Culture
The latest criticism and comment in architecture, art and designThe Critics
Bauhaus at the Barbican
Joseph Rykwert visits the lively new exhibition at the Barbican and is reminded of the fun and frolics of the Dessau school
Reporting from Milan Furniture Fair
Fringe events throughout the city beat the official Milan Furniture Fair for new designers keen to make their mark, but the centre of these activities changes from year to year, writes Rakesh Ramchurn
Alsop at The Public
Will Alsop’s collaborative installation dominates The Public’s new exhibition and leaves little space for vivacity or wit, writes Jay Merrick
The resurrection of Dykes Bower
Stephen Dykes Bower battled ambitious colleagues and changing public tastes to redefine and restore our most cherished churches, writes Gavin Stamp
The Hawksmoor Epiphany
The Royal Academy’s Hawksmoor exhibition serves as a welcome taster that may inspire people to go and discover his work first hand, writes Gillian Darley
Little map of horrors
A new book by Albena Yaneva attempts to map the controversies, scandal and intrigue that shape our buildings with laudable aims but flawed methods
The Temporary City by Peter Bishop and Lesley Williams
A new book takes a pessimistic look at London’s temporary structures and sees their popularity as a sign of our downfall. Tim Abrahams is unconvinced
Constructing nature
Gillian Darley dissects the semantic confusion of a new book on Landform Building and finds the lines between topography and structure increasingly blurred
Pyongyang's Architecture on trial
A two-volume guide to architecture in Pyongyang offers a startling contrast between propaganda and the reality of life in North Korea, writes Hyunjoo Lee
Landscape and Intervention: Norwegian architecture at the RIBA
[PREVIEW] Reiulf Ramstand and Jensen & Skodvin Architects, two leading Norwegian practices, will feature in an exhibition at the RIBA
In Cohousing We Trust
Stephen Hill is a firm advocate of the ideas contained within Cohousing in Britain: A Diggers and Dreamers Review
A Place to Call Home
The RIBA’s exhibition is an entertaining and accessible retrospective which hopes to engage the public with 300 years of British housing, writes James Pallister
Architecture and urban space in Baghdad
[PREVIEW] A lecture at the Mosaic Rooms on Thursday 1 March will focus on urban spaces in Baghdad, many of which are at risk due to damage in the Gulf wars or through neglect
Alvaro Siza in Machu Picchu
An exhibition of Álvaro Siza’s sketches of Machu Picchu makes Tim Abrahams reconsider the glorification of the architect’s scrawl
The humanity of Hertzberger
RIBA Gold Medalist Herman Hertzberger has spent the past 50 years designing buildings on a human scale, writes Andrew Dawes
Jeremy Rifkin's The Third Industrial Revolution and The Very Hungry City
Two new books on global energy dependency deal in anecdote, theory and ‘dreams come true’ writes Hattie Hartman
Rave against the machine
Molly Macindoe’s photography reveals the gritty former life of familiar city sites during the free party heyday of the late 90s, writes Merlin Fulcher
Nigel Green's Reconstruction
A new study of post-war reconstruction in Picardy, France offers both a historical narrative and regional perspective on Modernism, writes Robin Wilson
Explain more, describe less: Mallgrave and Goodman's Architectural Theory
A new survey of 40 years of architectural theory opts to document, rather than unpack its subjects, writes Stephen Games
Architecture of Pyongyang revealed in new publication
Television coverage of Kim Jong-Il’s funeral has provided a rare glimpse of Pyongyang’s streets and monumental architecture. The Architectural and Cultural Guide Pyongyang, a timely release from DOM Publications, provides a guide to the ambitious, often spectacular - and sometimes odd - structures of North Korea’s capital.
Architecture with a social mission
David Canter looks at a new book which considers the architecture of the Salvation Army movement.
Building the Revolution: Soviet Art and Architecture 1915-1935
Post-revolutionary Russia witnessed a burst of innovation in art and architecture as the country’s artists formed a new visual language with which to interpret and promote the new world of Soviet Socialism, writes Rakesh Ramchurn
Ian Martin's Merry Quizmas!
