اشتیاق تئوریک و استراتژی های طراحی در آثار هشت معمار معاصر

by Rafael Moneo

Rafael Moneo is known to be a courageous architect. His major works include the headquarters of Bankinter in Madrid, the National Museum of Roman Art in Merida, the Davis Art Museum at Wellesley College, the Museums of Modern Art and Architecture in Stockholm, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. Now Moneo will be known as a daring critic as well. In this book, he looks at eight of his contemporaries - all architects of international stature - and discusses the theoretical positions, technical innovations, and design contributions of each. Moneo's discussion of these eight architects - James Stirling, Robert Venturi with Denise Scott Brown, Aldo Rossi, Peter Eisenman, Alvaro Siza, Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, and the partnership of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron - has the tone of a series of lectures on modern architecture by a master architect; the reader hears not the dispassionate theorizing of an academic, but Moneo's own deeply held convictions as he considers the work of his contemporaries. More than 600 illustrations accompany the text.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Design

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

José Rafael Moneo Vallés is a Spanish architect. He was born in Tudela, Spain, and won the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1996 and the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2003. He studied at the ETSAM, Technical University of Madrid (UPM) from which he received his architectural degree in 1961. From 1958 to 1961 he worked in the office in Madrid of the architect Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza. In 1963 he received a two year fellowship to study at the Spanish Academy in Rome, which had a great influence on his later work. After his return to Spain in 1965, he taught as an adjunct professor at the ETSAM in Madrid (1966-1970). In 1972, became Professor of Elements of Composition at the ETSAB, for which he moved to Barcelona. He has taught architecture at various locations around the world and from 1985 to 1990 was the chairman of Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he is the first Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture.He became Academic Numerary in the Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid in May 1997.
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Reviews

[Vinicius Mizobuti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for those interested in understanding the architecture made during the 70-90's. The eight architects that Moneo talks about in the book have strong differences in the way they approach the discipline - in theory or practice - but Moneo is a master in making sure that you understand how their backgrounds are connected or even how their work influenced each other.

Although all the (living) architects presented in the book changed their works pretty much radically since the book was published, it still is important to understand the roots of their practice. The different phases of Stirling; the transition from 'Complexity' to 'Las Vegas' for Venturi; the 'City' Rossi and the post-USA Rossi; the 'Five' and the 'Deconstructivist' Einsenman; Siza's path from Malagueira to Porto; the Gehry before Bilbao and CATIA; Koolhaas at the early years of OMA; and Herzog and de Meuron as a fresh bet to the future.

All of them, including the author, Pritzker Prize winners. All of them incredibly talented and responsible for impactful changes in the discipline. But all of them white males in the American-European architecture axis, which gives a limited picture of what Architecture was becoming in that period. It bothers me the lack of stronger mentions about the influence of Denise Scott-Brown on the work of Venturi (or his transition to 'Las Vegas') and it bothers me that he fails to mention any Japanese architect with their undeniable aesthetical influences.

Nevertheless, the book is good. And it is a great entry to the design and writings of some of the mentioned architects.

[Caroline Gurgel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente análise de Rafael Moneo, Prêmio Pritzer em 1996, sobre 8 grandes arquitetos das últimas décadas. Por se tratar de arquitetos, em alguns casos, que continuam trabalhando, sentimos falta de suas obras mais recentes, mas ainda assim a leitura feita é totalmente válida, especialmente para entender a primeira fase de suas carreiras.
O livro peca apenas na qualidade das imagens, que, em preto e branco, são, muitas vezes, pequenas e de ângulos não tão bons.
No mais, recomendadíssmo!

www.historiasdepapel.com.br
@historiasdepapel_

[Damian C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received Theoretical Anxiety and Design Strategies in the Work of Eight Contemporary Architects as a gift from one of my architecture professors at the end of the semester. At first, I did not know what to expect from its pages but was surely impressed and grateful when I reached its last chapter. There is so much theory and appreciation to absorb in regard to this book on the subject of design strategies in architecture. Rafael Moneo, an acclaimed architect, presents one of his most compelling literary offerings. Here is a study of his fellow colleagues of the contemporary architectural profession. Each chapter focuses on a study based on that given architect's philosophy and supports it with a progression of evidence via their design projects. This is a real opportunity to go deeper into each architect's collection of work that may not naturally be covered in a lecture or academic course. A truly precious rarity is to receive these studies from a world-renowned architect that has made an equally impactful legacy on the profession as his colleagues.

