Reviews

Why We Build: Power and Desire in Architecture by Rowan Moore

brannigan's review against another edition

4.0

This book rates highly because it has changed the way I think about buildings, and I like books that make a change. It's loose central premise is that buildings are, and have always been, attempts at refining various concepts and desires. Note 'attempts' - all too often, edifices act ony as illusions of concrete ideas, as you can never perfectly turn your ideas into something solid. I think this is partly due to the imperfection of art, and partly due to the elasticity of buildings. This last part is what I found most interesting, as I had never stopped to consider how and why buildings 'fail' and end up being used for purposes that completely differ from the original intent: gothic cathedrals become tourist traps, functional warehouses become luxury flats, aristocratic terraces become ghettoes. Moore seems to have a grasp on the poetry of this failure, which for me is this book's main point of interest.

A few minor annoyances, mainly: stop telling us about the apparent conspiracy against Zaha Hadid! Although some might be interested in the case study, it did come across as a chapter-long vindication of one of Moore's mates. Apart form that, give the book a read.