Architecture Against Architecture is Reinier de Graaf's pointed reckoning with a profession he argues has lost its moral and structural coherence — interrogating starchitecture, labour organisation, AI, intellectual property, and ethical refusal in a single urgent volume.
About This Book
The architectural profession is in crisis — not merely stylistically, but structurally and ethically. Reinier de Graaf's Architecture Against Architecture confronts this directly, asking the uncomfortable questions that most practitioners avoid: Why do architects resist unionisation? Why are collective ownership models so rare? What buildings should architects refuse on moral grounds? Written with wit and a sharp critical intelligence, this manifesto challenges the fundamental assumptions of architectural practice — from the cult of the starchitect to the unchecked expansion of AI and the entanglement of iconic buildings with financial crime. Essential reading for anyone who takes the future of the discipline seriously.
Key Features
- 272 pages of critical argument, architectural theory, and professional critique
- Published by Verso, ISBN 9781804299036
What You'll Discover
- A sustained critique of the starchitect system and the feudal dynamics of architectural celebrity culture
- The case for unionisation and collective ownership as structural responses to the profession's current failures
- How AI and intellectual property law — including building copyright — are reshaping architectural authorship and practice
- The ethical limits of architectural commissions: what projects architects should refuse, and why this question has never been more pressing
About the Author
Reinier de Graaf is an architect and writer whose practice spans building, urbanism, and critical theory. He brings the perspective of an active practitioner to this highly critical introspection on the state and future of architecture as a discipline.
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 272
- Dimensions: 14 × 21 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781804299036
- Publisher: Verso
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects, students, and critics interrogating the ethics, economics, and political structures of contemporary architectural practice.