Such a wonderful literary work deserves to be a required companion for any creative individual perusing the architectural profession. It is such an insightful source of knowledge that the reader can apply to their own philosophy and design strategies. The content in this book is presented linearly and is pleasantly clear with visual aids of archival graphics of design projects. In very few moments, there are some contradictory opinions from Rafael Moneo that leave the reader wondering if he honestly enjoyed his colleagues' work. This may be a reflection that some architect's philosophy evolves drastically over their career and evokes contemplation. Architectural design, after all, is a profession of constant practice and has no finite destination. Upon completion from cover to cover, a heavy sense of gravity is felt on the value that this book provides to the culture and profession of architecture. I am thankful to have had the care of a professor to enrich my interest in architecture.

[Pablo Lopes · Rating 5 out of 5]

O autor analisa a obra de oito arquitetos, suas idéias, estratégias projetuais. Ao mesmo tempo, traça um panorama da arquitetura dos anos 60 até o fim dos anos 90 e a forma como os desenvolvimentos teóricos deste período se fazem presentes na obras destes arquitetos. Começando por James Stirling, um arquiteto que vive a crise do modernismo e que busca introduzir novas variáveis para revitalizar a tradição moderna (especialmente as ideias da Tendenza Italiana), Venturi & Scott Brown, e sua vontade de ser realista, de aceitar o convencional, e sua polêmica entre uma arquitetura que tinha que se expressar por suas formas, ridicularizada no estande de venda no formato de um pato, contra a arquitetura do galpão decorado, que atenderia o programa e deixaria à decoração aplicada a função de comunicar. Aldo Rossi e seus tipos, como sombras platônicas e depois à uma arquitetura de pura expressão pessoal e de imagens.Peter Eisenman e a ênfase no processo e na arbitrariedade. Alvaro Siza, o perfeito arquieto, de ecos Wrightianos, de Loos, de Aalto, com sua atenção ao conhecimento do lugar e o uso dos materiais. Gehry, o escultor e surpreendentemente convencional quanto à atender os desejos do cliente traduzidos no programa, Koolhaas e seu corte livre e sua arquitetura iconográfica, sua arquitetura de coquetel e finalmente Herzog & de Meuron, antenados aos experimentos da arte minimalista e à busca do potencial dos materiais. Leitura Fundamental e livro para ser relido.

[Morris Yen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moneo教授的精闢見解，也許有些是偏見，但表達的意見很堅定

[José Ángel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente libro. La claridad y sencillez con la que Moneo realiza sus criticas y análisis hacen de este libro una lectura imprescindible para quien desee profundizar en la arquitectura.

[Johnjbrantley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's best about the book is that it presents a lengthy overview of the work of these 8 architects within the larger world of design. I'm finding many of the blanks in my education being filled here - the issues that Stirling faced, for example, were for whatever reason not discussed in my classes. Moneo is a good writer for this sort of thing, too - good mix of color, experience and precision.

Some of the images are hard to read and some projects are discussed too generally - a few projects are just not well-communicated.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is an important book for those interested in architecture. Moneo gives light to the often mysterious part of an architects life: process, and he does it by analyzing some of the 20th century's most important architects. Many monographs today simply show the end product of a building such as photos and floor plans etc... but in this book you get to better understand the buildings through an understanding of the architects' thought processes.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a completely academic take on eight architects drawn from the incredibly abstract and even slippery lectures of Moneo, a noted architect and professor in his own right. (Most famous work: New-ish Catholic cathedral in LA.) It's okay if read as poetry but not a good place for the initiate to begin.

[mahatmanto · Rating 5 out of 5]

ratingnya ngikuti undi ajah! walau pun belum kebaca abis, baru intronya doaang...:-)
tapi saya emang terpesona dan mengikuti tulisan dan karya moneo sejak artikel dia 'on typology' di OPPOSITIONS itu. dari sana saya dikenalkan juga pada anthony vidler segala.

[Francisco Costa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boa Análise e Resumo das origens, do método de projecto e das obras de 8 arquitectos que marcaram a Arquitectura Mundial no final do Século XX.