.



2. Time has not eroded the significance of this book's contribution to the world of architecture. Though it reaches back to timeless solutions to architectural problems, it is also a way forward. As we devour our social capital in a half century of indiscriminate urban sprawl, this book offers alternatives that will help us revitalize our urban centers.



3. This book is the quintessential book on the subject of creating authentic living spaces.
   This book provides a near mystical approach to architecture in a very simplistic form that anyone can understand.



4. This book talks specifically about what works and doesn't work when building cities and towns and how to take the human element into consideration when doing so. However, I found its conclusions and most of its patterns applicable to software engineering. There are good books on software design patterns such as "Head First Design Patterns", and there are some good books on user interface design such as "Designing Interfaces: Patterns for Effective Interaction Design", but this book really helped me merge the idea of software design patterns with the user perspective in a way that other books I have read have not.
   
   If you are a software designer, read the book all the way through, make notes as you go, and see if it doesn't help you write better organized code that is more responsive and coherent to a user who walks up to your user interface completely uninitiated in your method of design. I know it helped me.



5. This was an extremely helpful book in using to decide what house or town home to buy, why spaces might work, what needs to be added to them, etc. I am very glad I bought this book.

5 comments about Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises.

1. We purchased this book for our son. He is deeply committed to 'green' projects. This will give him testimonials of others in his field to aid him in his own work for clients who have the desire to lessen their carbon footprint.
   
   Sincerely,
   F. Albuquerque



2. Great book. Very cool practical applications to problems using environmentally sound solutions. Beautiful pictures and I especially liked the $8 tent clip. Brilliant.



3. I'm not an architect, but I enjoy the craft as a whole. I saw this book on a PBS science show and had to check it out. Once I finish reading it, I'm passing it on to my architect friends to inspire them to think of the more basic level of need for their talents. Living in the US, I have always taken for granted having a place to live, but seeing how many people around the world need homes is staggering. Kudos to those architects that face the problems of these people. They should be recognized for their innovative uses of stuff as simple as PVC pipe and tarp.



4. This book is an important counterbalance to the plethora of glossy coffee table books about architecture that glorify starchitects and their creations, which usually only benefit their wealthy clients. If only the architectural journals would plaster these projects on their front pages instead of oh-so-chic homes and corporate headquarters. The world is facing a housing crisis, but most architects are not trained to respond to this crisis in massive, innovative ways that go beyond the feel-good student trips to build a couple of houses for people in need. This book should be required reading in all architecture schools, architecture practices, and architectural publishing offices. The profession - as with so many other professions - has lost its way. This book can be one small step toward recovering the reality that architecture is a collaborative endeavor that entails public responsibilities.



5. This is truly an inspiring book! I originally bought this for architect friends whose humanitarian vision parallels many of those in this book. Even they were thrilled and inspired. I plan to give it to others for Christmas this year..Lets hope soon everyone will have a place to live that will be their own.

5 comments about The Architecture of Happiness (Vintage).

1. de Botton always writes dense thought provoking reviews often on things we know about but don't ruminate about. So it was with his Proust book. Of course since Lehrer has told us that Proust was a neuroscientist Proust is now more widely mentioned, though probably not read. One would need to take to his bed.... The architecture of happiness in a like manner encourages one to think about how design works on us and throughout time has influenced us. It encourages us to ruminate about the things we make and see. I have given a copy to a young girl who wants to go into architecture as I believe it will widen her horizon. I highly encourage reading of this short tome and studying the pictures for any who can sit in a comfortable chair.



