Robert A. M. Stern is one of contemporary architecture's most influential figures, with a career encompassing every facet of the profession: he has a flourishing private practice; he is a noted authority on New York architectural history; his own architectural work has been featured in numerous monographs; and as Dean of the Yale School of Architecture, he has undeniably shaped the field of architectural education. As a preeminent force in the discourse of the field, Stern was one of the first critics to use and analyze the term "postmodern" in architecture. This collection of essays--Stern's first--brackets the years defined by the changes in architectural thinking introduced by Robert Venturi in 1966 and the exhibition Deconstructivist Architecture at the Museum of Modern Art in 1988. Throughout, Stern provides close readings of architectural events and offers firsthand accounts of transformations in architectural thinking during a critical period.

provides a fascinating, clear, and provocative definition of the phenomena of postmodernism, particularly in relation to the major ideas of modernism

Revisiting Postmodernism offers an engaging, wide-ranging and highly illustrated account of postmodernism in architecture from its roots in the 1940s to its ongoing relevance today. This book invites readers to see Postmodernism in a new light: not just a style but a cultural phenomenon that embraces all areas of life and thrives on complexity and pluralism, in contrast to the strait-laced, single-style, top-down inclination of its predecessor, Modernism. While focusing on architecture, this book also explores aspects such as urban masterplanning, furniture design, art and literature. Looking at Postmodernism through the lens of examples from around the world, each chapter explores the movement in the UK on the one hand, and its international counterparts on the other, reflecting on the historical movement but also how postmodernism influences practices today. This book offers the insider’s view on postmodernism by the author, a recognised pioneer in the field of postmodern architecture and a prestigious and authoritative participant in the postmodern movement.

In The Story of Post-Modernism, Charles Jencks, the authority on Post-Modern architecture and culture, provides the defining account of Post-Modern architecture from its earliest roots in the early 60s to the present day. By breaking the narrative into seven distinct chapters, which are both chronological and overlapping, Jencks charts the ebb and flow of the movement, the peaks and troughs of different ideas and themes. The book is highly visual. As well as providing a chronological account of the movement, each chapter also has a special feature on the major works of a given period. The first up-to-date narrative of Post-Modern Architecture - other major books on the subject were written 20 years ago. An accessible narrative that will appeal to students who are new to the subject, as well as those who can remember its heyday in the 70s and 80s.

This book explores the broad issue of Postmodernism and tells the story of the movement that has changed the face of architecture over the last forty years. In this completely rewritten edition of his seminal work, Charles Jencks brings the history of architecture up to date and shows how demands for a new and complex architecture, aided by computer design, have led to more convivial, sensuous, and articulate buildings around the world.

Describes the return to a new classical style within art and architecture. Includes 350 illustrations of paintings, sculpture, and architecture.

Since its first appearance in 1981, critical regionalism has enjoyed a celebrated worldwide reception. The 1990s increased its pertinence as an architectural theory that defends the cultural identity of a place resisting the homogenising onslaught of globalisation. Today, its main principles (such as acknowledging the climate, history, materials, culture and topography of a specific place) are integrated in architects’ education across the globe. But at the same time, the richer cross-cultural history of critical regionalism has been reduced to schematic juxtapositions of ‘the global’ with ‘the local’. Retrieving both the globalising branches and the overlooked cross-cultural roots of critical regionalism, Resisting Postmodern Architecture resituates critical regionalism within the wider framework of debates around postmodern architecture, the diverse contexts from which it emerged, and the cultural media complex that conditioned its reception. In so doing, it explores the intersection of three areas of growing historical and theoretical interest: postmodernism, critical regionalism and globalisation. Based on more than 50 interviews and previously unpublished archival material from six countries, the book transgresses existing barriers to integrate sources in other languages into anglophone architectural scholarship. In so doing, it shows how the ‘periphery’ was not just a passive recipient, but also an active generator of architectural theory and practice. Stylianos Giamarelos challenges long-held ‘central’ notions of supposedly ‘international’ discourses of the recent past, and outlines critical regionalism as an unfinished project apposite for the 21st century on the fronts of architectural theory, history and historiography.

In Complexity and Postmodernism, Paul Cilliers explores the idea of complexity in the light of contemporary perspectives from philosophy and science. Cilliers offers us a unique approach to understanding complexity and computational theory by integrating postmodern theory (like that of Derrida and Lyotard) into his discussion. Complexity and Postmodernism is an exciting and an original book that should be read by anyone interested in gaining a fresh understanding of complexity, postmodernism and connectionism.

At last! Everything you ever wanted to know about postmodernism but were afraid to ask. Hans Bertens' Postmodernism is the first introductory overview of postmodernism to succeed in providing a witty and accessible guide for the bemused student. In clear and straightforward but always elegant prose, Bertens sets out the interdisciplinary aspects, the critical debates and the key theorists of postmodernism. He also explains, in thoughtful and illuminating language, the relationship between postmodernism and poststructuralism, and that between modernism and postmodernism. An enjoyable and indispensible text for today's student.