Description
Book SynopsisArchitectural Agents makes the case that buildings act in the world independently of their makers, patrons, owners, or occupants. And often they act badly. Treating buildings as bodies, Annabel Jane Wharton writes biographies of symptomatic structures in order to diagnose their pathologies.
Trade Review"Provocative and entertaining . . . a tour de force, richly imaginative, and full of warmth and insight."—Times Higher Education
"Wharton upends new stones of inquiry and exploration."—Art Libraries Society of North America
"This is an important book for architectural historians and Preservationists."—CHOICE
"These are all well-researched and entertainingly written pieces ... indeed, the delightful and richly annotated essays in this volume make their arguments and methodology perfectly clear on their own."—Traditional Dwellings and Settlements review
"An insightful analysis of the political and social history of space and architecture in American, Middle Eastern, and European urban cultures."—Reading Religion
Table of ContentsContents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Architectural Agency
Part I. Death
1. Murder
2. Spoils
Part II. Disease
3. Amnesia
4. Urban Toxicity
Part III. Addiction
5. Gambling
6. Digital Play
Conclusion: Buildings/Things, Bodies/Texts, History/Theory
Notes
Bibliography
Index
