Review

Reviewed Work(s): Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture by Kate Nesbitt

Review by: Linda R. Krause
Source: Journal of Architectural and Planning Research , Spring, 2001, Vol. 18, No. 1
(Spring, 2001), pp. 84-86
Published by: Locke Science Publishing Company, Inc.

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43030562

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 The Journal of Architectural and Planning Research
18:1 (Spring, 2001) 84

David Stea
ferentiated, protective, homogeneous neighbor-
hood environment which projects Department
an image ofof Geography and Planning
Southwest
security, of "people like 'us'": there, the parentsTexas State University
San Marcos,
to a large extent run the school, insuring that the Texas, USA
norms of the school reflect the norms of the
neighborhood's inhabitants.

The children in both schools were asked to cre-

Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture , by
ate stories. Those told by the inner-city children
revolve about their lives and possible social Kate Nesbitt, Ed. New York: Princeton Ar-
chitectural Press, 1996. 606 pp., $50.00 cloth,
solutions to their problems in the here-and-now
arena of their own neighborhood environments.$34.95 paper.
In the terminology of Peter Orleans, they are
"localités." The affluent suburban children are
Anyone who has had to gather readings for a
"cosmopolites." To them, as reflected in their
course in contemporary architectural and urban
stories, the entire world is accessible; they
theory knows the dread: a lengthy search for
recognize few problems and their proposed solu-
pertinent sources in obscure and often short-
tions to those they do recognize are technologi-
cal, many from the world of science fiction. lived journals leading to a cobbled- together
Thus, the contrast presented is thus not justreader
be- made increasingly problematic by
tween school environments, but between feel- copyright laws. The resulting reader, if publish-
ers' permissions are forthcoming, is often
ings: powerlessness over one's unfortunate des-
tiny on the one hand with fictitious control prohibitively
of a expensive. This was my recurring
largely predetermined destiny on the other. nightmare and so, with great relief and high ex-
pectations, I welcomed Kate Nesbitt' s new
In her concluding chapters, Sutton describesbook,
not Theorizing a New Agenda for Architec-
just the calcified, environmentally unsustainable : An Anthology of Architectural Theory ,
ture
1965-1995. After requiring this work in two
hierarchical social order which the school en-
vironment reproduces, but the "creative seminars
mar- I am still relieved that such a huge
project was undertaken and, even if a few of my
ginality" of those teachers who seek to effect
expectations went unmet, have found it a valu-
change within the constraints of the educational
system in which they must operate. It callsable
for resource.

the creation of sociophysical environments that

question the conventional wisdom and acceptedIn her preface, Nesbitt defines her audience as
order, that promote empowerment, shared "practicing architects, students, and teachers of
architecture" (p. 13). Although she does not
responsibility, and mutually-aided self-reliance.
mention urban planners, the volume includes a
chapter on postmodern urban theory with ex-
Weaving a Tapestry of Resistance is an impor-
tant work, a good book appearing at a bad time from such canonic urban design sources
cerpts
as Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter's Collage City
in the recent history of educational innovation,
with its current emphasis upon "back to and Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown's
the
Learning
basics" and education-for-jobs (and, by implica- from Las Vegas among others.
tion, reinforcement of the "hidden curriculum"),Beyond this chapter, urban studies issues are im-
plicit in many of the selections. But clearly the
and with ill-defined "multiculturalism" under at-
tack. A plethora of writings on the subject ap- anthology is geared toward those with a keen in-
peared in the 1960s and 1970s, but this book terest
is in architecture, specifically toward those
in many ways more thorough, better grounded,who produce and talk about buildings. The
and less polemic than many of its predecessors.book is particularly useful to readers who have
In questioning the fundamental assumptions un- at least a passing acquaintance with anti- and
derlying our entire educational system rather postmodern critical issues. Those of my stu-
than simply the environmental context, it seems dents who had not gotten much beyond Com-
as relevant to educational and social planners as plexity and Contradiction found some of the
to architects and other designers; hopefully, more hermetic pieces slow going but the
majority enjoyed the challenge and made an im-
among these, as well as others, Sutton's writings
will receive the attention they richly deserve. portant discovery: postmodern criticism is often

Copyright © 2001, Locke Science Publishing Company, Inc.

