Boredom and Architecture

About this book

"Boredom is a ubiquitous feature of modern life. Endured by everyone, it is a by-product of modernity, and of situations, spaces and surroundings. As such, this book argues, boredom shares an intimate relationship with modern architecture - one that has been little-explored in architectural history and theory. Boredom, Architecture and Spatial Experience explores that relationship, showing how an understanding of boredom affords us a new way of looking at and understanding the modern architectural experience. It reconstructs a series of episodes in architectural history from the nineteenth century to the present, to explore how boredom became a normalized component of modernity, how it infiltrated into the production and reception of modern architecture, and how it serves to expose moments of crisis in the architecture of the twentieth century. Erudite and innovative, the work moves deftly from architectural theory and philosophy to art theory and sociology to make its case. Combining archival material, literary sources and illuminating excerpts from conversations with practitioners and thinkers (including Charles Jencks, Rem Koolhaas, Sylvia Lavin, and Jorge Silvetti), it reveals the complexity and importance of boredom in the experience and practice of architecture"--