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Looking Around a Journey Through Archite
From the opening sentences of his first book on architecture. Home, Witold Rybczynski seduced readers into a new appreciation of the spaces they live in. He also introduced us to "an unerringly lucid writer who knows how to translate architectural ideas into layman's terms" (The Dallas Morning News). Rybczynski's vast knowledge, his sense of wonder, and his elegantly uncluttered prose shine on every page of his latest meditation on the art of building. Looking Around is about architecture as an art of compromise - between beauty and function, aspiration and engineering, builders and clients. It is the story of the Seagram Building in New York and the Wexner Center for the Visual Arts in Columbus, Ohio - a museum that opened without a single painting on view, so that critics could better appreciate its design. But what of the visitors who want a building that displays art well? What of those who work in the building? Looking Around explores the notion of the architect as superstar and assesses giants from Palladio to Michael Graves, styles from classicism to high tech. It demonstrates how architecture actually works - or doesn't - in corporate headquarters, airports, private homes, and the special buildings designed to represent our civilization. For all its erudition, Looking Around is also bracingly straightforward. Rybczynski looks closely and critically at structures that may once have dazzled us with their ostentation and expense, and sees them as triumphs or failures - of aesthetic ideals and of lasting function. This is a fascinating and illuminating book about an art form integral to our lives.
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First published January 1, 1992
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About the author
Witold Rybczynski
57 books176 followersWitold Rybczynski was born in Edinburgh, of Polish parentage, raised in London, and attended Jesuit schools in England and Canada. He studied architecture at McGill University in Montreal, where he also taught for twenty years. He is currently the Martin and Margy Meyerson Professor of Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also co-edits the Wharton Real Estate Review. Rybczynski has designed and built houses as a registered architect, as well as doing practical experiments in low-cost housing, which took him to Mexico, Nigeria, India, the Philippines, and China.
(From www.witoldrybczynski.com)
(From www.witoldrybczynski.com)
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 3, 2011
I imagine these magazine pieces would have felt relevant for a year or so after publication, but by 1992 when this collection was assembled, their shelf life was approaching its end. Rybczynski's writing has none of the freshness of an architecture critic like Paul Goldberger, or the pungency of a Robert Hughes. It has a blandness that would be at home in an airline magazine. I also have to question his taste, given that he approves of Robert Graves' Portland Municipal Building but not of I.M. Pei's National Gallery, East Wing. (It reminds him of shopping malls, hotels and office buildings, what with its soaring atrium filled with nothing, and art galleries shoved to the perimeter. Nevermind that the atrium is filled with art, and the galleries are fine, not badly lit, not awkwardly proportioned.)
The article "Shaping Chicago's Future" was interesting, if only because it described buildings in the planning stages at the time the book went to press, which never ended up being built, like the 2000-foot Miglin-Beitler Tower, designed by Cesar Pelli (who went on to build the Petronas Towers). Poor Lee Miglin went on to be murdered by Versace-killer Andrew Cunanan, in 1997.
The article "Shaping Chicago's Future" was interesting, if only because it described buildings in the planning stages at the time the book went to press, which never ended up being built, like the 2000-foot Miglin-Beitler Tower, designed by Cesar Pelli (who went on to build the Petronas Towers). Poor Lee Miglin went on to be murdered by Versace-killer Andrew Cunanan, in 1997.
February 22, 2017
3.5 stars. I was introduced to Witold Rybczynski's writing way back in high school, when I had to read his book Home: A Short History of an Idea (which I reread again this past summer). In my opinion, Looking Around was more readable than Home, if only because it's more of an anthology of articles that Rybczynski previously wrote for various publications. I don't think any section was longer than 15 pages, and many were only 5 or so pages long, which made this book very easy to read as I had random pockets of free time.
Originally published in 1993, some of this book's examples and ideas are naturally outdated today. For example, Rybczynski seems to have a generally favorable opinion of Le Corbusier, who has of course fallen out of fashion now in contemporary urban planning circles. In addition, some of the architectural examples could certainly be updated to more recent buildings. If this book had been more recent I would have bumped it up to 4 stars.