2. Considering the significance of architecture, the author remarks that beautiful houses falter as guarantors of happiness and can also be accused of failing to improve the characters of those who live in them and proceeds by explaining why this is so. Karl Friedrich Schinkel for example stated that to turn something useful, practical, and functional into something beautiful is the architect's duty. Architecture should thus be the decoration of construction as distinguished from mere building. The architects of the Modernist movement, like all their predecessors, wanted their houses to speak and express emotions. Indeed buildings speak. They speak of democracy or aristocracy, openness or arrogance, welcome or threat, sympathy for the future or a hankering for the past.
   Interestingly enough what we search for in a work of architecture is not so far from what we search for in a friend because the objects we describe as beautiful art versions of the people we love. The buildings we admire are those which extol values we think are worthwhile: through their materials, shapes and colours they express qualities such as friendliness, kindness, subtlety, strength and intelligence. As Stendhal wrote, "Beauty is the promise of happiness."
   We are vulnerable to what the spaces we inhabit are saying. In a drab hotel room our optimism and sense of purpose are liable to drain away. We look to our buildings to hold us, like a kind of psychological mould, to a helpful vision of ourselves. We need a home in the psychological sense as much as we need a home in the physical sense: to compensate for vulnerability, we need a refuge.
   We may feel joy at the architectural perfection we see before us and at the same time melancholy at an awareness of how seldom we are sufficiently blessed to encounter anything of its kind. And sadness is conducive to receptivity: our downhearted moments provide architecture and art with their best openings because it is at such times that our hunger for their ideal qualities is at its height.
   Such thoughts and many other are contained in this study of architecture and make for a valuable and interesting read.



3. I learnt a lot from this book, usually Alain de Botton's books are not very easy to read but this one is so simple and pictures help a lot. I have seen so many Roman and ancient Greek buildings, I only appreciate how good they look. Now I know more about the styles and relationship with the human pyschology. Really great book for architecture-illiterate.



4. I suppose all art attempts to bring essence into form and architecture is no exception. De Botton digs right in and starts analyzing the ingredients that bring space to life, and poetically decodes the language of form and attempts to explain how it resonates and entices the observer and for what reasons different people are drawn to different architectural forms based on their own lacking qualities. It sounds pretty heady and it is. The author opens the book with the most poignant description of the unfailingly loyal character of a house which brought shivers to me as I recounted my love affairs with all the houses I grew up in. His writing style instantly drew me in- with his clever pepperings of metaphor and other literary communicative techniques. By the end of the book, however, as the subject material became a little more obtuse, his writing style seemed to become more pompous and strayed from effective communication into the realm of word-smithing bravado. You know, kind of like those inexperienced jazz musicians who run off into incomprehensibly difficult solos - more intent on displaying superlative technique and ego fattening talent than eliciting a gentle stirring of the soul. It became somewhat annoying, but I am going to re-read some of it and see if a 2nd reading bears this out. In any case, the mental journey he provides for any architecture freak like me is truly thrilling albeit somewhat laborious! -



5. The Architecture of Happiness is about beauty, in our physical surroundings and in our lives. The elegant style of writing, spare, essential and learned, takes us on a sublime tour of art as architecture and architecture as art, gently prodding us to take stock of all manner of aesthetic detail in our man-made environments, from follies and foibles, to superb examples of man's strivings to create lasting, transformng public and private spaces, as well as to ponder the historical/artistic links, which lead us from "then," to now, and beyond. This lovely book reminds us, advises us, to take a moment and "see" what is right before our eyes.

5 comments about Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan.

1. While "Delirious" has its fair share of archispeak, Mr. Koolhaas pulls off an intelligent, fun and thought-provoking take on the early 20th century building culture of New York.
   
   One of the quirkier aspects of "Delirious" is Mr. Koolhaas's analysis of Coney Island: an "incubator for Manhattan's incipient themes." As a reader, one initially questions the inclusion of such a trashy place in such a lofty manifesto. However, as the chapter progresses, you start to see Mr. Koolhaas's iconoclastic brilliance. He pays an amazing homage to "the laboratory" that was Coney Island, illuminating the vital role it played in the building philosophies that would emerge later in Manhattan.
   
   Scattered throughout "Delirious," also, are compelling supporting images that Mr. Koolhaas clearly spent a lot of time digging up. In fact, flipping through the book for the images alone makes for a near-equivalent, and fun, learning experience.
   
   However, unlike his tasteful use of images, Mr. Koolhaaas's flamboyant use of scholarly English makes his writing difficult to digest at times:
   
   "It is probably inevitable that a doctrine based on the continual simulation of pragmatism, on a self-imposed amnesia that allows the continuous reenactment of the same subconscious themes in ever new reincarnations and on inarticulateness systematically cultivated in order to operate more effectively..."
   
