Diane Ghirardo

In architecture school I used most of my electives to take history and theory classes rather than non-architecture classes or those that might have been seen as more "fun." These classes focused on modernism as well as contemporary architecture. If this book had come out before I graduated (I did so the year it came out), I could have seen it acting as a textbook for postmodern and other late-20th-century movements in architecture. Yet what is so good about the book, and what would make it such a good book for a history/theory seminar, is Ghirardo's incorporation of social considerations and the fairly critical voice she uses throughout. The former is apparent in the chapters (public space, domestic space, reconfiguring the urban sphere), which refer to social realms rather than building typologies or a purely chronological reading of history. That she embraces Disney World as much as the Pompidou, Seaside as much as IBA, buildings designed by lesser known architects as much as those designed by name-brand architects, reinforces her emphasis on architecture as social production rather than just form-making. Nearly twenty years after publication, I think it's time for Ghirardo to produce a much-needed update.… (mere)