construction specs: specifications writing portable handbook
fred stitt

written specifications are where the true fluidity of the construction process lies. it is imaginable that these documents could be written in such a way as to completely eliminate the archaic pictorial mode of representation that we as architects cling to. break yourself off this book and help return the industry to the pre-architect medieval system.

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architectural graphic standards
charles ramsey

merrill elam once called me out to sweat over a seating arrangement i had proposed for a graduation ceremony. my flustered navigation through this book’s arcane indexing supplemented by some numerical doublespeak vindicated my plan. afterword by Philip Johnson.

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stolen copies are available on 6th ave in soho for $500

concrete island
jg ballard

a fictional crusoesque text set in a cavernous median at the intersection of several freeways. this is much less sensational than crash but is certainly a more clear comment on the city-dweller’s relationship with the urban landscape. also of note is the richness of the abject microcosms that the city shits out.

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mobile
michel butor

this text is subtitled “a study for a representation of the united states”. considered a fictional work, this is a far better exploration than baudrillard’s pompous text america. butor manages to weave historical writings with culled fictional snippets, advertising pamphlets, and atmospheric tableaux. in terms of approach, this text could be called a collage or a work of appropriation. the skill of the composition and the syntax of the organization creates a very spatial textual experience; one feels as though they are roving the united states upon their own whimsy. this is a vast deployment of the written word.

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blow-up, and other stories
julio cortázar

the master of the short story. rich, multi-pointed layering + baroque crooks = a gnarly mass of rootage ensnaring the baffled would-be rambler.

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mr. palomar + more
italo calvino

Most architecturists will tell you that ‘invisible cities’ is calvino’s contribution to environment construction and happenstance; while this is undeniably true, in the effort to further intricate the arabesque, a couple of other texts should be noted. ‘numbers in the dark’ informs of the dangers of insisting only upon memorizing texan fire codes when there is a world of work to be done, such as changing a clutch plate or upholstering chairs. ‘mr. palomar’ reminds us of proust’s lessons of constant scrutiny.

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invisible cities
numbers in the dark
mr. palomar

invisible cities + more
italo calvino

Most architecturists will tell you that ‘invisible cities’ is calvino’s contribution to environment construction and happenstance; while this is undeniably true, in the effort to further intricate the arabesque, a couple of other texts should be noted. ‘numbers in the dark’ informs of the dangers of insisting only upon memorizing texan fire codes when there is a world of work to be done, such as changing a clutch plate or upholstering chairs. ‘mr. palomar’ reminds us of proust’s lessons of constant scrutiny.

acquire these texts from powells.com:

invisible cities
numbers in the dark
mr. palomar

numbers in the dark + more
italo calvino

Most architecturists will tell you that ‘invisible cities’ is calvino’s contribution to environment construction and happenstance; while this is undeniably true, in the effort to further intricate the arabesque, a couple of other texts should be noted. ‘numbers in the dark’ informs of the dangers of insisting only upon memorizing texan fire codes when there is a world of work to be done, such as changing a clutch plate or upholstering chairs. ‘mr. palomar’ reminds us of proust’s lessons of constant scrutiny.

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invisible cities
numbers in the dark
mr. palomar

translations from drawing to building
robin evans

i believe this to be the greatest text on architecture written in the 20th century. evans (rip) digs into some very obscure territories, from 18th century furniture catalogues to the tracery of a dome by de l’orme. he admits these curiosities with gravity and submits them to very clever angles of inquiry to elucidate points about peter eiseman, mies van der rohe, and the greater practice of building itself. yet all of these objects and approaches are tied under the title to expose the space between the ennunciation and the act, the drawing and the building, both movements in themselves, both powerful, yet in the eyes of evans, surprisingly distant.

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how does the dirty herd reach this site?

linking urls: http://www.sisyphean.com/misc/searchresults.html

search phrases: http://www.sisyphean.com/misc/phrases.html

the open work
umberto eco

this collection of essays changed the way i perceive constructed realities, from architecture and texts, to music and lifestyle decisions. the topics range over openness, multiplicity, and the accidental in construction, and misreadings, pluralism, and non-sequitur in apprehension. this could be the most instrumental text in my current line of thinking. read barthes ‘the death of the author’ and the open work then revisit the wrk.grp’s group e2 competition entry.

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i am curious to learn what 100mb of this shit is doing on our server.
† continue reading your work

guns, germs, and steel
jared diamond

this is the standard by which i judge all histories. as i carefully select the texts that i have time to read in the remainder of my life, i attempt to make sure that they will enlighten me on their subject to the extent that this tome does on everything – that is to say, why this world exists as it does. no other non-fiction has made me weep with such pleasure; i hope this book is true.

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new work anyone?

gravity’s rainbow
thomas pynchon

i tried to read this book in highschool when i bought it from the now defunct ‘annies books’. i got discouraged and traded it back in for heart of darkness. in college i bought it again after learning how to read dull books in the ulysses course at georgia tech and read pynchon’s text in its entirety while visiting graduate schools in seattle and los angeles. this is the only book that has ever made me laugh out loud.

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addendum: i have now laughed out loud at dan wakefield’s going all the way.

la bas
joris karl huysmans

this decadent french text makes a case for the urban significance of church bells, details the symbolism of colour, and explains why authors keep housecats. and oh yes, it is about satanism.

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what do you think about some type of ‘currently’ or ‘recommended’ reading list, so that our students can see on what we are working when we are not producing?