Placemaking: Production of Built Environment in Two Cultures (Ethnoscapes) [Hardcover]

David Stea (Author), Mete Turan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1856284603 | ISBN-13: 978-1856284608 | Publication Date: April 1993

This comparative study, a product of more than a decade of work, approaches the prehistoric and vernacular architecture of two widely separated peoples in an entirely new way. The ancient Anasazi of the present American southwest and the "Rock Dwellers" of Cappadocia in Anatolian Turkey evolved solutions to problems of dwelling in geologically identical environments, solutions alike in certain ways and decidedly different in others. This book traces the development of settlements in these two locations, allowing environmental and cultural determinisms to be weighed against each other and against alternative explanations, including classical dialectical materialism and sequence hierarchies. "Placemaking" is about the context of built form: the production of architecture and settlement. These are analyzed in terms of the social forces that have given rise to physical artifacts, rather than the artifacts themselves. Much has been written about monuments, sacred architecture (churches, kivas) ritual, and symbolic meaning in these two regions, and much less about the generative forces and purposes of ordinary building activity. this book, an attempt to "right the balance", also builds upon the results of this comparative case study to produce a general framework for interpretation.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Avebury (April 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1856284603
• ISBN-13: 978-1856284608
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #238,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Placemaking: Production of Built Environment in Two Cultures (Ethnoscapes), September 8, 2010

By 

natita - See all my reviews

This review is from: Placemaking: Production of Built Environment in Two Cultures (Ethnoscapes) (Hardcover)

Placemaking is a meticulous and sensible book by David Stea and Mete
Turan that explores the process of development of early neolithic
dwellers of the Anasazi region of North America and of Anatolia, both
homes to extraordinary civilizations. The authors demonstrate how
these (once considered "primitive") settlers created and urbanized two
of the worlds most beautiful landscapes with functional architecture.
The parallels between these unique cultures are explored by the
book's authors through a profound historical study that provides a
unforgettable journey from cultural determinism to a reflective
dialogue deep into the dimensions of culture. However, the pages of
this book, besides carefully examining the socioeconomic structures of
the Classic Pueblo period and of the Anatolia fortified cities, also
hold an array of the authors own theories allowing the reader to
understand the authors' attempt to comprehend unique manifestations
of spatial organization. The wise dwellers of these two places were
full-fledged environmentalists . Here one is delightfully exposed to
extensive knowledge in harsh landscapes that reflects how they came
to manage the necessary agricultural balance at successive stages in
the constant struggle to establish their own unique civilizations.

Placemaking is a work of devotion and appreciation for the ancient
builders and an excellent reference book for future planners who seek
facts, examples and the forms of human settlements which truly reflect
the needs and aspirations of majestic past societies, generators of
culture and civic participation in touch with a dialogue between
nature and their communities. These places may once have been
perceived or described as "primitive", but their dwellers, creators
of forms and patterns for each structure that express an ever-
changing social order, remind us of the conflict between the growth
of bureaucracy and human dignity.

0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Structure has nothing to do with it., April 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Placemaking: Production of Built Environment in Two Cultures (Ethnoscapes) (Hardcover)

It's alright, I guess. But an axon would've made it better