Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A valid message in a tabloid, slack style, 12 Mar 2008
As someone opposed to 'theoryspeak', post-rationalisation and, as Dan Graham pointed out some decades ago, the apparent increase in the number of architects who actually want to be seen as not architects, but artists, I was looking forward to reading this book.
Its a quick read, at around 100pp, around half of that comprising images, in which Silber takes aim at the likely targets - Danny Liebskind, Holl. Gehry, probably deservedly gets the biggest lambasting for his absence to control costs and his ego, with MIT's Stata Centre gracing the book's sleeve as the most concentrated point of ire. The text is a good accompaniment for those unfamiliar with architecture, and sits well alongside other intro-primers such as Alain de Botton's (far better) Architecture of Happiness for those interested in the profession. It is also a welcome backlash against the ego, and serves as a good counter-point to Sidney Pollack's film "Sketches of Frank Gehry".
However, it is quite poorly written, almost tabloid like. There are some inconsistencies in the author's stance on what's acceptable and falls under the umbrella of 'good design' and what's just posturing, and like the previous reviewer said, there are numerous points when you get the impression that the author is almost saying "I could do better with my arms tied behind my back". I would expect all architects and even most architecture students beyond their first year of study to be well conversant with the issues related to iconic and, from time to time, absurd architecture. It's good this book has been published, its just a shame it wasn't more comprehensively researched and more eloquently written. A simple, 1 hour read.
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Modern Architecture: How I would have done it better., 3 Jan 2008
An interesting book, exploring what is obviously one of Silbur's hobby horses, but ultimately shedding as much light on Silbur as his subject.
As a Professor of Philosophy, Silbur's academic record is impressive, unfortunately this volume is light on analysis and heavy on opinion; giving off more heat than light, the result feels like the first lecture in a series rather than a finished work.
Silbur deals with the works of a small number of architects and predominantly American buildings, with the works of Gehry and Libeskind singled out for particular critiscism. Although the pretty photographs do aid in our understanding, floor plans and blueprints may have added weight to his arguments, as could a wider selection of architects and a more cosmopolitan selection of works.
Although most will agree that buildings should be wind and rain proof, Silbur's didactic style and sweeping generalisations give a closed feel to the subject, excluding any view but his own; the same accusation he levels at the eponymous 'Genius'. Ultimately we are left with the idea that Silbur feels both he and his father would have been better choices as architects than these 'Artistes'.
Silbur's central tenet will appeal to those who believe that buildings should satisfy the demands of both form and function, although most will find that, at fewer than a hundred pages, this book adds little that they did not already know.
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by Alain de Botton
by David Littlefield
by Christy Campbell
by John Burrow