   Given Mr. Koolhaas's journalism background (and assumed mastery of writing), I suspect he made the conscious decision to remain somewhat inaccessible to preserve his "lofty" image. While such a decision may be understandable, his brilliance as a writer often gets overshadowed by the sheer irritation of trying to understand him.
   
   Ultimately, "Delirious" proves itself to be a very intelligent synopsis---just as delirious and congested the themes Mr. Koolhaas puts forth. For the most part, it's a pleasure to read, and it also reflects the exhaustive research on Mr. Koolhaas's end. Much like Mr. Koolhaas's buildings, "Delirious" is on the cusp of being as grand as it intends to be.



2. through the exhaustive historiography of the phases of congestion coney island brought to manhattan, koolhaas provides a rather cynical view of the Grid as being an ulimatley neutral zoning system of constraining ideas that represent the continual decline of a phantastically realistic civilization, represented as mutated symbols of architecture in the "void" of repeated "pregnancies."
   
   it's really well written. funny. uses, like above, a somewhat inefficient vocabulary but remains in the same vein throughout. it is also a graphic design hubris consuming every page, even the left-justified text, showing off koolhaas's interpretation of the importance to combine scholarship and marketing.
   
   buy it. it's a very good book.



3. A very inventive concept of New York's "culture of congestion" and how people are affected by the architecture they create. It is heavily researched and exhaustive, and after pretty much the third page I agreed with his concept of NY being "totally fabricated by man". What could of been a fascinating article becomes a spastic, heavy-handed read with a sledgehammer effect to your brain. (However,for those of us reading it for school, there are plenty of pictures that fill up the almost devastatingly vast 300+pages quickly.) It will scramble your brain with its thousands of nearly bumper-stickerish statements ("It hides life." "The Mountain MUST become architecture.") written with pretentious glee. However, I believe an independent scientific study has concluded that when pretending to read this book on the train people around you will assume your IQ is 40% higher than truth.



4. koolhaas is a bit over-the-top for me, but this I think is is best work. it's worth checking out if only for the story of coney island. once you get past blisteringly pretentious phrases like "coney island is a fetal manhattan", you'll find it gloriously entertaining as both a narrative and theoretical work.



5. This is by far Koolhaas's most accessible work, as it is rooted so clearly in detail from the city's past. Further, the book is simply brilliant. His take on urban history is to Jane Jacobs what Socrates is to common sense. New York is a special case of modernism that sprang from a special constellation of poltiical and technological forces that collectively create a cultural "big-bang" at the turn of the century. Read it. Blow your mind.

5 comments about The Timeless Way of Building.

1. The book was in fantastic condition. I received it very quickly as well. And so far has been a fantastic read. thank you!!



2. We are in the process of designing a home. This book was recommended as being good food for thought in planning a future home. It is not an easy read but well worth the effort. It,along with another from the same author,is required reading for college students in architecture. This book establishes the "language" for describing all the elements inside and outside buildings, neighborhoods, towns, etc. "A Pattern Language" is the sequel which explains in great detail how to apply this language. I would recommend both to anyone who is planning a future home - especially a custom-built home.



3. In many ways, The Timeless Way of Building remains the best book by Alexander, as it is easily accessible to all readers and provides a wonderful, thought provoking look into building traditions. Alexander searches for examples of a more humane architecture that took its proportions from the nature of building materials and the context in which these structures were built. The book is evocatively illustrated with black and white photos and thumbnail sketches. It has a look and feel like that of the Everyman's Library edition of Tao Te Ching, and in a similar way represents the building blocks of architecture through an insightful series of meditations on place. Alexander built on this series with A Pattern Language and The Oregon Experiment, and has since come out with a new series of books on The Nature of Order, but for many this is all you need to appreciate the sense of balance and order Christopher Alexander finds necessary in the built environment.



