Book Review: Volume No. 1
Volume No. 1 a project by Archis + AMO + C-lab
Founded by Ole Bourman, Rem Koolhaas, and Mark Wigley of Archis, AMO, and C-lab, respectively, Volume is "a new global idea platform to voice architecture anyway, anywhere, anytime...an instrument of cultural invention and re-invention....dedicated to experimentation and the production of new forms of architectural discourse." Cracking its pages, this ambitious goal is sometimes overt (particularly in essays by the three founders), sometimes vague and hidden, but always varied and unique in the perspectives of contributors. While the effectiveness of Volume in influencing architecture will not be known for a while, as more issues and events occur, the first issue (not cheap at over $25, a factor in its long-term ability to influence) tries to extend the boundaries of the profession, beyond the design of buildings for clients. The "founding fathers" would rather see architects create their own agenda, using their unique training and talents to "escape the prison created by the architectural office as currently constituted." Most architects would not see their situation as a prison, but given the relative youthfulness of the profession, a reconsideration of its goals is not completely unfounded or irrelevant. Hopefully over time, a clarity of intent will evolve and translate into a clarity of presentation, one of the problem's with the magazine and its companion*.
*Early copies of Volume's first issue are accompanied by AMO's "History of Europe and the European Union", an interesting yet graphically difficult companion.
Founded by Ole Bourman, Rem Koolhaas, and Mark Wigley of Archis, AMO, and C-lab, respectively, Volume is "a new global idea platform to voice architecture anyway, anywhere, anytime...an instrument of cultural invention and re-invention....dedicated to experimentation and the production of new forms of architectural discourse." Cracking its pages, this ambitious goal is sometimes overt (particularly in essays by the three founders), sometimes vague and hidden, but always varied and unique in the perspectives of contributors. While the effectiveness of Volume in influencing architecture will not be known for a while, as more issues and events occur, the first issue (not cheap at over $25, a factor in its long-term ability to influence) tries to extend the boundaries of the profession, beyond the design of buildings for clients. The "founding fathers" would rather see architects create their own agenda, using their unique training and talents to "escape the prison created by the architectural office as currently constituted." Most architects would not see their situation as a prison, but given the relative youthfulness of the profession, a reconsideration of its goals is not completely unfounded or irrelevant. Hopefully over time, a clarity of intent will evolve and translate into a clarity of presentation, one of the problem's with the magazine and its companion*.
*Early copies of Volume's first issue are accompanied by AMO's "History of Europe and the European Union", an interesting yet graphically difficult companion.
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