Chicago, IL, USA All Rights Reserved

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 The Journal of Architectural and Planning Research
18:1 (Spring, 2001) 85

difficult, contradictory, and vexing.

throughIndeed,
six, centers on how contemporary
they first discovered this in Nesbitt' s introduc-
theorists have sought to interpret architectural
tion. meaning through various linguistic and formalis-
tic methods (structuralism, poststructuralism,
Any good introduction should be more than a deconstruction, typology, and contextualism).
road map to the succeeding chapters. In part These chapters are, as Nesbitt claims, linked
Nesbitt accomplishes this by defining the neces- thematically.
sity and types of architectural theory, as well as
offering a detailed discussion of postmodernist Such a theme-based organization breaks down in
themes and sources. Most of this section is in-
chapter seven "The School of Venice" where
formative and useful, particularly where she
geography and institutional affiliation, rather
covers the dissemination of postmodernist criti-
than theme, unite the essays. Although she al-
cal theory. But in drawing the distinctions
ludes to a thematic unity among the Italian
among types of theory, she presents a confused critics by reiterating Alan Colquhoun's notion
that these authors shared the view that architec-
picture. Theories, she claims, are "prescriptive,
ture served a social role, such a nebulous claim
proscriptive, affirmative, or critical" (p. 17).
The labels "prescriptive" and "proscriptive" could apply to virtually all of the authors in the
present a distinction without a difference be- anthology and hardly qualifies as a distinguish-
ing characteristic of the Venetians. One needs
cause it is difficult to imagine how a theory can
recommend a course of action (or inaction) to look no further than chapter eight to see the
without implying its opposite. More confusing problem. Why, one wonders, in a chapter en-
is the editor's use of the term "critical" which titled "Political and Ethical Agendas," is there
she presents both as a type of theory, (as in no work by the eminent neo-Marxist critic
Manfredo Tafuri? Rather, Tafuri was grouped
"critical theory"), and as a kind of "prescriptive
theory." On page 17, Nesbitt states, "[prescrip-with the neo-rationalist formalist Aldo Rossi and
tive] theory can be critical (even radical), or af-
other Venetians in the previous chapter.
firmative of the status quo." In this sense, criti-
cal prescriptive theory, while normative, offersThata such odd groupings appear throughout the
radical departure from the existing norm. Yet book results from the overlapping agendas of
on page 18, Nesbitt uses the term "critical" in
these protean authors. Many of the texts deal
another way when she writes, "broader than ...simultaneously with wide ranging issues, and
during the last three decades, the authors' com-
prescriptive writing, critical theory evaluates the
world and its relationships to the society it ser-
plex views have shifted. Clearly this makes the
ves." Much of this confusion could have been
editor's task daunting. Where, for instance,
does one put Robert Mugerauer's thoughtful
avoided by using clearer and fewer categories;
why not just "normative and descriptive essay on "Derrida and Beyond"? Nesbitt places
theories?" it in chapter three, "Poststructuralism and
Deconstruction." At first blush this seems a
The body of the anthology is divided into four- logical choice but on reading the essay one finds
teen chapters. According to Nesbitt, the first that it is, ultimately, a refutation of deconstruc-
eight chapters "deal with issues of meaning, his- tion. Mugerauer, a phenomenologist, would
tory, and society" (p. 13). This group is fol- have been more logically grouped with other
lowed by four chapters "ground in phenomenol- phenomenologists. If one were to argue that
ogy, emphasizing nature, place, and tectonics" each section might include proponents and an-
(p. 13). Finally, the remaining two chapters tagonists on a single issue then Mugerauer's
reveal "emerging issues ... " (p. 13). Such essay makes sense in chapter three, but the
catch-all terms as "meaning, history, and remaining anthology is not organized this way
society" are unhelpful in directing the reader to and this essay's placement seems illogical. For
a particular perspective or even a particular the most part, however, the editor effectively
group of perspectives. One wonders, for in- groups related pieces.
stance, why "meaning" is a distinct feature here
when clearly it figures prominently in Clearly recognizing their blurred boundaries,
phenomenological theories. The chapter titlesNesbitt weaves common threads among these
are more revealing. Here we begin to under-disparate texts in her brief introductions to each
stand that the term "meaning," in chapters twoselection. Here she highlights the author's main

