BLUE MONDAY

by Kazys; Sumrell Robert Varnelis, Kazys Varnelis

AUDCs first book captures three moments in modern culture that offer glimpses into our increasingly perverse relationship to architecture, cities, and objects. The first, Ether, explores Los Angeles telecom hotel One Wilshire, a 39 story building of utter banality and complete mystery. The second, the Stimulus Progression, looks at the strange story of the Muzak Corporation and the invention of a culture of horizontality. The third, Quartzsite, Arizona, visits a desert town of some 3,000 people in the summer that swells to over a million residents every year as a horde of modern nomads descends upon it in their Recreational Vehicles. AUDC �Robert Sumrell and Kazys Varnelis� explores the strange reality around us in a lively mix of philosophy, photography, architectural drawings and models, and new media.

Genres: Architecture

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book. A tad academic, but as you read and think about the implications we do live in an absurd reality. And people accept it. I had to Wikipedia several of his sources to understand how it all fits together and it really does all fit together.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sumrell and Varnelis strike an admirable balance between imported theory (mostly Marx and Hardt & Negri) and genuinely interesting subject matter. This book is engaging, humorous and at times consciousness-altering. AUDC has set a new standard for architectural theory.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

...a wonderful collection giving insight into the shift from physical to virtual,the interplay between the two, etc...

[Tom & Beverly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never finished it. Fun/funky but it couldn't keep my interest