Narrative Architecture: A Kynical Manifesto

A genealogy of utopian, "honest" architecture that speaks the truth to the issues of our times, from Le Corbusier and Constant to Superstudio and Rem KoolhaasDocumenting a strain of remarkable architectural and urban visions in the 20th century, Narrative Architecture applies the critiques implicit in these visions to present-day problems in urbanism. The titular "Kynical Manifesto" alludes to the Cynic philosopher Diogenes, who famously wandered Greece in search of an "honest man." Where is the honest architecture, this book asks, that speaks the truth to the pressing challenges of our time--societal fragmentation, gentrification, rampant capitalism, climate change? Earlier projects by Le Corbusier, Team 10, Constant, Victor Gruen, Yona Friedman, Archizoom, Superstudio and Rem Koolhaas may offer solutions, Narrative Architecture offers a comprehensive exploration of alternative models of architectural and urban thinking and representation, asking critical questions about the challenges affecting the world today.