Totems: Selected Essays on Architecture collects ten texts by the French-British critic, historian and teacher Irénée Scalbert, written over almost a quarter of a century and arranged around three themes: buildings, cities and the environment.
About This Book
Read in sequence, the essays trace something close to an intellectual autobiography. The earlier pieces return to Scalbert's formative years in London, where he wrote alongside—and about—James Stirling and Norman Foster, and later a younger generation of practices including Caruso St John and 6a architects. The later essays widen their field, moving from individual buildings to questions of urbanism, nature and what architecture can still mean, in a voice that is by turns speculative and personal.
Compact in format and generous in range, it is a companion to Scalbert's writing on 6a architects and a portrait of one of the more independent critical minds in British architecture.
Key Features
- Ten essays on architecture by Irénée Scalbert, arranged under buildings, cities and the environment
- Writing on James Stirling, Norman Foster, Caruso St John and 6a architects
- Illustrated with 27 colour and 18 black-and-white images
- Pocket-sized format suited to reading rather than reference
What You'll Discover
- How a critic's long engagement with London practice shaped a distinctive way of reading buildings
- Connections between postwar British architecture and the work of a younger generation of architects
- Speculative essays on the city, nature and architectural meaning
- Why the essay remains a vital form for architectural criticism
About the Author
Irénée Scalbert is a French-British architecture critic, historian and teacher who has contributed to architectural debate for close to three decades. His writing has been closely bound up with London practice, from Stirling and Foster to Caruso St John and 6a architects.
Specifications
- Format: Paperback
- Dimensions: 115 × 225 mm
- Pages: 184
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783038604624
- Publisher: Park Books
Perfect For: Readers of architectural criticism, architects and students interested in British architecture, and anyone who already knows Scalbert's writing on 6a architects.