Differences: Topographies of Contemporary Architecture (Writing Architecture) [Paperback]

Ignasi de Solŕ -Morales (Author), Sarah Whiting (Editor), Graham Thompson (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 4, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0262540851 | ISBN-13: 978-0262540858

Differences brings together ten essays written over the past decade by the distinguished Spanish architect and theorist Ignasi de Sola-Morales. Many of the essays have never previously been translated, and the author has provided a new introduction especially for this English edition. Contemplating the panorama of contemporary art and architecture, de Sola-Morales posits that there is no one way to describe today's practice; instead he concentrates on elucidating the present dynamic of contrast, diversity, and tension. In an unorthodox pairing, de Sola-Morales derives his inspiration from both phenomenology and Deleuzean poststructuralism. Combining these philosophical inheritances allows him to reinvoke the human subject without referring to classical humanism or announcing the death of the object. His retrospective review of the disciplines of art and architecture, particularly as they have developed since World War II, provokes him to design, draft, and ultimately build a description of Modernism¹s lineage of subjectivity. The result is a provocative construction of fluid "topographies" that articulate, rather than depict, the shaky ground on which our current artistic and architectural production rests. The essays: Sado-masochism: Criticism and Architectural Practice. Topographies of Contemporary Architecture. Mies van der Rohe and Minimalism. Architecture and Existentialism. Weak Architecture. From Autonomy to Untimeliness. Place: Permanence or Production. Difference and Limit: Individualism in Contemporary Architecture. High-Tech: Functionalism or Rhetoric. The Work of Architecture in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Following traces that are neither modern nor postmodern, Ignasi deSolà-Morales opens a deterritorialized territory harboring richpossibilities for architectural theory and practice. Philosophicallyastute and critically savvy, Differences resists the fashionableallure of nihilism by discerning creative resources circulating in thechaotic currents of contemporary culture." Mark C. Taylor, Preston S. Parish Professor of Humanities, Williams College

"Ignasi de Solà-Morales' term starting points perfectlycaptures the light and acute temperament of these essays. With the nimbleease of Deleuzean vectors, these writings start from contemporary practiceand move into fresh horizons of architectural thinking. At a time when mostarchitectural writing seems to fall within either the limits of journalismor the rigorous territories of academic research, this collection of textsdraws an unfrequented path of discourse, a topography that becomes aninvitation to approach architectural ideas through pleasures of reading." Xavier Costa, Head, Department of Architecture,Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (December 4, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262540851
• ISBN-13: 978-0262540858
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,494,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's starting to make sense!, January 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Differences: Topographies of Contemporary Architecture (Writing Architecture) (Paperback)

This collection of essays by Solà-Morales is a very good place to start if you want to understand contempory architectural thought in a wider perspective. Although the author has his own particular viewpoint and refers to the theory and practice of many different architects, artists and philosophers, he always has important points to make in each essay. The structure of the book as autonomous essays with themes which recur throughout the book enable an understanding which does not depend on rigorous knowledge of philosophical lines of thought. In this way the book provides a useful starting point for deeper inquiry into how the modernist project in all disciplines has fragmented. Solà-Morales is comprehensive and far-sighted in his acknowledgement of lines of thought and action such as the radical critique of the 60's and it's significance to architecture. The main premise of the book is a particular way of thinking with which Solà-Morales tries to place architectural works and thought. His enthusiastic reinterpretation of the work of Mies in 'Mies van der Rohe and Minimalism' is remarkable in it's clarity. I found his praise of the work of contempory architects such as Foster, a little too optimistic in relation to the current situation however (High tech, functionalism or rhetoric).

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Indifferences, January 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Differences: Topographies of Contemporary Architecture (Writing Architecture) (Paperback)

The mediocrity of thought culled in these essays is equal to the quality of the translation. De Sola-Morales was a fine architect and an important theorist. His death was a great loss to the community of minds that comprise our discipline. This collection is far from his best effort. Look elsewhere, particularly his essay in the 2G publication of the Barcelona Pavilion reconstruction which demonstrates the nimble intellect of a cultured man.

2 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a good way to see architecture., August 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Differences: Topographies of Contemporary Architecture (Writing Architecture) (Paperback)

Personally, I think that is a good book. Other readers may not buy what the writer thinks but I think that it is really good to know an opinion and to understand his argument. This book inspires me to rethinking about architecture in a deeper and alternative way and help me to know what I want to pursuit in the future. The writer comments on different styles of the contemporary architecture and he implies a new way of future architecture.