Speaking personally, I did enjoy the moments when Rybczynski threw some shade at the developments near Tysons Corner (which were just beginning at the time of his writing). As someone who lives near-ish Tysons Corner nearly 25 later, I can confirm that the area's architecture is just as bland and inspiring as it was then.
Oh, yeah, this is my cities book for February. Two books down, 10 more to go in 2017!
Originally published in 1993, some of this book's examples and ideas are naturally outdated today. For example, Rybczynski seems to have a generally favorable opinion of Le Corbusier, who has of course fallen out of fashion now in contemporary urban planning circles. In addition, some of the architectural examples could certainly be updated to more recent buildings. If this book had been more recent I would have bumped it up to 4 stars.
Speaking personally, I did enjoy the moments when Rybczynski threw some shade at the developments near Tysons Corner (which were just beginning at the time of his writing). As someone who lives near-ish Tysons Corner nearly 25 later, I can confirm that the area's architecture is just as bland and inspiring as it was then.
Oh, yeah, this is my cities book for February. Two books down, 10 more to go in 2017!
August 2, 2012
Here is an unusual book: Witold Rybczynski takes us wandering through the professional byways of a subject usually reserved for a more intellectual readership, if such a thing exists. Why architecture is important and what makes it so is the subject matter here, brought to us by a very competent writer. Delightfully so, in fact, as Rybczynski has the storyteller's ability to weft and weave.
The stories he has chosen here are a mixed bunch and we are asked to think about such diverse constructions as the American bungalow, the Grow Home and public buildings like the Canadian Centre for Architecture. He has stories to tell about all of them, the people who live in or use them and the odd trends which are sometimes responsible for a particular design. As he points out, although we use architecture every day of our lives and are clearly affected by it (whether we know it or not), we are more than prone to take it for granted. Should we not be more aware of what's around us, in general? This book offers up some thoughtful ideas on the subject.
The stories he has chosen here are a mixed bunch and we are asked to think about such diverse constructions as the American bungalow, the Grow Home and public buildings like the Canadian Centre for Architecture. He has stories to tell about all of them, the people who live in or use them and the odd trends which are sometimes responsible for a particular design. As he points out, although we use architecture every day of our lives and are clearly affected by it (whether we know it or not), we are more than prone to take it for granted. Should we not be more aware of what's around us, in general? This book offers up some thoughtful ideas on the subject.
March 25, 2020
Serves as a really accessible introduction to the frameworks of modern and postmodern architecture, primarily in the US. Came away with much to further investigate, lots of names, lots of buildings. I can’t imagine a seasoned builder / architecture student would find many ideas they hadn’t already encountered but nonetheless a sweet read
June 17, 2024
I am not going to mark this collection of essays down for being products of their time. Witold was working through the general cultural soup of the age, the generally understood path of how it got there, and what it meant. Just because he was working in the late-1980s was not his fault.
Neither will I mark it down for being directed to a general audience. I miss the era of thoughtful explainers for a general audience. It's a genre that seems to have mostly been relegated to YouTube these days, a venue not really conducive to reflection and depth but rather to a robot voice intoning improperly pronounced words over stock footage. And Witold gets points for being an acceptable writer to a general audience. His prose is fluid and his writing style genial.
But, boy howdy, I will mark this book down for being useless.
This is entirely an artifact of my scholarly background in urban planning, history, and geography, so if you are one of those folks who believes that my expertise in this topic is disqualifying, because for some people that is apparently a convincing argument, you are forewarned and can stop reading this now.
Even at the time he was writing, every one of the conjectures written up in a manner very reminiscent of Thomas Friedman, is based upon a perception of the built environment that was shallow and observational, and also framed in a manner already passe to most experts in the field. There is a premise behind Witold's view of the built environment that buildings devolve organically from their use. It's an evolutionary perspective that stresses continuity over change. This sends our author into the weeds to find social reasons for changing building forms, many of which are founded in the deeply normative context of 1980s misogyny, gender roles, and an absolute valorization of the nuclear family.
