architect, verb.
The New Language of Building
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The Hidden Rules of Architecture: how to build world-class, award winning, creative, innovative, sustainable, liveable and beautiful spaces that foster a sense of place and well being
Leading architect Reinier de Graaf De Graaf punctures the myths behind the debates on what contemporary architecture is, with wit and devastating honesty. Architecture, it seems, has become too important to leave to architects. 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?
In architect, verb. De Graff dryly skewers the doublespeak and hot air of an industry in search of an identity in the 21st century. Who determines how to measure a “green building”? Why is Vancouver more “liveable” than Vienna? How do developers get away with advertising their buildings as promoting “well-being”? Why did Silicon Valley become so obsessed with devising “creative” spaces or developing code that replaces architects? How much revenue can be attributed to the design of public space? Who gets to decide what these measurements should be, and what do they actually mean? And what does it mean for the future of our homes, cities, planet?
He also includes a biting, satirical dictionary of “profspeak”: the corporate language of consultants, developers and planners from “Active listening” to “Zoom Readiness.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this perceptive study, Dutch architect de Graaf (Four Walls and a Roof: The Complex Nature of a Simple Profession) expounds on the state of 21st-century architecture. Architects, urban designers, and urban planners are so boxed in by external constraints that they have little creative autonomy, he contends. The proliferation of design awards, sustainability certifications, standards that gauge the impact of public spaces on well-being, and livability assessments—all increasingly commercialized—are hindering architectural excellence, while the jargon-laden language of real estate development (which touts "hedonistic sustainability," "lifestylism," "needfinding," and more) stifles an understanding of good design and how it can best be done. De Graaf further criticizes the narrative of the creative city that extols innovation at the expense of addressing inequality, the formulaic approach to placemaking that permeates development schemes, and the reluctance of governments to publicly discuss the importance of beauty, substituting economics in its place. These forces, de Graaf argues, "transform spaces of spontaneity into preprogrammed, overdetermined areas" with little vitality or aesthetic appeal. 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.
