Tracing Eisenman: Complete Works [Hardcover]

Cynthia Davidson (Editor), Greg Lynn (Contributor), Sarah Whiting (Contributor), Stan Allen (Contributor), Guido Zuliani (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2006

Perhaps more than any other architect practicing today, Peter Eisenman has made a career out of devising a dialectic of oppositions in architecture. With references to societal alienation and existing architectural forms, his work derives much from Friedrich Nietzsche, Noam Chomsky, and Jacques Derrida. He led the loosely knit group of architects known as "The New York Five" (which included John Hejduk, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, and Richard Meier), who made an effort to introduce a theory and artistry of modernist architecture as rigorous as that of the European avant-garde. This is the first comprehensive single-volume overview ever published on Eisenman's buildings and projects, from his first work, House I (1960), to his most recent projects, currently under construction in Spain and Germany. The book includes all the projects Eisenman has created, with essays from international architects and critics, including Greg Lynn, Sanford Kwinter, and Stan Allen.Eisenman currently teaches at New York's Cooper Union and at Princeton University. He has designed a wide range of projects, including the Wexner Center at Ohio State University, which received a 1993 National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects, and the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, which opened in spring 2005.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cynthia Davidson is the founder and director of The Any Foundation and editor of its book and magazine publications. She has recently launched log, a periodical that presents issues in architectural theory and criticism.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847828891
• ISBN-13: 978-0847828890
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 1.6 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 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: #583,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Here we go again..., November 4, 2009

By 

J. A. Castillo "J.A. Castillo" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tracing Eisenman: Complete Works (Hardcover)

Anybody familiar with Petey's ouvre already knows how redundant he can be when presenting work as a greatest hits collection, when he's already written many many other greatest hits collection. For people like myself that own his previous books, this will be nothing new in the "canonical" sense.

Spare yourself plunking down $75 on this garbage, and spend it on something more worthwhile.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, March 8, 2007

By 

B. Messmer (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tracing Eisenman: Complete Works (Hardcover)

Look past the poorly-designed cover- this is the most thorough monograph of Eisenman's work yet. The essayists, including Greg Lynn, keep their distance by using metaphor to describe his practice. This approach is probably best, considering the density of his theoretical and spatial entanglements. A thick, well-edited dossier, essential for investigation into Eisenman's architectural transgressions.