It's in the section that seems to be the most favored by general readers, that about 'Home', where Witold really allows his tunnel vision to take control. The main issue I take with these essays is that they only consider the American ideal of a Middle Class home as it developed between 1890 and 1990. The primary topics organizing these pieces is some trend or change Witold feels stems from changes in the family. He is particularly obsessed with the demise of the front parlor (aka drawing room). How many different ways can one man write about how women's participation in the workforce has ruined the classic middle-class home? Turns out, it's an awful lot. Now for context, the actual literature of the time examining the vanishing parlor, the shrinking dining room, the role of the house in people's lives, was very much focused on how the home was a reflection of class anxiety and consumer culture. Also emergent at this exact time was a nuanced understanding of just how narrow this version of homelife is, and that it was always an unachievable ideal (see More Work For Mother for a perfect counter to this collection).
Any space outside of the home is viewed as male organized and heroically designed. It's bad.
This series of shallow pop-lit hot takes with nothing backing them up but vague generalities persists throughout the volume. It's not that the topics are irrelevant or unworthy as a topic, the flaw is that Withold hasn't really anything to say about it that is useful or interesting. One does not put this book down with a deeper understanding of the built environment. It's opinion framed as serious critical insight.
These flaws, this lack of actual insight, is why this volume feels so detached from reality 30 years later. His tastes, what he feels to be emergent trends, how he believes a building (a home in particular) should be arranged, are all just hot takes based on nothing but his feelings. It's incredibly myopic. I was so disappointed in reading this because Home: A Short History of an Idea is one of those books that I have always thought I should read because it was everywhere. I no longer feel that I need bother.
Neither will I mark it down for being directed to a general audience. I miss the era of thoughtful explainers for a general audience. It's a genre that seems to have mostly been relegated to YouTube these days, a venue not really conducive to reflection and depth but rather to a robot voice intoning improperly pronounced words over stock footage. And Witold gets points for being an acceptable writer to a general audience. His prose is fluid and his writing style genial.
But, boy howdy, I will mark this book down for being useless.
This is entirely an artifact of my scholarly background in urban planning, history, and geography, so if you are one of those folks who believes that my expertise in this topic is disqualifying, because for some people that is apparently a convincing argument, you are forewarned and can stop reading this now.
Even at the time he was writing, every one of the conjectures written up in a manner very reminiscent of Thomas Friedman, is based upon a perception of the built environment that was shallow and observational, and also framed in a manner already passe to most experts in the field. There is a premise behind Witold's view of the built environment that buildings devolve organically from their use. It's an evolutionary perspective that stresses continuity over change. This sends our author into the weeds to find social reasons for changing building forms, many of which are founded in the deeply normative context of 1980s misogyny, gender roles, and an absolute valorization of the nuclear family.
It's in the section that seems to be the most favored by general readers, that about 'Home', where Witold really allows his tunnel vision to take control. The main issue I take with these essays is that they only consider the American ideal of a Middle Class home as it developed between 1890 and 1990. The primary topics organizing these pieces is some trend or change Witold feels stems from changes in the family. He is particularly obsessed with the demise of the front parlor (aka drawing room). How many different ways can one man write about how women's participation in the workforce has ruined the classic middle-class home? Turns out, it's an awful lot. Now for context, the actual literature of the time examining the vanishing parlor, the shrinking dining room, the role of the house in people's lives, was very much focused on how the home was a reflection of class anxiety and consumer culture. Also emergent at this exact time was a nuanced understanding of just how narrow this version of homelife is, and that it was always an unachievable ideal (see More Work For Mother for a perfect counter to this collection).
Any space outside of the home is viewed as male organized and heroically designed. It's bad.
This series of shallow pop-lit hot takes with nothing backing them up but vague generalities persists throughout the volume. It's not that the topics are irrelevant or unworthy as a topic, the flaw is that Withold hasn't really anything to say about it that is useful or interesting. One does not put this book down with a deeper understanding of the built environment. It's opinion framed as serious critical insight.
