New Directions in Contemporary Architecture

Book excerpt: Rem Koolhaas has defined architecture as a chaotic adventure. Nothing could be more true than that of the last two decades. Never has architecture been so unbridled and so extraordinary: the architectural cast has never been so wide and their works so diverse. What though if you are new to the subject? How is it possible to make sense of this seemingly unruly architectural landscape? There are so many different types of architecture, so many designers with such varying and even contradictory approaches. This book is a much needed navigation guide for anyone interested in modern architecture. Organised chronologically, it enables you to find your way through one of the most prolific periods of building design. It looks at buildings in often contrasting styles that have been built almost simultaneously across the world with their roots in very different tendencies and schools of thought. A loose but effective framework is provided, which pulls all these multiple threads together, while key buildings are described individually with a unique clarity and precision. Aaron Betsky, Director of Cincinnati Art Museum: 'Comprehensive, coherent and cogent, Puglisi's book sorts out the messy history of the last quarter century of the world's best architecture.' Professor Iain Borden, Head, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL: 'Illuminating and insightful - a must-have read for students.' Hans Ibelings, Editor of A10 new European architecture: 'Lucid and concise'. Charles Jencks, Architecture Critic and Author: 'A compelling, comprehensive overview of the avant-garde since 1988 as it oscillates in and out of the global star system.' Bill Menking, Editor of The Architect's Newspaper: 'This is the first clear and systematic study of the culture of architecture from the "reds" of deconstruction to the sustainable "greens".'