Ian Martin’s annual crashcourse in Yuletide time wasting for marginalised, misanthropic architects. Illustrations by Bill Bragg
Looking back over 2011: The books, shows and places to go
Soul-searching about architecture’s future and three blockbuster exhibitions have dominated this year’s cultural offering, writes James Pallister
Next Nature Powershow, Amsterdam
From an artificial mountain to a lab-grown hamburger, James Pallister finds the Next Nature Power Show in Amsterdam full of new ways that man is shaping nature
Constructivist criticism
A brief but intense period of design and construction in Russia from 1915-35 is examined at The Royal Academy’s Building the Revolution exhibition, writes Abigail Gliddon
Hot rod my house: Tom Kundig interviewed
American architect Tom Kundig makes simple, affordable family homes. Then he soups them up with gizmos and gadgets, inspired by his counter-culture heroes of the 1950s, writes Rob Gregory
The Life and Death of Buildings
The cyclical nature of destruction and construction in architecture is a fascinating topic to explore, but Joel Smith’s new book leaves readers wanting more, writes Andrew Mead
Ruins: Beautiful Decay
A new collection of essays traces how modern ruins have inspired artists and architects, writes Douglas Murphy
Venice, Basel, Folkestone: the rise of the Biennial
As yet another UK arts biennial comes to an end, James Pallister looks at the growth of a format that has seduced cities worldwide and is changing the way our regional arts scene works
Beatrice Galilee on her plans for the Lisbon Architecture Triennale
Beatrice Galilee, a 29-year old writer and curator, has won the curatorship of the third Lisbon Architecture Triennale. Here she speaks to the AJ about her plans
Edgar Martins' The Time Machine
Edgar Martins’ power stations appear stuck in time, writes Robin Wilson
Ian Martin on satire, Berthold Lubetkin and wafty lofty types
‘We were skint and I needed work’: Rory Olcayto interviews AJ columnist and ‘The Thick of It’ writer Ian Martin on his life in architectural journalism
Lost in epic f*cking space
How Ian Martin became the foremost piss-taker of architecture, then politics. Rory Olcayto interviews the AJ’s star columnist and author of The Coalition Chronicles
OMA/Progress at the Barbican
OMA’s first UK exhibition is noisy and invigorating, but cutting through the cacophony is a challenge, writes James Pallister
Apocalypse Then: John Martin at Tate Britain
John Martin’s paintings of biblical disaster have influenced artists and filmmakers for years, but his greatest admirer was an architect, writes Rory Olcayto
Postmodernism post-mortem
Now Postmodernism is over, we can try to define it. But the V&A’s exhibition doesn’t clear things up, writes Joseph Rykwert
Postmodernism redux
FAT has resurrected Postmodernism and turned it radical in the latest issue of Architectural Design, but it’s still not cool, writes Steve Parnell
Pevsner, Hitchcock and Giedion
Gervork Hartoonian’s study of the inner life of architecture’s greatest historians relies on theory rather than facts - which is a problem, writes Stephen Games
Building a defence: Architecture in Uniform
Wartime architects faced unique challenges – and opportunities – during WWII. A book explores the architectural legacy of the conflict, writes Adrian Forty
The real Nikolaus Pevsner
Susie Harries’ biography of the art historian overturns his image as a hapless, workaholic professor and finds a man desperate to belong, writes Steve Parnell
Constructing the Ineffable: Contemporary Sacred Architecture
A new collection of essays expand on Le Corbusier’s definition of sacred space in architecture to illuminating effect, writes Ayla Lepine
Architecture, Philip K Dick and Science-fiction Film
Architecture has been both creator and muse for science fiction. David Fontin’s new book dissects this shifting dynamic, writes Sam Jacob
Ai Weiwei at Kunsthaus Bregenz
The first major exhibition of Ai Weiwei’s architectural work links the artist to his architect collaborators outside China, writes David Howarth
Kent School of Architecture
[STUDENT SHOWS 2011] The title of this year’s show was REGIONerate and, not surprisingly, it focused on regeneration, working with sites in the south east including Canterbury, Dungeness and the more socially and economically deprived Chatham and Margate
The Bundesgartenschau - blumen marvellous!