4. He is a very whimsical writer. Take time to browse through the 'Search Inside' to see if you really need this long introduction. For content you can actually work with, check out his other book: A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series).



5. One of the most intriguing books I have ever read, The Timeless Way of Building is one part complexity theory, one part architectural and city-planning theory, and one part spiritual treatise. It makes a great contribution to any class on Aesthetics, and resonates with people far and wide. I wish this book were in every library in America.

2 comments about Thinking Architecture.

1. Reading this book was like reading a long-lost secret manual of
   "How to become a 21 century Samurai..." I guess that sense of delusion rises because the content and the tone of book has this (quasi) idea of medieval perfection achieved through a repetition of hands-on practice. "I do not work towards architecture from a theoretically defined point of departure, for I am committed to making architecture,," writes Zumthor.
   
   Moreover, a reader, at the back of her/his head, has those powerful images of Bath House in Vaals (tour de force of phenomenological experience) that intensifies the delusion. One would think, 'Zumthor must be a man from Mars to build architecture like that' and 'his writings must be a strong sleeping pill.' Usual Suspect !
   
   He writes extremely clear with extremely simple terms. This slim book tells us how an architect of such originality thinks and experiences daily life. It's a great pleasure to find out what kind of music (Mozart's piano concertos) zumthor listens; what kind of artists (Beuys and Merz) he likes; what kind of film he watches (Ettore Scola's film Le Bal); what kind of books (Calvino) he reads; and what kind of sayings ("the hard core beauty") in the radio show captivates him. A former cabinet maker, his book is carefully jointed, just like his buildings. Anyone who found this book fun/inspiring to read should also try Alvaro Siza's "Writings on Architecture"



2. A thoroughly engaging book about meaningful architecture - it now holds a very special place in my architecture library, right next to Michael Benedikt's For An Architecture of Reality.
   Excellent for anyone interested in Peter Zumthor's work.

5 comments about Atlas of Novel Tectonics.

1. get it... that's all i have to say. there's no reason not to own it.



2. Reiser and Umemoto (henceforth R&U) have put together a wonderful role model of a textbook in a field that erroneously prides itself on having NO textbooks -- that is, by having far too many "must-read" books that remain disconnected and often irrelevant to the problem of learning HOW TO GO ABOUT wrapping one's head around this thing called Architecture. Without turgidity, mysticism, pedantry, or pretentious narcissism, the authors elegantly demonstrate one version of architectural head-wrapping: THEIRS. But make no mistake: to call it 'theirs' is only to specify the site of the (unavoidable)subjectivity that propels this kind of demonstration. And the clarity with which this demostration is done is yet another demonstration of the refinement of their subjectivity.
   
   This book, along with those by George L. Hersey, is one of the very few books in the field that can actually help one in reducing the confusion in trying to understand what Architecture as a DISCIPLINE really deals with, so overcrowded it is today with so many extra-architectural issues/agendas. After all, it was never Architecture as such that was confusing or difficult to understand. People with clubby exclusionary motives, aided and abetted by academic survivalists -- the small sort of people Dryden derided as 'criticules'(teeny weeny critics) -- have made the topic into the unnecessarily convoluted intestine that it is today. And given the paucity of well-paying or creatively challenging work for architects in the real world, this nefarious practice of obfuscation will likely continue since "all forms of power are always accompanied by some form of mysticism."
   But I digress.
   
   I mentioned George L. Hersey's books earlier as exemplars of clarity. I was thinking of his `Architecture and Geometry in the Age of the Baroque'. There you see what actually qualified AS an architectural problem for architects like Borromini and Guarini. You also see the INTENSITY and COMPLEXITY in the SIMPLICITY of the problems they chose to deal with. This kind of architectural cathexis (focus of interest) is something that got lost a while ago with people wasting their vital fluids arguing over possibly important but ultimately extra-architectural issues like low-income housing, importance of having porches, evils of capitalism, etc -- issues that are really a matter of political will, compassion, self-control, and/or common sense.
   
