The popular view of architecture focuses on individual creative geniuses, those who have designed the most "significant" works. According to Garry Stevens, however, successful architects owe their success not so much to genius as to social background and a host of other factors that have very little to do with native talent. To concentrate only on the profession of architecture is to ignore the much larger field of architecture, which structures the entire social universe of the architect and of which architects are only one part. This book critically surveys that field, exposing many myths and debunking a number of heroes in the process.Using the conceptual apparatus of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, Stevens describes the field of architecture on two levels. First, he provides a detailed account of the field as it is at any given point in time, describing the different components and their relationships. Second, he analyzes the dynamics of the field through time, from the Renaissance to the present. He discusses the system of architectural education, as well as everyday aspects such as the competition for reputation. He concludes that throughout history, the most eminent architects have been connected to each other by master-pupil and collegiate relations. These networks, which still exist, provide a mechanism for architectural influence that runs parallel to that of the university-based schools.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"The Favored Circle is a welcome attempt to expand the field from a sociological point of view. In doing so it suggests why the world of architecture is so closed and private." -- Jeremy Melvin, The Times Literary Supplement, April 9, 1999
"The Favored Circle is a welcome attempt to expand the field from a sociological point of view. In doing so it suggests why the world of architecture is so closed and private." -- Jeremy Melvin, The Times Literary Supplement, April 9, 1999
"Nothwithstanding its splenetic resentment of the architectural intelligentsia, The Favored Circle offers litigants an indispensable reference in the quarrel between art and science. Stevens' sociology adds often illuminating statistical evidence of structural inequities in professional education and culture. With good cause, he warns us at the beginning that in order to state his case at all he has to overstate it, and his overstatements often prove startling and insightful. He sheds new light on old problems in architecture. Alternative solutions for teaching and practice he leaves up to us." -- Daniel S. Friedman, Architecture, January 1999
"Nothwithstanding its splenetic resentment of the architectural intelligentsia, The Favored Circle offers litigants an indispensable reference in the quarrel between art and science. Stevens' sociology adds often illuminating statistical evidence of structural inequities in professional education and culture. With good cause, he warns us at the beginning that in order to state his case at all he has to overstate it, and his overstatements often prove startling and insightful. He sheds new light on old problems in architecture. Alternative solutions for teaching and practice he leaves up to us." -- Daniel S. Friedman, Architecture, January 1999
"This book contains many genuine insights, including a perceptive analysis of what really goes on in architecture schools... ." -- Colin Davies, Architects Journal, April 1, 1999 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
"The Favored Circle is a welcome attempt to expand the field from a sociological point of view. In doing so it suggests why the world of architecture is so closed and private." -- Jeremy Melvin, The Times Literary Supplement, April 9, 1999
"Nothwithstanding its splenetic resentment of the architectural intelligentsia, The Favored Circle offers litigants an indispensable reference in the quarrel between art and science. Stevens' sociology adds often illuminating statistical evidence of structural inequities in professional education and culture. With good cause, he warns us at the beginning that in order to state his case at all he has to overstate it, and his overstatements often prove startling and insightful. He sheds new light on old problems in architecture. Alternative solutions for teaching and practice he leaves up to us." -- Daniel S. Friedman, Architecture, January 1999
"Nothwithstanding its splenetic resentment of the architectural intelligentsia, The Favored Circle offers litigants an indispensable reference in the quarrel between art and science. Stevens' sociology adds often illuminating statistical evidence of structural inequities in professional education and culture. With good cause, he warns us at the beginning that in order to state his case at all he has to overstate it, and his overstatements often prove startling and insightful. He sheds new light on old problems in architecture. Alternative solutions for teaching and practice he leaves up to us." -- Daniel S. Friedman, Architecture, January 1999
"This book contains many genuine insights, including a perceptive analysis of what really goes on in architecture schools... ." -- Colin Davies, Architects Journal, April 1, 1999 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Garry Stevens is the founder of the Key Centre for Architectural Sociology.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazingly accurate,
By VTB (LA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Favored Circle: The Social Foundations of Architectural Distinction (Paperback)
An excellent sociological study of architectural education and profession using a Bourduvian approach. I loved it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent introduction to Bourdieau within the context of architecture.,
By
This review is from: The Favored Circle: The Social Foundations of Architectural Distinction (Paperback)
This book is an excellent introduction to Bourdieau within the context of architecture. An easy read, Stevens writes about some of the more complex Bourdivin theories in a clear and concise manner. He then applies these theories to analyse the concept of the architectural "profession", as well as critically discussing the system of architectural education within the Western world.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This book is so wrong...,
By
This review is from: The Favored Circle: The Social Foundations of Architectural Distinction (Hardcover)
The author uses an elaborate theoretical apparatus to justify his distaste for architects manly because he had departmental issues when a teacher at a Architecture School. If you really want to see a serious sociological analysis of the architectural profession, I recommend the book Architecture: The Story of a Practice by Dana Cuff.
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9
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- Design Professionals and the Built Environment: An Introduction by Paul Knox on page 213, and page 221
- Interpretation in Architecture: Design as Way of Thinking by Richard Coyne in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Architecture and Film by Mark Lamster on page 39
- What is Architecture? by Andrew Ballantyne in Back Matter
- The Prefabricated Home by Colin Davies in Back Matter
See all 9 books citing this book
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