Reconstructing architecture for the twenty-first century : an inquiry into the architect's world / Anthony Jackson.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In examining intersecting ideas about myth, culture, class, and design, the author draws examples from a wide array of architectural styles, ranging from Classical to Post Modern.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Something is very wrong with architecture as it is practiced today. This is the thesis of Jackson's provocative critique of contemporary architecture. The author (Technical Univ. of Nova Scotia) argues that architects--armed with esoteric theories that serve as elaborate rationalizations for capricious designs rather than useful explanations of the social significance of architecture, and aided and abetted by critics and historians--have created an alienating environment that undermines any sense of viable community and public welfare. This is an architectural lament in the tradition of Tom Wolfe's From Bauhaus to Our House (1981), although the scope of Jackson's analysis far exceeds Wolfe's efforts. Jackson ranges over the entire history of architecture in search of the roots of architecture's present predicament. His description of the problem is more sharply drawn than his prescriptions for solutions, and thoughtful readers, no doubt, will argue with details of both. The author's writing style is the opposite of the obfuscating prose he condemns and should appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. The black-and-white illustrations, along with footnotes and an index, nicely supplement the text. General; lower-division undergraduate; professional. D. P. Doordan; University of Notre Dame