2 comments about The Built, the Unbuilt, and the Unbuildable: In Pursuit of Architectural Meaning.

1. As Robert Harbison puts it: "It all begins with gardens, the most trusting and innocent of human constructions. Yet, inspiring them, the supposed innocence of gardens, one is tempted to call it, for they are places where the undeclared war between architecture and its antitype, nature, between growth and the ordering impulse, is presented in delicious harmony. They are places which flirt with allowing art to disappear, which seem to embrace principles hostile to form of any kind --irregularity, change, and urge to destroy. This is the hubris of gardens, to think that they could really improve on or collect the unruliness of natural forces and make a scene of it, like a play in which the actors were all wild animals." (The Built, the Unbuilt, and the Unbuildable)
   
   Gardens represent the dynamic tension between the forces of chaos and the forces of order...thereby creating a pocket of order within a sea of change; the edge of chaos, a metaphor for Life itself.
   
   Harbison also delves into those other "nonessential" forms of the built environment such as ruins and monuments. In so doing, he crosses the line from pure art history or architecture into the realms of psychogeography. As Guy Debord puts it "Psychogeography could set for itself the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals. The adjective psychogeographical, retaining a rather pleasing vagueness, can thus be applied to the findings arrived at by this type of investigation, to their influence on human feelings, and even more generally to any situation or conduct that seems to reflect the same spirit of discovery."
   
   Harbison waxes toward the poetical when entering into descriptions, often vague, of various points along an architectural amble. He approaches the necessity and purpose of ruins as a basis of self-consumption and a reminder of mortality. He addresses himself to monuments, which are concrete reminders of the id and the ego. He posits the dynamic metaphor of gardens. Ultimately he arrives at the border of the unreal, fantastic and mythical architecture, what he regards as the "unbuildable."
   
   In many ways Harbison's journey mirrors that of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, an anonymnous book printed by Aldus Manutius in 1499. The text of the book is written in a bizarre Latinate Italian. Its story consists of precious and elaborate descriptions of scenes involving the title character, Poliphilo (the lover of Many Things), as he wanders a sort of bucolic-classical dreamland in search of his love Polia (Many Things).
   
   As Harbison may have noted himself, sardonically, "The imaginary is that which tends to become real."



2. This is a good book of 18th century architecture, it has many excellent scetches of ideas held by the architects of the time.

No comments about Design for Diversity: Exploring Socially Mixed Neighbourhoods.

1 comments about Dream City: Vancouver and the Global Imagination.

1. I absolutely enjoyed going through this book, I was so encaptured by Berelowitz's understanding of my hometown that I went through the book in just a few days. His view of the city is a pretty balanced one and his insight into Vancouver is genuine. The subjects discussed will probably resonate most with Vancouver residents but for avid tourists that share a passion for Vancouver, the books for you. An informed opinion on the subject, Berelowitz celebrates our city and provides ideas on what could be in the future.

   Finally, a book on Vancouver that uses non-stock photographs!! Some great views of such a great city, even though they're mostly in black and white. The educational worth in the book for people with more than a passing interest is astounding.

No comments about Industrial Property Markets: In Western Europe.

No comments about Nature Conservation in Europe: Policy and Practice.

No comments about Land Conservation Through Public/Private Partnerships.

No comments about City Spaces - Tourist Places: Urban Tourism Precincts.

1 comments about Imagining MIT: Designing a Campus for the Twenty-First Century.

1. Good books are fun and easy to read. They make the reader to laugh
   and smile, and at points, make the reader scribble and nod.
   The best thing about them is that they make one knowledgeable while
   laughingg. This book, by Bill Mitchell, is that kind of book.
   
   It's basically about five recent buildings that have changed the look
   of MIT. The star architects include, Roche/ Holl/ Gehry/ Correa/ Maki.
   Hearing such names, who would NOT want to hear the insider's story?
   
   Bill being Bill, his writing sends readers into tizzy and frenzy.
   Heavy issues such as;
   
   basic principles of Campus planning in the US,
   Georgian (Harvard) vs. Beaux Arts (MIT),
   Freeman's vision and Bosworth's realization,
   Aalto and Saarinen's inversion of Bosworth,
   
   are all debugged in Mitchellian fashion and flips the pages
   like Dan Brown's DaVinci Code.
   