   Enter R&U:
   Knowledgeable admirers of the Baroque that they are, they remind us what it really means to "play ball" in Architecture: ripped-pantyhose mediations on Heraclitus be damned, Architecture, like Baseball, has its internally generated/regulated rules that demand consistency with how Nature designs; and playing a great game regardless of all external factors (politics, ideology, economy, management, the weather, etc) is really all that counts in the end.
   
   In five sections, R&U demonstrate the very thing they profess to practice - strategies of ordering - by crystallizing the perennial topics of Architecture. The five headings are:
   1. Geometry
   2. Matter
   3. Operating
   4. Common Errors to Avoid
   5. The World
   
   Under those five headings, Reiser and Umemoto present short discussions based on themes that are often paired into their basic Yin & Yang. Some examples:
   Difference in Kind / Difference in Degree
   Variety vs. Variation
   Selection / Classification
   Classical Body / Impersonal Individuation
   Exact / Anexact-yet-rigorous
   Continuity / Discontinuity
   Intensive / Extensive
   
   No doubt there are ways of looking that go beyond the binary but I agree with this manner of presentation for the clarity it can offer to the student who needs to first get his conceptual house in order anyway.
   With their confident yet quiet presentation, R&U steer clear from trying to be clever or pointlessly esoteric. Every illustration serves to enhance the point they are trying to get across. And the point is always and consistently ABOUT HOW ONE MIGHT GO ABOUT DOING this thing called Architecture which essentially operates - without necessarily being delimited thereby in its possibilities - as a finite set of limits within a SYSTEM - a coherent system of desire and sensibility, as opposed to a smorgasbord of personal whims, tastes, styles, and personal baggage.
   
   Discussion of each topic is accompanied by quirky but spot-on illustrations ranging from stress diagrams to engravings of Solomon's Temple from Villapando to Max Ernst collages to selections from their own projects. (Whether, if, and how well R&U actually applied these very principles to their own design work is a matter outside the scope of this review.)
   
   Being teachers as well as practicing architects, R&U thoughtfully included a section (Section 4) that should be particularly useful for most architecture students who often end up getting the short end of the stick after going from one teacher to another without there being any rhyme or reason to the arbitrary sequence in which they are exposed to ideas.
   
   The value of this book lies in its status as an exemplar of clarity in terms of its strategy of perception/observation, not necessarily in its enormity of scope, exhaustiveness, logical throroughness, or profundity in the application of Deleuze's or DeLanda's ideas -- which in this case is not really an issue.
   As an exemplar, this book points a way possibly toward a New Architecture (again) but more importantly, a New Honesty/Modesty/Clarity in speaking/writing about Architecture.



3. This book gets lots of play right now in (big "A") Architecture schools. I'm a firm believer that if your thoughts are clear, your writing is clear. This book embarks on many dialectical examples that are explained with too much "difficult writing" for its own good. Grad students of the world, beware the three DDDs that inspire some of this writing: Deleuze, Derrida and Delanda. They plow enormous fields in complicated patterns and only yield a kernel or two. Ironically, I admire Reiser + Umemoto as architects and am looking forward to a book on their more recent work.



4. An unxpectedly fine book on architectural theory that's rooted not in politics or aesthetics or lit-crit theory, but in the worlds of physics and engineering-- a look at architecture and architectural possibilities based on the sinews of buildings rather than the ideology of architects. I'm an historian by training, and an aficionado of architecture and design theory. Reiser + Umemoto have created a small book that offers a view of postmodern architecture seen through the lens of the physically possible. Anyone who wants to imagine new cities and new styles of building needs to consider the sheer physical constraints of design, and this book is a fine place to start.



5. Must read lexicon of architectural forays and methodologies for any critical architect or designer.

5 comments about Architecture of the Absurd: How "Genius" Disfigured a Practical Art.

