Reviews

Architecture Depends by Jeremy Till

adamdm's review against another edition

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4.0

I quite enjoyed this. Considering it is an architectural theory book it's not too dry, the little anecdotes at the end of each section helped w this.
Some lovely ideas in here, eg about architects forever wrestling to escape the decay of time and create "timeless" buildings, when clearly it is an inevitability that needs active engagement. Also had an interesting portion on how the profession excludes via specialised knowledge in an endless cycle. The main takeaway is that architects need to embrace chaos and the contingent nature of building buildings and worry less about order and control.
Very hippy (read: social) interpretation of architecture so no wonder I liked it. Cheers Ambrose for the rec (if only I read it while I was still at uni ahah)

ericfheiman's review

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4.0

A refreshing antidote to the starchitect model that still grips much of contemporary architectural discourse. Till asks that maybe, just maybe, we consider the context of where architecture lives beyond just geometric angles on a site plan. He's not afraid to slay sacred cows from Frank Gehry to the now-cliché of the ever-suffering architecture student persona. The world's "mess" is to be embraced, not corralled or avoided, by our master builders. Let go, Howard Roark, let go...
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