These flaws, this lack of actual insight, is why this volume feels so detached from reality 30 years later. His tastes, what he feels to be emergent trends, how he believes a building (a home in particular) should be arranged, are all just hot takes based on nothing but his feelings. It's incredibly myopic. I was so disappointed in reading this because Home: A Short History of an Idea is one of those books that I have always thought I should read because it was everywhere. I no longer feel that I need bother.
September 15, 2019
This is a book of reprinted magazine essays from the 1980s, and as such it suffers as any book would from being both outdated and repetitive. But there are a ton of fascinating insights in the book, and it whets your appetite for reading more about the architects who are mentioned, looking at buildings (and other structures) online and, when possible, visiting them. Overall, it's a really interesting book.
I found the opening section on homes was the best, perhaps because I'm more familiar with homes than with the public structures discussed later in the book. Rybczynski's descriptions of how houses evolved is fascinating -- what a parlor and a sitting room were; how a kitchen has gone from being hidden to becoming a display room and family room; the use of picture windows in 1950s and 1960s US homes as a way for passersby to look in, rather than for homeowners to look out. And he ties it into the retreat by so many Americans from public spaces into their private spaces at home, and therefore the motivation to lavish even more spending on their private spaces. His descriptions of homes and apartments that I've seen (Frank Lloyd Wright, California bungalows, the Montreal "Habitat 67") ring very true.
The 2nd and 3rd parts of the book get a little deeper into architectural history and philosophy, and they are a little harder for a layperson such as me to follow. They cover big, public buildings, especially museums and office towers. I would have benefited from more explanation of the principles of Modernism, which were referred to a lot but assumed that I understood. Since they took over architecture in the 1930s-1960s (approximately) and then were the standard against which architects next shifted, I need to know more. But I still understood the basic points about straight lines, exposed beams, lots of glass, etc. I looked at some images online while, and it helped.
Lots of interesting discussion about the emergence of signature looks for museums -- and how they can overwhelm and ruin the art -- that began in the 1980s and has continued today. We see this a lot with new, hipper museums for rock music and modern art especially.
Rybczynski is still around and still writing. I'm going to check out his newer works, as well as his books that would provide a more complete analysis of a particular topic or two. But based on this book, he has a lot to teach us about architecture and its place in our culture.
I found the opening section on homes was the best, perhaps because I'm more familiar with homes than with the public structures discussed later in the book. Rybczynski's descriptions of how houses evolved is fascinating -- what a parlor and a sitting room were; how a kitchen has gone from being hidden to becoming a display room and family room; the use of picture windows in 1950s and 1960s US homes as a way for passersby to look in, rather than for homeowners to look out. And he ties it into the retreat by so many Americans from public spaces into their private spaces at home, and therefore the motivation to lavish even more spending on their private spaces. His descriptions of homes and apartments that I've seen (Frank Lloyd Wright, California bungalows, the Montreal "Habitat 67") ring very true.
The 2nd and 3rd parts of the book get a little deeper into architectural history and philosophy, and they are a little harder for a layperson such as me to follow. They cover big, public buildings, especially museums and office towers. I would have benefited from more explanation of the principles of Modernism, which were referred to a lot but assumed that I understood. Since they took over architecture in the 1930s-1960s (approximately) and then were the standard against which architects next shifted, I need to know more. But I still understood the basic points about straight lines, exposed beams, lots of glass, etc. I looked at some images online while, and it helped.
Lots of interesting discussion about the emergence of signature looks for museums -- and how they can overwhelm and ruin the art -- that began in the 1980s and has continued today. We see this a lot with new, hipper museums for rock music and modern art especially.
Rybczynski is still around and still writing. I'm going to check out his newer works, as well as his books that would provide a more complete analysis of a particular topic or two. But based on this book, he has a lot to teach us about architecture and its place in our culture.
