Ontology of Construction: On Nihilism of Technology in Theories of Modern Architecture

Gevork Hartoonian
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28928233

 

Ontology of Construction explores theories of construction in modern architecture, with particular focus on the relationship between nihilism of technology and architecture. Providing a historical context for the concept of "making," the essays collected in this volume articulate the implications of technology in works by such architects as Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Adolf Loos, and Mies van der Rohe. They also offer an interpretation of Gottfried Semper's dis- course on the tectonic and the relationship between architecture and other crafts. Emphasizing "fabrication" as a critical theme for contemporary architectural theory and practice, Ontology of Construction is a provocative contribution to the current debate in these areas.

 

PhD Dissertation title: Housing Technology: A Critical Evaluation of the Concept of Appropriate Technology 
Completed: 1982 
Supervisor: Peter McCleary

Other Books by Gevork Hartoonian

• Global Perspectives on Critical Architecture: Praxis Reloaded. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2015.
• Architecture and Spectacle: A Critique. Farnham, Surrey, England: Ashgate, 2012.
• Crisis of the Object: The Architecture of Theatricality. London: Routledge, 2006.
• Modernity and Its Other: A Post-Script to Contemporary Architecture. College Station, [Tex.]: Texas A&M University Press, 1997.