   The whole plot of the story reaches its apex (at Gehry, primarily)
   as one case is unravelled after another. His choice of words and
   quotes are full of brilliance and wit, adding tremendous pleasure
   to the reading.
   
   I couldn't help but laugh when Bill skillfully said things like,
   
   "He(Zevi) smelled mannerism (in Saarinen)"
   or when he was comparing Gehry's Statta to Correa's BCSC,
   
   "In its (BCSC) massing, materials, and detailing, the whole composition
   acts as a discreetly sophisticated foil to Gehry's bravura performance
   across the street - so that the two buildings, like partners in a tango,
   electrify the space in between"
   or his quotes from Robert Campbell,
   
   "a policeman (BCSC) lecturing a drunk (Statta)."
   
   Another beefy and meaty knowledge that the prospect readers
   will gain is how world-class instituition, such as MIT, strivs
   to evolve and integrate its field of research to realize
   its economic/physical habitat.

2 comments about Civic Revolutionaries: Igniting the Passion for Change in America's Communities.

1. A decade or so ago the authors of Civic Revolutionaries: Igniting the Passion for Change in America's Communities decided to bring the art of collaboration to the field of economic development. They even called their new firm "Collaborative Economics, Inc." to the amusement of many hard core industrial recruiters. This book is a result of their experience coupled with a sense of history and an idealism that is rare to find in a profession built on the principals of competitiveness.

   The numerous examples of collaboration described by the authors go significantly beyond the details of the efforts. They are carefully woven into the Nation's revolutionary history by appropriate quotations and references to the role of collaboration as promoted by the authors of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as well as other notables in the "American Experience."

   In addition, the illustrative examples drawn from the author's extensive and practical field experience working with collaborative efforts in all sections of the Nation over the past ten years are made particularly useful by describing not only results but discussing in detail successful collaborative processes that can be endlessly replicated in a variety of settings as well.

   Due credit is given throughout the book to their mentor, John W. Gardner, through carefully selected and placed quotations and references. For example, Gardner is quoted in the introduction as saying "...the crucial task is to design a society (and institutions) capable of continuous change, continuous renewal and continuous responsiveness," a theme that runs throughout the book.

   Henton, Melville and Walesh are optimistic about the future of collaboration and provide compelling evidence of its value in continuing the process of "dialog" which is the heart of the "American Experience." This book will be useful to anyone seeking to improve his or her community through collaboration. It will also be interesting for those with a more philosophic interest in the subject. It might even be worth the attention of hard core industrial recruiters.




2. In Grassroots Leaders for a New Economy (1997), the authors of Civic Revolutionaries identified a new type of leadership that has been emerging in regions that have been in the forefront of dealing with the problems and opportunities brought about by the new economy. They called these leaders "civic entrepreneurs." In Civic Revolutionaries: Igniting the Passion for Change in America's Communities, the authors have given us a compelling reason why this leadership model is essential in enabling regions to compete and prosper in the new economy.
   By analyzing the complex problems that regions are confronted with today through the lens of the Federalist Papers and the debates between and among our nation's founders, they paint a picture that clearly demonstrates that traditional leadership is no more adequate today than it was in 1776. The authors have brilliantly made their case for regional stewardship taking the place of the traditional, top-down, command and control leadership that still persists in myriad communities throughout the United States. By focusing on the many tensions that exist within regions, such as the conflict between trust and accountability; change and continuity; individual rights and community, they leave little doubt that times have changed and the our concept of leadership must change as well.
   I would recommend this book to anyone that is frustrated with the gridlock and inertia that still exists in many regions. A solution is at hand and it's called regional stewardship.

1 comments about New Towns For Old: Achievements In Civic Improvement In Some American Small Towns And Neighborhoods (American Society of Landscape Architects Centennial Reprint).

1. New Towns For Old is a must have for anyone that is interested in building great cities. Nolen's descriptions of the new towns of his time are filled with lessons that can be applied to current practice. Once you read this book, you will want to see these cities.