May 22, 2022
This book was published in 1992, compiled from essays previously published much earlier, but architecture is a lasting art. And after more time to see how well they work, buildings can be more or less workable than when they were built. Some styles last, some don't fare so well. I like the fact that he considers homes and smaller less-important structures worthy of an architect's efforts. Many architects and architecture students only want to have anything to do with grand structures and monuments. They also don't care much about the person or group for whom the building is constructed. But the rest of us have to live with what they give us.
One thing that is a problem with the book itself is the lack of illustrations of the buildings he talks about. But now we have the Internet. It's worthwhile having a cellphone or tablet handy to look up whatever he mentions. Also on the Internet we can get many different views of the buildings.
I like this book and consider it worth reading, even though I haven't seen most of the buildings he talks about.
Even 30 years later than the book date, his views are worth considering in the life of a city. If everything is built to be outstanding, how can anything be outstanding, except as part of a jumble.
One thing that is a problem with the book itself is the lack of illustrations of the buildings he talks about. But now we have the Internet. It's worthwhile having a cellphone or tablet handy to look up whatever he mentions. Also on the Internet we can get many different views of the buildings.
I like this book and consider it worth reading, even though I haven't seen most of the buildings he talks about.
Even 30 years later than the book date, his views are worth considering in the life of a city. If everything is built to be outstanding, how can anything be outstanding, except as part of a jumble.
December 10, 2016
I really enjoyed this book, which meanders through architecture discussing important differences between domestic briefs, galleries, public buildings and more.
He is scathing of domestic mock gables hiding flat rooves, hyperactive street facades and boring unadorned walls facing the rear garden where people spend most of their time.
The author discusses some of the famous traditional and modernist architects and their work, highlighting examples of the best and worst of each type, for example Schiphol airport which has no advertising (bliss) and has cartoons running on TV monitors. There are showers and rest cabins and lounges heavily padded in fabric so you can lie down and sleep. Compare with Sydney's overtly commercial terminal and I know which I would prefer. Good architecture can't be achieved with a bad client.
He is scathing of domestic mock gables hiding flat rooves, hyperactive street facades and boring unadorned walls facing the rear garden where people spend most of their time.
The author discusses some of the famous traditional and modernist architects and their work, highlighting examples of the best and worst of each type, for example Schiphol airport which has no advertising (bliss) and has cartoons running on TV monitors. There are showers and rest cabins and lounges heavily padded in fabric so you can lie down and sleep. Compare with Sydney's overtly commercial terminal and I know which I would prefer. Good architecture can't be achieved with a bad client.
April 5, 2021
A set of interesting, insightful, informative essays for anybody who knows all of the architects, firms, and buildings being discussed. This was rather difficult to progress through at times, because the author would often list out a whole series of architects' names, firms, styles, and movements, without the context necessary for a non-architect to really follow.
It was still quite interesting, and generally well-written. I feel like this would be interesting to somebody who was actively studying Architecture -- a historical perspective that would cast the ensuing 30 years in a different light -- but I don't think I'd recommend it to casual readers like myself who just don't know the topic.
It was still quite interesting, and generally well-written. I feel like this would be interesting to somebody who was actively studying Architecture -- a historical perspective that would cast the ensuing 30 years in a different light -- but I don't think I'd recommend it to casual readers like myself who just don't know the topic.
March 5, 2023
I was really confused when a yoga classmate loaned this to me with no comment. I am not an architect and she didn't know of my art history/design background. After reading the first unit on the home I kept insisting I was done with the book. But I invariably picked it up again. Every few essays was fascinating. Some favorites were "The Androgynous House," "If A Chair Is a Work of Art Can You Still Sit on it," and "A Homemade House." Having a strong personal stance on craft and craft theory I found his approach to craft a bit simple. Otherwise though this was really fun to read and made me think about architecture in new ways. cool book. Thanks Judy.
June 22, 2018
Three-line review: When I picked this up at a used bookstore last year, I thought it would be some sort of commentary about how society interacts with, reflects, and relates to the buildings in their everyday lives. Unfortunately, it's a series of articles about various architectural aspects — suburban design, choosing an architect, the design of malls and shrines, etc. — and it was ridiculously boring. Without an architectural background, this book was just a collection of names, terminology, and analysis that didn't mean anything to me.
