Product Description

Architects Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto have been generating some of the most provocative thinking in the field for nearly twenty years. With Atlas of Novel Tectonics, Reiser+Umemoto hone in on the many facets of architecture and illuminate their theories with great thought and simplicity. The Atlas is organized as an accumulation of short chapters that address the workings of matter and force, material science, the lessons of art and architectural history, and the influence of architecture on culture (and vice versa). Reiser+Umemoto see architectural design as a series of problem situations, and each chapter is an argument devoted to a specific condition or case. Influenced by a wide range of fields and phenomena—Brillat-Savarin's classic The Physiology of Taste is one of their primary models—the authors provide a cross-section of thinking and inspiration. The result is both an elucidation of the concepts that guide Reiser+Umemoto through their own design process and a series of meditations on topics that have formed their own sense as architects. Atlas of Novel Tectonics offers an entirely fresh perspective on subjects that are generally taken for granted, and does so with a welcome punch and energy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41558 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781568985541
• BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Review
Any book that starts with an essay on 'The Judo of Cold Combustion' deserves a place on our summer reading list. The authors offer reflections on matter and force, material science, art and architectural history, and the interrelationship of architecture and culture. -- Architect Magazine, July 2007

Reiser and Umemoto are deep and original thinkers and I look forward to a renaissance in their work that fully reflects the wealth of clear ideas that populate this text. -- The Architectural Review, October 2006

This cerebral little manual probes some of the more esoteric aspects of architecture in pursuit of novel approaches to design -- Metropolis, June 2006

This is a book that swims courageously against the tide... it reclaims the autonomy of theoretical discourse in relation to built architecture. That alone makes it an event... Atlas of Novel Tectonics is nothing if not a fascinating collection of finely wrought conceptual miniatures. Most are of Borgesian brevity (or shorter), and there are gems among them. My favourite is the tale of the 'devolved' glass nose of the Heinkel III bomber. -- AA Files, July 2007

About the Author
Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto are the founding partners of Reiser+Umemoto RUR, an internationally recognized architectural firm based in New York City. Their work encompasses a wide range of scales, from furniture design to landscape and infrastructure. Reiser currently teaches at the Princeton University School of Architecture.

Customer Reviews

Difficult Writing vs Clear Expression
This book gets lots of play right now in (big "A") Architecture schools. I'm a firm believer that if your thoughts are clear, your writing is clear. This book embarks on many dialectical examples that are explained with too much "difficult writing" for its own good. Grad students of the world, beware the three DDDs that inspire some of this writing: Deleuze, Derrida and Delanda. They plow enormous fields in complicated patterns and only yield a kernel or two. Ironically, I admire Reiser + Umemoto as architects and am looking forward to a book on their more recent work.

The Sinews of Design
An unxpectedly fine book on architectural theory that's rooted not in politics or aesthetics or lit-crit theory, but in the worlds of physics and engineering-- a look at architecture and architectural possibilities based on the sinews of buildings rather than the ideology of architects. I'm an historian by training, and an aficionado of architecture and design theory. Reiser + Umemoto have created a small book that offers a view of postmodern architecture seen through the lens of the physically possible. Anyone who wants to imagine new cities and new styles of building needs to consider the sheer physical constraints of design, and this book is a fine place to start.

ideas are good, annoyances are plenty
Yet another example of great architects with great ideas using obscene amounts of archispeak.

Even though RUR chops the reading into 2-3 paragraph length chapters--more digestible chunks--it only kind of eases the hassle of sifting through the jargon. Don't get me wrong, the ideas are interesting when you get to them. I just think they could be communicated with MUCH clearer language. For instance, here's how I would phrase the majority of the "Matter" chapters: "Repetition is good, but it can be boring. It often helps to deviate, slightly, in order to make the repetition visually interesting. Consider these examples..." There you go.

One could argue that the density of verbiage employed by RUR is a result of the "density" of ideas. If that is the case, reading Atlas is like eating 1000lbs of dense brownie. You don't need to eat all of it to get the point(s).

Visually, and this might anger some people, I found the repetition of certain images a little irritating. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it happens it induces a "not again!" response. How many times do they have to show that bridge or moire screen? It would've helped if they introduced some diversity to create a stronger visual narrative. At its worst, the visuals can be as inaccessible and irritating as the writing. At its best...they are very, very interesting.

It's kind of disheartening to see architects that I admire write so obtusely. It's like there's an overlord forcing them to remain high-brow and flamboyant with their language. (an overlord called "we-must-preseve-our hoity-toity, artsy, brilliant architect image-lest-we-lose-business"). I'm glad I read it, but wish some brilliant architectural mind out there would deviate, slightly, from this repetitive tradition.