Book Reviews: From Words to Buildings

The history of the architecture book has never been told from the perspective of the review. Nevertheless, the book review is crucial: it tests, synthesizes and evaluates the social conversation about architectural assumptions that each publication contains. A book exists to be read, but the review is the most succinct and visible record of that reading, and of its influence. The review helps transform words into buildings, projects and spatial decisions—the review is one of the bridges between a publication (with theory, criticism and history), practice and the built environment.

In a forthcoming issue of OASE, the history of the architectural book review is outlined through case studies. The properties are studied of a genre that is more or less generally available, intended for a shifting audience of architects, interested readers and historians. Such a study is also an analysis of a medium: the book did not kill the building, as Victor Hugo put it in 1831, but always instigated and encouraged it. The main aim is to reveal how the book relates to practice, and how this relationship has evolved. The book review is a trenchant opportunity to look back on production in the distant or recent past, and to speculate about the future.

Authors are invited to submit a 200-word abstract as a proposal for a 1,000-word article. The abstract should identify one existing book review, published from the inception of the architecture book to the present day. It should indicate how this review has guided or initiated architectural practice and the discussion about environment and space. Abstracts must be submitted before December 20, 2023, at info@oasejournal.nl. Authors will be notified on January 15 and will be asked to submit their article by April 1, 2024.

Editors of this issue: Christophe Van Gerrewey (EPFL) and Hans Teerds (ETHZ).