In Making Dystopia, distinguished architectural historian James Stevens Curl tells the story of the advent of architectural Modernism in the aftermath of the First World War, its protagonists, and its astonishing, almost global acceptance after 1945. He argues forcefully that the triumph of architectural Modernism in the second half of the twentieth century led to massive destruction, the creation of alien urban landscapes, and a huge waste of resources. Moreover, the coming of Modernism was not an inevitable, seamless evolution, as many have insisted, but a massive, unparalled disruption that demanded a clean slate and the elimination of all ornament, decoration, and choice. Tracing the effects of the Modernist revolution in architecture to the present, Stevens Curl argues that, with each passing year, so-called 'iconic' architecture by supposed 'star' architects has become more and more bizarre, unsettling, and expensive, ignoring established contexts and proving to be stratospherically remote from the aspirations and needs of humanity. In the elite world of contemporary architecture, form increasingly follows finance, and in a society in which the 'haves' have more and more, and the 'have-nots' are ever more marginalized, he warns that contemporary architecture continues to stack up huge potential problems for the future, as housing costs spiral out of control, resources are squandered on architectural bling, and society fractures. This courageous, passionate, deeply researched, and profoundly argued book should be read by everyone concerned with what is around us. Its combative critique of the entire Modernist architectural project and its apologists will be highly controversial to many. But it contains salutary warnings that we ignore at our peril. And it asks awkward questions to which answers are long overdue.

An interdisciplinary anthology exploring alternatives to the principles of commercial markets that dominate contemporary life. The essays in this volume apply an experimental ethos to collaborative cultural production. Expanding the fields of art, design, and architectural research, contributors provide critical reflection on collaborative practice-based research. The volume builds on a pop-up market hosted by the London-based arts cluster Critical Practice that sought to creatively explore existing structures of evaluation and actively produce new ones. Assembled by lead editor Marsha Bradfield, the essays contextualize the event within London's long history of marketplaces, offer reflections from the stallholders, and celebrate its value system, particularly its critique of econometrics. A glossary rounds off the text and opens up the publication as a resource.

M'arch graduation portfolio at GSAPP, Columbia University 2010architectural portfolio

Many modern artists and architects continue to imagine and build the world technologically. Their beliefs remain firmly rooted in their assumption that the liberating forces of technology freed them from previous artistic traditions while making available vast means of production and a plethora of materials. All artistic traditions were seemingly put aside by the paintings of Cézanne, the poetry of Baudelaire, and the architecture of Le Corbusier. Behind this apparent freedom French critic Jacques Ellul, author of the classic The Technological Society, found an absolute slavery. The artist was the handmaiden of technology, a relation the artist no longer understood, like other citizens of technological culture. Artists acclaimed their unbridled individualism while being intensely determined by the forces of technological culture. Ellul examines this process in modern art from the beginning of the 20th century where the sense of art - its meaning and embodiments - is reduced to non-sense. Ellul's study is in the tradition of Guy Debord's The Society of Spectacle and Theodor Adorno's Aesthetic Theory but moves significantly beyond their Marxist perspectives that were, from Ellul's view, co-opted by technique.

But as art history itself is being reshaped by the culture of technology, his nuanced meditations from the 1950s on the intricate intersection of technology and art gain heightened value. The concrete objects that Francastel examines are for the most part from the architecture and design of the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century. Through them he engages his central problem: the abrupt historical collision between traditional symbol-making activities of human society and the appearance in the nineteenth century of unprecedented technological and industrial capabilities and forms.

This book covers a broad range of topics relating to architecture and urban design, such as the conservation of cities’ culture and identity through design and planning processes, various ideologies and approaches to achieving more sustainable cities while retaining their identities, and strategies to help cities advertise themselves on the global market. Every city has its own unique identity, which is revealed through its physical and visual form. It is seen through the eyes of its inhabitants and visitors, and is where their collective memories are shaped. In turn, these factors affect tourism, education, culture & economic prosperity, in addition to other aspects, making a city’s identity one of its main assets. Cities’ identities are constructed and developed over time and are constantly evolving physically, culturally and sociologically. This book explains how architecture and the arts can embody the historical, cultural and economic characteristics of the city. It also demonstrates how cities’ memories play a vital role in preserving their physical and nonphysical heritage. Furthermore, it examines the transformation of cities and urban cultures, and investigates the various new approaches developed in contemporary arts and architecture. Given its scope, the book is a valuable resource for a variety of readers, including students, educators, researchers and practitioners in the fields of city planning, urban design, architecture and the arts.