May 11, 2019
Love the perspective this book gives on ways to appreciate architecture. Rybczynski is not one to simply discard a building because it functions as a residence, but asks his readers to pay attention to what intersections happen in each structure, and how well that structure facilitates that meeting, especially over time.
January 4, 2019
This is a series of essays and articles that rewards slow, thoughtful reading if you are interested in how architecture functions as part of a society and as part of history.
February 10, 2014
Planning on building a house, I was especially interested in Rybczynski's thoughts and insights about homes and what they should look like. From the start I was captivated. Wanting to be sleek and modern, I thought an architect would quickly confirm my ideas. Instead, at the start of the book Rybczynski, with reasoning, brings the reader back to the traditional home and approves of it; and makes me want to build one... and live in a lovely little neighborhood.
He moves beyond the house and Looking Around takes us into the cities and towns to look at public buildings like art museums. The history and progression that he packs into this book is very insightful.
He says, "I am not arguing for a historical style as much as for a historical attitude- deja-vu, as opposed to avant-garde. An awareness of history- of the successes and failures of the past should inform architectural design to a greater degree than it now does."
He moves beyond the house and Looking Around takes us into the cities and towns to look at public buildings like art museums. The history and progression that he packs into this book is very insightful.
He says, "I am not arguing for a historical style as much as for a historical attitude- deja-vu, as opposed to avant-garde. An awareness of history- of the successes and failures of the past should inform architectural design to a greater degree than it now does."
March 29, 2010
After I really enjoyed Rybczynski's Last Harvest a couple of months ago, I picked up two more of his books. I had no idea that this book was 20 years old before I read it, but most of it still feels very applicable. There are only a couple references to technology that feel dated. He expands on many of the themes that I enjoyed in Last Harvest, particularly the way that houses and residential architecture can be used through time as an indicator of the views and values of American society at a particular point in time. My favorite thing about Rybczynski, and the reason that this book makes a nice corollary to Alain De Batton's Architecture of Happiness, is that he is beholden to no particular architectural movement and above all insists that architecture must be humane and respectful of context.
September 29, 2007
A excellent, though perhaps slight, collection of essays on architecture as lived experience. These are personal commentaries, not didactic critiques, yet there is much of value in them. From the final essay, "The Art of Building": "When the link between design and construction is broken, as it is in so many modern buildings, architecture is the loser, and architects are cast adrift, searching for inspiration in history, philosophy, sculpture, and painting."
April 14, 2013
I love Witold and reading about the art and meaning of buildings. This is a fine overview of both homes and public architecture. It's a bit dated in some ways -- written in the early 1990s, but I still learned a lot. From bungalows, to Eero Saarinen's Habitat in Montreal, to traditional urban courtyard homes in China, to Eames, to the John Hancock Building, to airports, to malls. Lots of fun and all in small, easy to read chapters. Just wish there were more pictures!
July 11, 2008
"Looking Around" has aged in places (it's a collection of magazine pieces from the late 1980's and early 1990's), but is still an engaging read. Rybczynski's a thoughtful and graceful writer, and the book is refreshingly free of jargon -- anybody who's interested in the ideas behind architecture will find something to like here.
January 22, 2011
This was a wonderful book on the different aspects of architecture. It covered a wide variety of architectural ideas in essay form. It took me a long time to complete the book but I am glad I was introduced to the writer and would read more of his work. It does assist me in being more observant when looking at buildings.
March 17, 2007
Mildly entertaining collection of magazine essays on architecture. Reasonably advocates that more attention be paid to ordinary, "background", architecture rather than the monumental projects (skyscrapers, museums, monuments, etc.) architects focus on.
August 22, 2008
Brilliant little book which reads more like a series of short stories (originally his magazine column, I think). Middle section not so interesting, but I he has a light touch and is consistent in his support of the minor over the major.
October 10, 2011
A collection of articles on various architecture topics, intended for the lay-person
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews