What is Architecture?: And 100 Other Questions

by Rasmus Wærn, Gert Wingårdh, Gerry Johansson (Photographs)

This entertaining and informative book explores the world of architecture through a series of 101 questions and answers that cover a wide range of issues on its practice and theory. There are historical questions, such as "Who was the first architect?" and "Are all churches architecture?" as well as ones that relate to contemporary activity, such as "Have computers changed architecture?" and "How small can a home get?." There are also many that are intriguing and irreverent, such as "Why do architects want to paint the world white?" and "Is Dubai a city?". For each of the questions there is a brief, one-line answer and then a more extended discussion. Aimed at both general readers as well as those in the field, this book will make a perfect purchase or gift for anyone interested in architecture.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Swedish Literature, Design

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Sina Tahmasbi · Rating 2 out of 5]

ترجمه بد باعث شد بخش زیادی از منظور رو متوجه نشم، و خود کتاب هم زیاد به موضوعات تخصصی اشاره ای نمیکرد، دوستاره رو بخاطر سه چهار تا از پرسش و پاسخ ها میدم که جالب بودن‌.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a funny little hot pink book! I picked this one off a library display table partially because of the size + color, but mostly because I've been reading/thinking a lot about the built environment lately. This book has 101 questions with each presenting a pithy short answer and long answer on the next page. It's a very oblique, philosophical look at architecture; and you can tell its the result of conversations between the authors.

Some questions I enjoyed and/or questions whose answers I enjoyed:
3. How long will modernity be dressed in glass? (Short answer: As long as you can claim that glass is almost nothing.)
7. What makes cities so fascinating? (Short answer: They're really, really complicated.)
28. What do buildings sound like? (Short answer: Good buildings sound quiet.)
32. What's the worst thing about architecture today? (Short answer: Ceilings.)
39. Should architects build on the best place on the site? (Short answer: No, next to it.)
49. What is architecture? (Short answer: The built image of ourselves.)
54. The opportunities seem infinite. If an architect could highlight just one quality, what should it be? (Short answer: Light.)
55. Where does form come from? (Short answer: The law of gravity.)
63. Is there something special about marble? (Short answer: Yes. Nothing is as devastating for artistic liberty as a good reputation.)
64. Why is uncompromising architecture so good? (Short answer: Because it's beautiful when everything works together.)
65. Why is uncompromising architecture so bad? (Short answer: Because people aren't all alike.)
69. What is noise? (Short answer: An evaluation.)
92. Is five better than four? (Short answer: Yes, for the most part.)

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

"What is Architecture and 100 other very important questions" had some good one-liners.

[Abdulla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has an interesting title What is Architecture and 100 other questions? And I thought potentially it could open pandora's box and it kind of did in one way or another. As the authors stated at the beginning some of their answers may be contradictory and they should be. In architecture there aren’t right or wrong answers, there is a different range of answers for a single question. The majority of the questions asked in this book are really important to be asked in architecture and they need to be out there so people can better understand what architecture is and what architects do. This book can be a starting point for anyone interested in architecture, the different range of topics that are brought up can be used to direct you to a certain architectural field that you might be interested in.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book at first glance might seem like another one of those non-informative lists in book form with no substantial return for the reader. It's pocket-sized, pink and comes with the premise to answer 101 questions, amongst which behemoth questions such as the name-giving 'What is architecture?' and 'What does architecture do for us?'.

Nonetheless drawn to the subject, I gave it a shot, and eventually I wasn't disappointed. In a good way. The authors convey some deep and profound points for such a compact format and surprised with some of the answers. Reading on, one soon realises that this is by no means a book that was done in a hurry, but is based on life-long observations and experience summarised beautifully in accessible but cunning prose.

[Billykal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant and interesting read, although in some points it lacks some "edge"

[Zai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro que todo estudiante de arquitectura debe leer.

[Olivia Sell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for people interested in architecture or people studying to architect.

[Niklas Skerfving · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vissa guldkorn, men också en hel del plattityder.

