American architect Lebbeus Woods (1940–2012) remains a quiet hero not only among his colleagues, but also for architectural students intrigued by the ideas and fluent beauty of his powerful graphic verve, as well as of his writing. His projects from the mid-1980s until the end of his life have been widely published. However, this AD, in collaboration with the Estate of Lebbeus Woods, explores the earlier period beginning in the late 1960s when Woodswas honing his draughtsmanship and theoretical positions while experimenting with a variety of themes and different modes of expression.When he burst onto the international architectural scene with a solo exhibition and accompanying catalogue (Lebbeus Origins) at the Architectural Association, London, in 1985, some wondered how anyone could emerge so fully formed, from nowhere. Working against the logic of ‘nowhere’, this issue charts his early trajectory through the largely unpublished drawings and texts, linking them with what came after. Aiming to generate new scholarship, its roster of international interdisciplinary critics and commentators offer a new understanding of Woods’s work and of his formative years, also shining a light on how we might think about the ‘early work’ of any architect’s career. Joseph Becker, Aaron Betsky, Peter Cook, Mark Dorrian, Riet Eeckhout, Kevin Erickson, Joerg Gleiter, Sharon Irish, Eliyahu Keller, Lawrence Rinder, Ashley Simone, Ben Sweeting.
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- 2024
- 2023
EXAMINING PHILOSOPHY ITSELF One of the most distinctive features of philosophy is self-reflection. Philosophers are not only concerned with metaphysical, epistemological, conceptual, ethical, and aesthetic issues of things around us, they also pay serious attention to the nature, value, methods, and development of philosophy itself. This book examines some of the most important metaphilosophical issues: Is philosophy progressive? Are metaphysical claims meaningful? What is the aim of philosophy? Should analytic metaphysics be replaced by naturalised metaphysics? What is the prospect of a digital approach to philosophy of science? Can poetry play a substantial role in philosophy? Examining Philosophy Itself will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in philosophy.
- 2023
WITTGENSTEIN AND EDUCATION Wittgenstein’s later writings are abundant with examples, and these return repeatedly to scenes of teaching and learning. Light is cast on language, belief, imagination, perception, illusion and obsession, by asking for each how it is acquired. How do we come into the practices that make up our lives? How, beyond the biological, do we become human beings? Wittgenstein wanted not to spare others the trouble of thinking but to stimulate readers to thoughts of their own. Yet so much in education today leads students (and their teachers) along clearly-planned direct routes to achievement, to success without the trouble of thinking. Knowledge and understanding are displaced by transferrable skills and competences, with teacher education reduced to priorities of classroom management skills and curriculum ‘delivery’. In this climate there is a new growth of interest in the illumination Wittgenstein provides for enquiry into education. This collection, originating in the Annual Conference of the British Wittgenstein Society in 2018, celebrates this influence and demonstrates the range of Wittgenstein’s importance for education.
- 2022
- 2021
Multiform
- 136 pages
- 5 hours of reading
Our current moment is one of profound political, ecomonic and environmental change. Historically, these moments of transition have seen a parallel period of cultural, and notably architectural-flux. In the late 1970s this was manifested as Postmodernism. Today, a number of architects are looking again at this movement and redeploying a range of its tactics and approaches using contemporary methods and techniques. These include different modes of collage, formal reference and quotation, stylistic eclectism, symbolism in form, material and ornament, and the bold, expressive use of colour, both natural and synthetic. While the design that results from these 'multiform' tactics and approaches has been seen as a kind of neo-Postmodernism, this issue argues that this is a simplistic and superficial reading. Instead, it posits this phenomenon as the architectural attempt, both conscious and unconscious, to reflect, grapple with and make sense of the present age of transition, which has been accelerated by the global pandemic. Rather than responding to this situation by attempting to marshal architecture around a single unifying narrative, this issue makes the case for transformative possibilities offered by an approach that is ad hoc, eclectic and pluralist
- 2020
A Companion to the Ancient Near East
- 528 pages
- 19 hours of reading
- 2016
Parametricism is an avant-garde architecture and design movement that has been growing and maturing over the last 15 years, emerging as a remarkable global force. The tendency started in architecture but now encompasses all design disciplines, from urban design to fashion.
- 2015
Bioshock and Philosophy
- 192 pages
- 7 hours of reading
Considered a sign of the ‘coming of age’ of video games as an artistic medium, the award-winning BioShock franchise covers vast philosophical ground. BioShock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Book presents expert reflections by philosophers (and Bioshock connoisseurs) on this critically acclaimed and immersive fan-favorite. Reveals the philosophical questions raised through the artistic complexity, compelling characters and absorbing plots of this ground-breaking first-person shooter (FPS) Explores what BioShock teaches the gamer about gaming, and the aesthetics of video game storytelling Addresses a wide array of topics including Marxism, propaganda, human enhancement technologies, political decision-making, free will, morality, feminism, transworld individuality, and vending machines in the dystopian society of Rapture Considers visionary game developer Ken Levine’s depiction of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, as well as the theories of Aristotle, de Beauvoir, Dewey, Leibniz, Marx, Plato, and others from the Hall of Philosophical Heroes
- 2015
Andrea Mantegna: Making Art (History) presents the art of Mantegna as challenging the parameters of the history of art in the demands it makes upon historical interpretation, and explores the artist s potentially transformative impact on the study of the early Renaissance.