1. Silber clearly demonstrates one of the internal discussions of the profession of architecture: is it a "practical science" or is it more akin to "fine art"? His experience clearly tilts him toward the "practical science" aspect but he has picked his examples with a closed eye to all the issues with each of the projects he portrays.
   For example, the Sidney Opera House, which he loves -- took 12 years and was 800% over budget when finally built -- the delays caused by the inability of the engineers to build the thing. Bilbao (which he hates) was built on time and on budget and has been credited with revitalizing an economy of a previously dwindling seaport. In fact, magazine articles are written about "The Bilbao effect" of a stunning piece of architecture to revive an economy.
   He speaks to the practical aspects of architecture -- and those are many. (he uses Sert as an example of an architect too closely identified with his Spanish origins to understand the Boston climate). He doesn't address the spiritual aspects of architecture, though, and in some cases, those are equally important as the practical aspects. Gehry, who he reviles, has been equally praised in the book "The Architecture of Happiness" for his joyful designs. (I agree that no one said that about Cobusier). Holl has been praised for his solemnity; Liebeskind for this thought-provoking designs. People travel to see the work of these architects. He also does not discuss the work of Holl, even though he is mentioned as one of the "absurd" triumvirate.
   
   Note that Boston College (where Silber administered the building program) has never been praised for its campus or architecture.
   
   There is work-a-day design, which is appropriate for a Costco store or Best Buy, but there is design that challenges and is thought provoking -- and Silber seems to want the best of each, when he decides it is appropriate.
   
   This is a one-sided screed that never should have been made into a book. When someone makes a film of the "architecture of Boston College" perhaps I will alter my opinion.
   
   
   I gave it two stars because the photos are rather nice.



2. Seeing Gehrey's work on the jacket of the book piqued my interest since I saw Sidney Pollack's movie about Gehrey. I just have to say, I never "got" Gehrey, so reading Dr. Silber's "rant" (as other posters have described the book), I feel better knowing I'm not the only one with a problem with Gehrey.
   
   I think Dr. Silber's book is thoughtful. I think the photos are very representative of the issues he discusses. If I were monetarily responsible for building great buildings, then I would certainly first read Dr. Silber's book to appreciate what NOT to do.



3. This is a bad book. Don't buy it. We set up an "Architecture Book Club" and share opinions about our readings. "The Architecture of the Absurd" was the worst pick so far. The ideas are poorly expressed and thinly researched. The writing is... well, how to put it? The writing will make you want to throw the book accross the room. It's hard to agree with anything he says. If you NEED to buy this book, make sure you buy it second hand... so, at least, you save some trees.



4. No, I have not yet read John Silber's book, but he has always been an excellent BS detector, encouraging people to use their own sense of the world to challenge the Sophists of our time. I first encountered his challenges when he was my undergraduate advisor in philosophy at the University of Texas. Silber can be controversial and even wrong, but he always catalyzes clear thinking in the service of social action in the gadfly tradition of teachers throughout history. I recommend a look at his book on the basis of his history as a philosopher engaged in life and education rather than in intellectual pretensions.



5. The book delivers a honest, yet harsh opinion - not to say needed - about the truth behind the "glamorous" architecture of the starchitects. Yes, some are good and provocative designers and others not so good. Out of the thousands of architects in North America, many go unnoticed for various reasons. But this is beside the point of the book. It seems to relate one's experience with architects, or at least one's point of view of certain architects. And this were the book fails to deliver an effective blow against the aura of those certain starchitects.
   
   It doesn't demonstrate the absurdity of their projects, but simply highlights the ego of the architect. It offers little examination in regards to form, spaces and the original intentions of the said architects. It presents a simplistic view of these recent projects as if the maîtres d'oeuvre were victims of the architect's popularity. Period. One would have expected some sort of the insight on the absurdity of their architecture, instead of the fallacies of their ego... Which are surprising arguments when one thinks of the author's background (son of an architect, professor of aesthetics, president of major university), one would expect a well crafted argument with rich and deep analysis to prove it. His argument simply states: "I don't like the building designed by Gehry and Libeskind."
   
   While I do share his views, I was disappointed in Silber's approach and criticism. It seemed gratuitous and unsupported. As a master in architecture, I am able to understand and comprehend the "logic" behind Gehry's and Libeskind's approach and, also, able to "deconstruct" their absurd architecture without Silber's easy criticism, which to my opinion seems to favour outdated modernist architecture.