[Fabian Gribing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kul ”take” på hela den fack-litterära genren. En hel del intressanta tankar och tips!

[Makda Abebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kompakti, kevyt, hauska, runollinen.

[Lighthouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

A neat little book.
Architecture & Philosophy: correlation 100/10
Inspiration: Architects are cool
Additional thoughts: There are quotes in this book I can use later on

[Maria Oxelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bra, lättläst, lättillgänglig. Ger inga djupa spår, men ändå funderare för stunden. Kanske går tillbaka till den och tittar på några frågor och svar.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This quirky little handbook is a great conversation piece. One hundred questions about architecture are posed and answered, in short and long(er) form. Questions are authors Rasmus Waern and Gert Wingardh's approach to describing the enigmatic essence of architecture.

The questions are what make the book so fun. I was hooked by the first one: Why is the world most beautiful at twilight? In the slivered space between reading the question and the short answer, my eyes drifted to reimagine the luminous frames in Sorrentino's "La Grande Bellezza". In the fraction of a moment, I knew this book wasn't just about architecture, and by extension, was reminded that architecture isn't just about architecture.

The answers are arguably incomplete and subjective. Yet after each question and answer set (short and long), I found myself closing the book to think more about the implications of the answers. I imagined sitting around a table deep in conversation with others who might have had different experiences and perspectives.

Other than the cover image and a few, small black and white thumbnails, there are no pictures in the book. However, I truly enjoyed the inevitable exercise of calling Fallingwater and Gaudi's Barcelona (for example) to mind when they were mentioned. Thus it seems this book is better suited for those basically versed in architecture- a continuing conversation, rather than a beginning one.

This little book is for the ages, a surprising treasure in an otherwise unassuming, albeit bright, package. A delightful find.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Succinct and honest.

I like that a lot of ground was covered through questions explicitly about Architecture, and some not so directly related - because Architecture is about everything in some ways. It gave me insight into a lot of things I had asked myself but had not concluded to anything before on my own.

The Q&A format was like reading a conversation - you could imagine the process the authors went to writing them and that the answer published was something they had thoroughly discussed to get to that point. And the great thing about the answers are is that they make sense - sometimes logic in Architecture is blurry due to it being very subjective in a lot of ways. But this book proposes thoughts that I think a lot of people would also agree with - a general 'correctness'.

A compact and playful read - I can definitely see myself going back to certain pages to reference in the future.

[Thikra · Rating 4 out of 5]

”32. ما أسوأ شيء في العمارة اليوم؟
-الأسقف.
لقد تطورت الأسقف من كونها الجزء المركزي الأهم في الغرفة الى كونها منطقة للتجهيزات الآلية. لقد اعتدنا دائماً في أعظم الأماكن في العالم كله أن ننظر الى أعلى في خشية ومهابة. وفي المساحة التي كانت أبصارنا تلتقي فيها من قبل أسقفا مُقوَّسة خيالية، أو مجموعة تراكيب مدهشة داعمة للسقف، او لمسات زخرفية مميزة، نجد اليوم عادة الألواح العازلة للصوت، وأشغال الأنانيب، ومصابيح الفلورسنت. ومنذ أن تخليّنا عن السقف بوصفه مساحة للإبداع مع بزوغ عصر التكنولوجيا، عانينا كثيرًا من أجل استعادته. ومن الصعب اليوم أن تنافس جميع هذه التجهيزات الآلية عندما يكون كل ماتطالب به هو سطح أبيض فارغ. لكن اذا فكرنا في رؤية الزامية لمكان مصمم بيحث يكون السقف ميزته الأساسية وأبرز ملامحه، فيمكن لهذه الرؤية أن تأسر حتى اكثر العقود براجماتية. ثمة سبب وجيه لأن تكون عنيداً ثابتاً على رأيك: مادمنا نادراً مانعيد تنظيم السقف أو زخرفته كما نفعل في باقي اجزاء المكان، فلننتبه الى ان ما نبدعه فوق رؤوسنا يدوم لزمن طويل.“
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