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 The Journal of Architectural and Planning Research
18:1 (Spring, 2001) 86

points and places the essay in a larger context. Linda R. Krause

School of Architecture and Urban Planning
Nesbitt uses the introductions to reference other
texts in the book that raise similar issues from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
slightly different vantage points. Assiduous Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
readers can, therefore, shift back and forth
among essays to follow a particular argument.
Or, again guided by the introductions, they can
trace the thinking of a particular author when, as
is sometimes the case, such authors as Peter Landscapes for Learning: Creating Outdoor En-
Eisenman, Robert Venturi, and Anthony Vidier vironments for Children and Youth , by Sharon
appear in more than one chapter. Stine. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
1996. 244 pp., $54.95 cloth.
If, as earlier stated, this is a book written for
those who produce and talk about buildings, it is
also a book written by this audience. The fifty- The focus of designing educative environments
one essays include works by practicing ar- has traditionally been placed on the interior en-
chitects, architectural historians, architectural vironments at schools - furniture arrangement,
critics, and even a sprinkling of philosophers. wall colors, and placement of windows.
Many factors contribute to an editor's choice of Landscapes for Learning examines how the out-
selections and any anthology runs the risk ofdoor environments at schools can, and should,
omitting, what are to one reader or another, es- be designed to facilitate learning. Case studies
sential tracts. Nesbitt' s selections adequately of eleven school yards are used throughout the
cover diverse philosophies and critical methods. book to provide examples of completed and suc-
Yet occasionally there are some questionable cessful outdoor environments and to discuss the
choices. Chapter three, "Poststructuralism andprocesses which lead to their creation. The
Deconstruction," offers seven essays, five ofbook is nontechnical and is appropriate for
which are by Bernard Tschumi who is also rep- school teachers or administrators and for desig-
resented elsewhere in the book. While ners of school environments. It is an important
Tschumi' s essays are lively and provocative, first purchase for anyone contemplating buying
such a dense and difficult topic as apoststruc-
pre-fabricated play structure for a school or
turalism and deconstruction should have been day care center; it will probably save them the
more broadly represented. cost of the structure. In addition, although writ-
ten to provide information specifically on
At the end of the volume, Nesbitt includes an making the school yard an environment for
informative "notes on contributors" section and learning, much, if not all the information
a detailed, chapter-by-chapter, bibliography.presented by Stine could be interpreted for
The bibliography is essential for ferreting out making all environments more educative.
the sources - primarily European philosophers,
literary critics, cultural theorists, sociologists, An important point which Stine makes on the
first page of the introduction is that children
and linguists - who influenced the authors in
this book. The absence of these sources may be spend most of their time in environments where
seen as one of the book's limitations. It could they have no control. A learning landscape
gives the child control, an opportunity to par-
be argued, for instance, that reading Heidegger's
ticipate in and interact with the land. My first-
influential essay "Building, Dwelling, Thinking"
is essential to understanding his many inter-hand experience has shown me the importance
of providing opportunities for children to ex-
preters. But these varied sources, though impor-
plore and learn in the outdoor environment.
tant, constitute a different volume from the one
Nesbitt offers. Fortunately, Neil Leach's newWhen my first daughter was 9 months old, my
husband and I took her on a week-long camping
anthology, Rethinking Architecture (1997), ex-
haustively covers the continental traditiontrip
of to Lake Almanor in Northern California.
During this trip, we could see her learn.
criticism. For anyone teaching contemporary ar-
Without our daily distractions and with the
chitectural criticism both Nesbitt' s and Leach's
books should be required reading. Each nicelycloseness to the outdoors, every moment seemed
complements the other. to open up new opportunities for learning for
her. She closely studied a frog for the first time;

Copyright © 2001, Locke Science Publishing Company, Inc.

Chicago, IL, USA All Rights Reserved

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