Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010159178 | NA2547.35 B47 2002 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
On Order
Summary
Summary
Aaron Betsky's study explores how builders and architects are working with the land to produce structures that mirror, or are contained by, their surroundings.
Reviews 1
Library Journal Review
Recently appointed director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute, Betsky has made his reputation as a curator, lecturer, and author unafraid to challenge conventional thinking in architecture criticism. His Architecture Must Burn and Building Sex: Men, Women, and the Construction of Sexuality sparked debate in the fields of urban planning and gender studies. His latest effort might at first be mistaken for another glossy, photo-packed album of recent work by some of today's most prominent cutting-edge architects. Betsky proposes that the grand theme unifying this deceptively diverse assortment of modernist, mostly high-tech structures is that, well, they're all on land or partially underground. In a labyrinthine deconstructionist critique, Betsky transforms his thesis into a manifesto that he evidently believes ushers in a revolutionary new architectural paradigm. His arguments, however, are considerably weakened by frequent bizarre, unsupported assertions such as "the rediscovery of the cave started in 1930." Devotees of Continental philosophy will find this a diverting exercise in imagining that architecture uncovers "readings" as it scrapes the "text" of the land. Only for academic and research libraries.-David Soltesz, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
