Reyner Banham: A Set of Actual Tracks places thirteen of the architectural critic's most significant essays in direct conversation with contemporary responses, testing whether Banham's acerbic intelligence still cuts against the present condition of architecture and design.
About This Book
Reyner Banham remains one of the most distinctive voices in 20th-century architectural criticism — alert to technology, pop culture, and the vernacular in ways that much academic writing was not. This anthology, edited by Ludovico Centis, selects thirteen of Banham's essays and book chapters and pairs each with a contemporary critical response written by contributors who situate the original texts in today's discourse. The selection spans canonical works such as 'The Great Gizmo' and intimate late writing such as 'The Wall', composed in hospital shortly before his death. The result is less a retrospective than an active critical dialogue — one that asks what architectural criticism can still learn from Banham's method and his willingness to be unfashionable.
Key Features
- 232 pages of primary essays and newly commissioned critical responses
- Edited by Ludovico Centis
- Thirteen selected texts including 'The Great Gizmo' and 'The Wall'
- Published by Architectural Association Publications
What You'll Discover
- How Banham's essay 'The Great Gizmo' reframes the relationship between technology, objects, and American culture — and what that argument means for design criticism today
- 'The Wall', an intimate personal essay written by Banham in hospital shortly before his death, presented here alongside a contemporary contextualisation
- The editorial logic behind selecting lesser-known Banham texts alongside canonical ones, and what that juxtaposition reveals about his range as a critic
- How contemporary contributors read Banham's work against current concerns in architectural theory, material culture, and design history
About the Author
Ludovico Centis edited this anthology, selecting and curating thirteen of Reyner Banham's essays and book chapters and commissioning the contemporary critical responses that accompany them.
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 232
- Dimensions: 140 x 190 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781919624570
- Publisher: Architectural Association Publications
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects, design critics, historians, and students of architectural theory seeking a critical reappraisal of Banham's writing and its continued relevance to contemporary practice.