Architects' People

In the past there has been little reason to examine "architects' people"--the people who are imagined to occupy the buildings designed and executed by architects. Societies have historically provided clear rituals and rules for the built environment. Recently, however, the changing conditions of architectural conception and execution have resulted in a need for inventive, socially alert planning. This study, the first to survey the topic, presents architects' ideas about their "people." Contributors such as Robert Gutman and Kent Bloomer, provide fourteen diverse essays that look at individual architects--among them Vitruvius. Wright, Esherick, and Eisenman--and their spoken and written images of social life, their design solutions, the nature and origins of architects' people, and architecturally related policy, politics, and movements. An original treatment of an increasingly important topic, the book will be of interest to a wide range of architects, architectural historians, social scientists, educators, and students of design.