A fourteen-point manifesto to bring architecture into the twenty-first century
Architecture, as we know it, is in crisis. The authority of architects is crumbling, their methods no longer tenable. In a highly critical introspection, architect and writer Reinier de Graaf explores the tough choices ahead and the course of action that must follow.
Architecture Against Architecture demands we rethink both how and why we build. With wit and insight, De Graaf lays out the future of the profession, challenging readers to question the fundamental assumptions of the discipline. How do we end the feudal veneration of starchitects? When will architects finally recognize that it is in their own best interest to unionize? Why aren’t more practices collectively owned? Why do so many architects over sixty-seven refuse to retire? How do we stop buildings from being copy-righted? What will remain of architecture after AI? What can prevent iconic structures from being embroiled in money laundering? And the vital question: What projects should architects refuse on moral grounds?
What People Are Saying
"A much-needed reality check to the popular image of the master architect at his drawing desk. Grounded in his own personal professional experience, De Graaf poses an incisive, self-reflective and unfiltered challenge to architects – one a entertaining as it is unsettling." Maria Lisogorskaya, Assemble
"We stand with Reinier de Graaf’s Architecture Against Architecture in its call: Demolishing buildings is a mistake, a huge waste and a violent act for those who live there and those who built them. Stop talking about sustainability if we are not able to reuse, repair, transform or improve what already exists." Anne Lacaton & Jean Philippe Vassal
"One of the great services an insider in the establishment can grant to everyone else is to become a mole, giving away power's secrets. As this book proves, Reinier de Graaf has become one of our great contemporary moles, burrowing through buildings into the world of the 21st century oligarchy, so as to reveal to the rest of us those weak spots we could strike in order to collapse the entire edifice." Owen Hatherley, author of The Alientation Effect
"A wake-up call for the architectural profession. In an era marked by environmental degradation, political instability, and technological disruption, architecture faces a profound crisis of relevance - if not legitimacy. De Graaf argues that the discipline must undergo a fundamental re-examination - not merely adapting to change, but redefining its very premises." Nikolaus Hirsch, Director of CIVA Brussels and editor of e-flux Architecture
"With equal amounts of sarcasm, facts and figures, and thoughtful reflections, de Graaf presents a necessary and a well-documented recount of the history of architecture and the path that led us here—a moment in which the discipline feels captive to its own contradictions. A call for attention that is not exempt of provocative suggestions for a radical course of action." Ethel Baraona Pohl, dpr-barcelona
...grapples with hard truths. And there’s no easy fix. We cannot take agency unless we fix ourselves. Engaged, angry, and dark at times. De Graaf is making a powerful call to humility." Sam Chermayeff, Sam Chermayeff Office
"Architecture Against Architecture presents a lucid critique of the architecture profession’s delusional self-image. With forensic precision and a dark humour, de Graaf exposes the contradictions between architectural ideals and their real-world entanglements. Obligatory reading for anyone interested in the present and future of architectural discourse." Jack Self, Editor-in-Chief Real Review
"To be clear, Architecture Against Architecture is not a hopeful book…it is a lucid one. Its ambition lies not in charting a new future, but in insisting that the old one is no longer tenable. Whether the profession can endure the level of introspection the book demands remains an open question. What de Graaf makes clear is that the time for debunking myths has passed. What remains is the harder task of deciding what, if anything, architecture is willing to give up to persist at all. That this question is posed from within one of the world’s most influential architectural practices only sharpens its force. The manifesto does not arrive from the margins. It comes from the center—and it is addressed, uncomfortably, to everyone still standing there. As such, Architecture Against Architecture stands as a must-read for architects willing to confront not just their image, but the costs of continuing to defend it." Erick Villagomez, Spacing Vancouver
About the Author
Reinier de Graaf is a Dutch architect and writer. He is a partner in the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and co-founder of its think-tank, AMO. He is the author of Four Walls and a Roof: The Complex Nature of a Simple Profession and architect, verb.: The New Language of Building as well as the novel The Masterplan. He lives in Amsterdam.