Swimming to Suburbia and Other Essays (ORO EDITIONS) - Softcover

Gannon, Todd

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1940743745 ISBN 13: 9781940743745

Publisher: ORO Editions, 2018

Synopsis

Widely known for his award-winning design work, the Los Angeles-based architect Craig Hodgetts has distinguished himself as one of the key voices of his generation through trenchant commentary and visionary speculation on architecture and design. This volume gathers an array of theoretical polemics on buildings and cities, critical assessments of major projects and personalities, and other writings that showcase Hodgetts' unique position as both a central figure in the discipline of architecture and a tireless advocate of technological opportunities developed at the fringes of the field. Contextualized with a critical introduction by historian Todd Gannon and illustrated with rare materials from Hodgetts' archive, this collection cuts a revealing cross-section through a turbulent period during which architecture's confidence in the Modernist project was shaken, its intellectual energies redirected, and its cultural agenda re-imagined in the face of environmental challenges, technological opportunities, lingering disciplinary traditions, and revolutionary new ideas.

About this title

About the Author

Craig Hodgetts is known for employing an imaginative weave of high technology and storytelling to invigorate his designs, producing an architecture that embraces contemporary ideology, information culture, and evolving lifestyles. With a broad-ranging background in automotive design, theater, and architecture, Craig brings dramatic concepts to life by means of an uncompromising application of construction methodology. Craig is presently a professor at the UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning, and previously was a Founding Dean of the School of Design at the California Institute of the Arts. With HsinMing Fung, he has twice held the Eero Saarinen Chair at Yale University, and served as a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Rice University, and the University of Arizona. Known for his enthusiasm for interdisciplinary studies, he has also been active in curriculum development at the Art Center College of Design, where he created a prototype classroom for advanced studies in the Department of Environmental Design.

Todd Gannon is a professor and head of the architecture section at The Ohio State University’s Knowlton School. His most recent book is Reyner Banham and the Paradoxes of High Tech. His other books include The Light Construction Reader (2002), Et in Suburbia Ego: José Oubrerie's Miller House (2013) and monographs on the work of Morphosis, Bernard Tschumi, UN Studio, Steven Holl, Mack Scogin/Merrill Elam, Zaha Hadid, Peter Eisenman, and Eric Owen Moss. His essays have appeared in The Routledge Companion for Architecture Design and Practice (2015), The SAGE Handbook for Architectural Theory (2012), and in periodicals including Log, The Architect’s Newspaper, and Offramp. In collaboration with Ewan Branda and Andrew Zago, he curated the 2013 exhibition A Confederacy of Heretics. His work has been recognized and supported by the Getty Foundation, the Graham Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Institute of Architects, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, The Ohio State University, and UCLA.

Review

"Craig Hodgetts’s writings remind us how to make architecture for today and tomorrow."
―Aaron Betsky, The Journal of the American Institute of Architects

"If you meet Craig Hodgetts, it's hard not to be swept up by his general enthusiasm--not just about architecture, but about people, cars, cities, and surfing. That gusto permeates his writings, which span nearly half a century, condenses and collected into this volume. Divided into four categories--polemics, projects, people, and performances--the book unveils the ideas and possibilities that have influenced Hodgett's architectural work." --Deane Madsen, Architectural Record

About this edition

• Publisher: ORO Editions
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1940743745
• ISBN 13: 9781940743745
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 220