Atlas of Novel Tectonics [Paperback]

Jesse Reiser (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1568985541 | ISBN-13: 978-1568985541 | Publication Date: February 1, 2006 | Edition: 1

Architects Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto have been generating some of the most provocative thinking in the field for nearly twenty years. With Atlas of Novel Tectonics, Reiser+Umemoto hone in on the many facets of architecture and illuminate their theories with great thought and simplicity. The Atlas is organized as an accumulation of short chapters that address the workings of matter and force, material science, the lessons of art and architectural history, and the influence of architecture on culture (and vice versa). Reiser+Umemoto see architectural design as a series of problem situations, and each chapter is an argument devoted to a specific condition or case.

Influenced by a wide range of fields and phenomenaBrillat-Savarin's classic The Physiology of Taste is one of their primary modelsthe authors provide a cross-section of thinking and inspiration. The result is both an elucidation of the concepts that guide Reiser+Umemoto through their own design process and a series of meditations on topics that have formed their own sense as architects. Atlas of Novel Tectonics offers an entirely fresh perspective on subjects that are generally taken for granted, and does so with a welcome punch and energy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Any book that starts with an essay on 'The Judo of Cold Combustion' deserves a place on our summer reading list. The authors offer reflections on matter and force, material science, art and architectural history, and the interrelationship of architecture and culture. -- Architect Magazine, July 2007

Reiser and Umemoto are deep and original thinkers and I look forward to a renaissance in their work that fully reflects the wealth of clear ideas that populate this text. -- The Architectural Review, October 2006

This cerebral little manual probes some of the more esoteric aspects of architecture in pursuit of novel approaches to design -- Metropolis, June 2006

This is a book that swims courageously against the tide... it reclaims the autonomy of theoretical discourse in relation to built architecture. That alone makes it an event... Atlas of Novel Tectonics is nothing if not a fascinating collection of finely wrought conceptual miniatures. Most are of Borgesian brevity (or shorter), and there are gems among them. My favourite is the tale of the 'devolved' glass nose of the Heinkel III bomber. -- AA Files, July 2007

About the Author

Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto are the founding partners of Reiser+Umemoto RUR, an internationally recognized architectural firm based in New York City. Their work encompasses a wide range of scales, from furniture design to landscape and infrastructure.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (February 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568985541
• ISBN-13: 978-1568985541
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Difficult Writing vs Clear Expression, June 6, 2007

By 

El Greco (LA, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atlas of Novel Tectonics (Paperback)

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.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars provocative with some annoyances, May 8, 2009

By 

Sub-Kontinental (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Atlas of Novel Tectonics (Paperback)

Once you sift through the esoteric jargon you'll find that the underlying "big idea" of Atlas is a bit...well, narrow-minded. It relegates the architect to the *singular* role of funny shape maker. Philosophically speaking, I'm not so down with it.

That doesn't mean Atlas isn't worthwhile however. If formalism is your bag, there's plenty of potential to tap. Certainly, it's not an easy read, nor are all of the concepts as profound as RUR would like to think, but there's definitely some provocative ideas contained therein:

"But we have other ambitions for this vitality, which now must enter and find expression in the fabric of matter itself. Let's be clear: it is not the vulgar misconception that architecture must be literally animate...but its substance, its scale, its transitions and measurement will be marked by the dilations and contractions of the energy field."

As is the case with most contemporary architectural theory, you have to do a lot of digging, re-reading and source-referencing to understand the ideas. The prose can be just as high-brow and sanctimonious as the decon philosophers that influenced it (Derrida, for instance). Complex as they may seem, the ideas embedded can be quite provocative not in a life-changing way, but more in a "novel" sort of way.

If you're into form or just want to stay up on theory, then I'd buy it.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Sinews of Design, May 6, 2007

By 

Lohr E. Miller "quondam historian/academic" (the Deepest South, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Atlas of Novel Tectonics (Paperback)

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.