Since 1951 Germany’s biennial garden festival has left lasting impacts on its respective host cities. Peter Sheard reports back from this year’s ‘Bundesgartenschau’ in Koblenz, and argues that the German approach provides a useful model for the UK to follow
The Perfect Architect
Architects are characterised as little more than gormless buffoons in Jayne Joso’s new novel, finds Jay Merrick
Reservoir and Aftermath
[THIS WEEK] Landscape photography gets reimagined in two new art books, writes James Pallister
Frozen Poetry
The Courtauld Institute’s conference on architecture and poetry is symptomatic of a new direction in practice
Quiet pleasures, explosive oomph
Alan Stanton and Piers Gough’s co-curated room at the Royal Academy blends photography, intricate modelwork and deft drawings with style, says Gillian Darley
Rick Leplastrier and Peter Stutchbury: Outback architecture
Australian architects Rick Leplastrier and Peter Stutchbury talk to Jay Merrick about the power of landscape, elemental design and the outdoor way of life
Student Degree show dates 2011
It’s almost degree show time - here’s this year’s listings. If your school is missing please do get in touch
Colour, line, geometry, logic: Max Bill at Annely Juda
The sober work of polymath architect Max Bill – a child of the Bauhaus and peer of Mondrian – should help fill a gap in British art appreciation, writes Andrew Mead
Around & About Stock Orchard Street
In her book, Sarah Wigglesworth tells the story of the self-build of her home, while also critiquing a certain type of architectural publishing, writes Isabel Allen
Robin and Lucienne Day: Design and the Modern Interior
Textile designs by Lucienne Day and furniture by her partner Robin Day strongly recall the Festival of Britain era, writes Catherine Croft
Edgelands: Journeys into England’s True Wilderness
Poets Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts turn our attention to the unloved spaces where town and country meet, writes Robin Wilson. Photos by Jason Orton
Cedric Price: Think the Unthinkable
An exhibition in Glasgow dedicated to architect Cedric Price shows how the heritage of Modernism can be made to serve divergent present-day ends, writes Miles Glendinning
James Stirling: Notes from the Archive
James Stirling’s Clore Gallery at Tate Britain is an unintentionally fitting venue for a retrospective of an architect whose work continues to divide opinion, writes John Allan
Cronocaos: Heritage and heresy
Change and chaos are natural parts of the human psyche. How can we reconcile this with the desire to preserve, asks Jay Merrick
Ravilious and Roland Collins
[THIS WEEK] Eric Ravilious’ landscapes are worth discovering, writes James Pallister
Mrs Tiggy Winkle, Alison Smithson and a critical anthology
[THIS WEEK] The Smithsons’ writings cover a very English view of life, writes James Pallister
Your junk mail reveals a global shift of white collar work
[THIS WEEK] My work email address attracts a lot of spam. Aside from the usual wire transfer requests, offers of performance enhancers and other comic smuttery that sneaks through the filters, there’s a fair amount of unsolicited sales pitches for professional services
Homes for London?
[THIS WEEK] Shelter’s Homes for London proves there is hope for England’s capital yet, writes James Pallister
The name of the game may have changed, but it’s still musical chairs for space-parcellists
Ian Martin redefines the London property development game
An ambitious plan to twin Tamworth and Los Angeles is put to the test
Ian Martin Road-tests the beta version of the iPad 5
Airbrushing people from the landscapes of the past to create a retro-chic version of the future
Ian Martin shouts ‘yay!’ at the mention of the Olympics
I ghost the comeback of HRH The Phantom Menace, and experience a brand new Shardenfreude
Ian Martin is the Prince of Wales’ ghost
A journey into epic cyberspace, and the branding of a hipster skyscraper
Ian Martin redesigns the internet
The struggle to reclaim public space in the interests of corporate freedom
Ian Martin reframes public space in the minds of the British people
Recalibrating the Olympic legacy, recalculating the Ally Palacy
Ian Martin brainstorms some disaster icons
Steve Parnell's Back Issues
The rise of Concrete Quarterly - Back Issues
The crisp pages of Concrete Quarterly studiously follow the material that built the 20th century, says Steve Parnell
D H Lawrence in the Architectural Review - Back Issues
The letters of DH Lawrence to the Architectural Review hold a timely resonance for Steve Parnell
Hubert de Cronin Hastings’ Neologisms in the AR - Back Issues
Hubert de Cronin Hastings’ neologisms were idealistic but ultimately futile, says Steve Parnell
Architectural Design's Cosmorama - Back Issues
Architectural Design’s Cosmorama documented architecture’s fascination with sci-fi, writes Steve Parnell
Peter Zumthor's Therme Vals baths in print
From Vogue to the LA Times, the representation of Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals baths in print is an exercise in architectural canonisation
Back Issues - 1930s pseudonyms
Pevsner used pseudonyms to great effect in the Architectural Review during the 1930, writes Steve Parnell
Back Issues - Building the London Olympics, 1948
Unemcumbered by professionalism, London’s 1948 Olympic Games came in cheap, says Steve Parnell
Back Issues - 1930s Space-saving
In the 1930s, magazines were enamoured with the latest in space-saving and fitted appliances, says Steve Parnell
Back Issues - Julius Shulman's Case Study House photography
The most replicated photograph in architectural history and its impact on a Case Study House, by Steve Parnell
Back Issues - Case Study House Program
Back Issues - What happens when the architectural press is your client? Steve Parnell revisits The Case Study House Program.
