Customer Reviews

Wolf D. Prix & Coop Himmelb(l)au: Get Off of My Cloud

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This book is quite a joy to read and have, if one is interested in understanding (a bit) how an important architect like Wolf D. Prix constructs - or de/re-constructs - his thoughts and points of view... The graphics and lettering of the book are kind of loose and low profile...which is an asset. I really appreciate the fact that W.D.Prix compares architecture to [rock]music [even though I am not a huge fan of Rolling Stones]...I think that this volume is pleasant to read, it offers one a basic background to Coop Himmelb[l]au's historical and conceptual profile... It is not exactly a manifesto of their work,...it is closer to an article-archive, concerning the architects' thoughts and mental images, procecess and a bit of Vienese, architectural "radicalism".I believe that dividing the book into chapters like "Programmatic Texts", "Selected Project Texts","Lectures", "Interviews", "On Friends And Foes" and "...And Other Texts" alows the reader to have a panoramic view of the uncanny beauty of CoopHimmelb[l]au's work, in terms of texts [ Derrida would have loved that, I guess!]...I believe that this book could be an ideal primer, especially for architectural students and professional architects who are mature enough to understand Prix's mentality and point of view, without translating it automatically into the architecture he produced/-es..."Thinking Across Borders" is what it is all about! Finally, I believe that the book has a more of a "Gimme Shelter" [ even though shelter and astronaut-spacesuits used to be of the same value for W.D.Prix back in the 70's!] and "Start Me Up" effect on me, rather than a "Get Off Of My Cloud" one! Love it! ;-)