No comments about Far from Equilibrium: Essays on Technology and Design Culture.

5 comments about Massive Change.

1. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0714844012/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title
   A simple question: "what for?" should be ask for designers. What exactly a process of design means and how it works or could work in contemporary global civilisation? It help get a consciousness of designers role in modern world.



2. Excellent vision and unhappy scenarios are show us. How could we do this? It's time to change!
   
   Robson Quinello



3. An excellent look at the challenges and possible solutions facing the human race. My only complaint is that the book is a bit dated, but its perspective is future proof. The concept of the Institute without Boundaries is especially interesting.



4. Bruce Mau is more than a designer. He is a futurist who has swapped fatalism for idealism. His vision of the future is based on facts, but you feel his undertone of optimisim. Massive Change is an utterly interesting read from cover to cover. The structure of the book and the writing style makes it a great resource of information. Massive Change is a necessity for the bookshelf of every intellect and every dreamer.



5. Bruce Mau's previous book - "Life Style" - was a pivotal publication that had something very fundamental to say about the practice of design. The argument woven into this survey of Bruce Mau Design's portfolio derived its edginess from an underlying, existential dilemma. On the one hand, Mau wanted to do justice to design's capacity to give "style" to sprawling, viral "life" (originally a very Nietzschean concept, later taken up and politicised by Foucault and Deleuze). On the other hand, there was the fear for the domestication of his practice to the status of banal, lifeless purveyor of images and artefacts - global capitalism's lingua franca. This tension between subversion and acquiescence turned "Life Style" into a poignant testimony.
   
   Massive Change is, I am sorry to say, a much less compelling read. It takes its cue from Life Style's key idea - design is able to reformat the very principle of life - but dispels the darker, problematic side of the equation. Indeed, although Mau would like us to believe otherwise, the book's perspective is squarely utopian. In adopting as its motto theme "Now that we can do anything, what will we do?", it echoes the pragmatist voluntarism of the peer-to-peer movement. But the dissonances - P2P's paradoxical (symbiotic/parasitic) relationship with capitalism - have been filtered from the echo. What remains is the suave message that technological progress - shaped and harnessed by design - will be able to solve all our problems if we only want it to.
   
   So, although Massive Change promises to bring us a "wildly unexpected view of the future", it really doesn't reach beyond the intellectual horizon of, say, a special issue of Scientific American on "Key Technologies for the 21st Century". The material is conventionally organised in sections that review the state of the art in urban planning, transportation, energy, information, material sciences, military technologies, biotech etc. Only two chapters discuss governance issues ("market economies" and "wealth and politics"). The relatively meager substance comes from short interviews with a series of "experts" in the disciplines surveyed. The selection is very US-centric and contains quite a few usual suspects (Dean Kamen, Stewart Brand, Lawrence Lessig, Jaime Lerner, Hazel Henderson etc).
   
   By now we are also well acquainted with Mau's cinematic and fractured style in book design. "Massive Change" doesn't break any new ground compared to previous volumes (not only Life Style but also S,M,L,XL (with Rem Koolhaas) and the Zone series of books). What was once truly refreshing is becoming stale. By the way, the short interviews are printed on glaringly yellow pages, which I find positively ugly.
   
   All of this is disappointing. I can think of two explanations for the intellectual and stylistic flaccidity exhibited in this volume. First, we are missing the incisiveness and depth that Mau's sparring partner Sanford Kwinter brought to "Life Style" (In my opinion, Kwinter's three-page lead essay was worth the price of that book). I am not sure what happened between Mau and Kwinter, but the latter is almost completely absent from this volume.
   
   Then, although this is not be obvious at first sight, "Massive Change" is not really a Mau book. In fact, it has been largely put together by Jennifer Leonard, one of the students from the inaugural year of the Institute without Boundaries (a newly established postgraduate education programme whereby students spend a full year in the Mau studio). So, although Mau's name figures prominently on the cover, inside we learn that the Institute led the research, development, design and production of Massive Change.
   
   I can't recommend this volume. "Massive Change" is a missed opportunity.