Synthesising the poetic and the rational humanises architecture and reactivates its sense of ‘wild civility’, says John Marx
We all respond to the conditions of our time, whether consciously or not, each by adding or subtracting from an apparent sense of progress. At this moment, modern architecture seems to be at a critical crossroads, where it needs to admit to its past transgressions, its current public alienation, and also, to celebrate the progress it has achieved in nurturing and in learning from these, to move forward thoughtfully and perhaps radically to truly fulfil its potential to be of service to and to inspire humanity.
The traditional definition of a monograph is ‘a detailed study of a single specialised subject’. Architectural monographs tend to be tightly-focused, dryly descriptive studies of the work of single practices with diagrams, images and concise texts set out in a very orderly way. This monograph presents an opportunity to do two things, often seen as contradictory: to advocate and to illustrate.
The Absurdity Of Beauty 