Although design has become eminently newsworthy among the general public in our society, there is very little understanding to be found of the values and implications that underlie it. This book analyses design's role and status, and discusses what our obsession with it tells us about our own culture.
An intellectual biography of the cultural critic Reyner Banham. Reyner Banham (1922-88) was one of the most influential writers on architecture, design, and popular culture from the mid-1950s to the late 1980s. Trained in mechanical engineering and art history, he was convinced that technology was making society not only more exciting but more democratic. His combination of academic rigor and pop culture sensibility put him in opposition to both traditionalists and orthodox Modernists, but placed him in a unique position to understand the cultural, social, and political implications of the visual arts in the postwar period. His first book, Theory and Design in the First Machine Age (still in print with The MIT Press after forty years), was central to the overhaul of Modernism, and it gave Futurism and Expressionism credibility amid the dynamism and change of the 1960s. This intellectual biography is the first comprehensive critical examination of Banham's theories and ideas, not only on architecture but also on the wide variety of subjects that interested him. It covers the full range of his oeuvre and discusses the values, enthusiasms, and influences that formed his thinking.
Exploring the innovative work of the international architectural studio Penezi + Rogina, this volume highlights their significant contributions to both experimental and practical architecture. Active since 2000, the studio has made notable appearances at the Venice Biennale and has completed various important projects in Croatia, showcasing their integration of IT in architectural design. The book delves into their creative processes and the impact of their installations on the architectural landscape.