© 2011 – Routledge
Looking afresh at the implications of Jacques Derrida’s thinking for architecture, this book simplifies his ideas in a clear, concise way. Derrida‘s treatment of key philosophical texts has been labelled as "deconstruction," a term that resonates with architecture. Although his main focus is language, his thinking has been applied by architectural theorists widely.
As well as a review of Derrida’s interaction with architecture, this book is also a careful consideration of the implications of his thinking, particularly on the way architecture is practiced.
"Derrida for Architects is to be celebrated for maintaining that most important and productive relationship between Derrida and architecture" – Planning Perspectives
"This book and series will then appeal to the architect, student, and academic looking for connections between this great mind and the built environment. That his field dealt mostly in intangibles only makes one realize how powerful an idea can be, how his thinking and philosophy have and continue to influence so many, architects and all." – Sean Ruthen, Spacing Magazine
Prologue 1. Thinking About Architecture 2. Language and Architecture 3. Intertextuality and Metaphor 4. Derrida on Architecture 5. Other Spaces 6. Derrida and Radical Practice
Architects have often looked to thinkers in philosophy and theory to find design ideas or in search of a critical framework for practice. Yet architects, and students of architecture, can struggle to navigate thinkers’ writings. It can be daunting to approach original texts with little appreciation of their contexts. And existing introductions seldom explore architectural material in any detail.
This original series offers clear, quick and accurate introductions to key thinkers who have written about architecture. Each book summarises what a thinker has to offer for architects. It locates their architectural thinking in the body of their work, introduces significant books and essays, helps decode terms and provides quick reference for further reading. If you find philosophical and theoretical writing about architecture difficult, or just don’t know where to begin, this series will be indispensable.
Books in the Thinkers for Architects series come out of architecture. They pursue architectural modes of understanding, aiming to introduce a thinker to an architectural audience. Each author in the series – an architect or an architectural critic – has focussed on a selection of a thinker’s writings which they judge most relevant to designers and interpreters of architecture. Thinkers for Architects has proved highly successful, now with over ten volumes dealing with familiar cultural figures whose writings have influenced architectural designers, critics and commentators in distinctive and important ways. The series continues to expand, addressing an increasingly rich diversity of contemporary thinkers who have something to say to architects.