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Architecture Against Architecture:A Manifesto
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A fourteen-point manifesto to bring architecture into the twenty-first century
Architecture, as we know it, is in crisis. The authority of architects is crumbling, their methods no longer tenable. In a highly critical introspection, architect and writer Reinier de Graaf explores the tough choices ahead and the course of action that must follow.
Architecture Against Architecture demands we rethink both how and why we build. With wit and insight, De Graaf lays out the future of the profession, challenging readers to question the fundamental assumptions of the discipline. How do we end the feudal veneration of starchitects? When will architects finally recognize that it is in their own best interest to unionize? Why aren’t more practices collectively owned? Why do so many architects over sixty-seven refuse to retire? How do we stop buildings from being copy-righted? What will remain of architecture after AI? What can prevent iconic structures from being embroiled in money laundering? And the vital question: What projects should architects refuse on moral grounds?
Reviews
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Following the diagnosis that ‘the architecture profession is at war with the present’, Reinier de Graaf calls for disarmament and conscientious objection in his manifesto Architecture Against Architecture. With a touch of anarchism, this work is an absolute must-read and perfectly timely.
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De Graaf has often been adept at pointing out the foibles of contemporary architectural practice, but this is a far more direct provocation. Going beyond playful observation and witty turn of phrase, Architecture against Architecture is an often hilarious but excoriating description of the state we’re in and a timely and urgent call to arms. ‘Arise ye architects from your slumber’ indeed!
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Kicking off with a punch, Reinier de Graaf urges readers to unlearn and reimagine architecture’s role in modernity. With wit, insight, and vulnerability, he crafts a sharp, fact-driven argument that deepens our understanding of practice, academia, and the climate crisis—an essential, provocative read for all shaping the built environment.
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A much-needed reality check to the popular image of the master architect at his drawing desk. Grounded in his own personal professional experience, De Graaf poses an incisive, self-reflective and unfiltered challenge to architects – one a entertaining as it is unsettling.
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We stand with Reinier de Graaf’s Architecture Against We Architecture in its call: Demolishing buildings is a mistake, a huge waste and a violent act for those who live there and those who built them. Stop talking about sustainability if we are not able to reuse, repair, transform or improve what already exists.
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One of the great services an insider in the establishment can grant to everyone else is to become a mole, giving away power's secrets. As this book proves, Reinier de Graaf has become one of our great contemporary moles, burrowing through buildings into the world of the 21st century oligarchy, so as to reveal to the rest of us those weak spots we could strike in order to collapse the entire edifice
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A wake-up call for the architectural profession. In an era marked by environmental degradation, political instability, and technological disruption, architecture faces a profound crisis of relevance - if not legitimacy. De Graaf argues that the discipline must undergo a fundamental re-examination - not merely adapting to change, but redefining its very premises.
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With equal amounts of sarcasm, facts and figures, and thoughtful reflections, de Graaf presents a necessary and a well-documented recount of the history of architecture and the path that led us here—a moment in which the discipline feels captive to its own contradictions. A call for attention that is not exempt of provocative suggestions for a radical course of action.
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...grapples with hard truths. And there’s no easy fix. We cannot take agency unless we fix ourselves. Engaged, angry, and dark at times. De Graaf is making a powerful call to humility.
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Architecture Against Architecture presents a lucid critique of the architecture profession’s delusional self-image. With forensic precision and a dark humour, de Graaf exposes the contradictions between architectural ideals and their real-world entanglements. Obligatory reading for anyone interested in the present and future of architectural discourse.