A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

What Is Architecture? An essay by John Hill (Something I dug up from my college days.) Architecture is generally considered an art but is differentiated by it in one respect: function. Regardless, defining architecture is almost, if not as, difficult as defining art. To define architecture is to set parameters, standards by which anything applied to these criteria will either fit the definition or not. The definition must take certain conditions into account that must be present in order for something to be considered architecture. Some of these may include, in reference to a candidate for a piece of architecture: it must be material, it must transcend mere function, it must be aesthetic and it must be designed by an architect. These are some criteria that are generally agreed upon by the public and most architects as necessary traits of architecture. If we look at these briefly, though, small arguments arise that c...

The following is an excerpt from R.M. Schindler's 1912 Manifesto. Images are taken from David Gebhard's 1972 book, Schindler. Director's House, Los Angeles The first house was a shelter. Its primary attribute was stability. Therefore its structural features were paramount. All architectural styles up to the twentieth century were functional. Translucent House Project, Palos Verdes Architectural forms symbolized the structural functions of the building material. The final step in this development was the architectural solution of the steel skeleton: Its framework is no longer a symbol, it has become form itself. The twentieth century is the first to abandon construction as a source for architectural form through the introduction of reinforced concrete. The structural problem has been reduced to an equation. The approved stress diagram eliminates the need to emphasize the stability of the construction. ...

The Wall: 13,000 Oil Barrels in Oberhausen, Germany by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, 1999 Christo and Jeanne-Claude are known for their wrappings of structures and natural features, acquiring international acclaim outside the art world with 1995's Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin. Much of their early work though did use other materials and objects, with six completed works using oil barrels. This work, their seventh, is located inside a Gasometer in Oberhausen, Germany. The structure, built in 1928 to store the gaseous by-products of iron ore processing, is 110 m (360 ft) high with a 68 m (223 ft) diameter, with the wall of oil barrels 26 m (85 ft) tall and 7.23 m (24 ft) deep, filling the diameter of the Gasometer. The installation is accompanied by two exhibitions, documenting two projects by Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Umbrellas (Japan and USA, 1984-91) and Wrapped Reichstag (Berlin, 1971-95). Of course the wall...