Reading Kenneth Frampton: A Commentary on 'Modern Architecture', 1980

This book explores the first edition of Kenneth Frampton's Modern Architecture: A Critical History, published in 1980, and seeks to provide an unprecedented insight into the significance of Frampton's historiography of modern architecture. It explores selected themes in line with Frampton's criticism of present-day architecture, leading to a critical understanding of the past and the modernity of contemporaneity. The compiled chapters attempt to open a window onto the constellation of themes that allowed Frampton to hold on to his anteroom view of history amidst the flow of time and flood of temporalities spanning 1980–2020. The book elucidates how Frampton's critical presentation of the history of modern movement architecture and his classificatory mode contribute to our understanding of the contemporaneity of architecture today.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 222 pages
Publication date: 05 December 2023
Publisher: Anthem Press

This captivating book delves into the first edition of Kenneth Frampton's groundbreaking work, Modern Architecture: A Critical History, published in 1980. Its primary objective is to uncover and establish key perspectives that offer an unparalleled understanding of the profound significance of Frampton's historiography of modern architecture. Through a thoughtful exploration of selected themes, the book sheds light on various aspects of Frampton's multifaceted contribution, some of which can be discerned amidst his ongoing criticism of contemporary architecture. This critical examination inevitably leads us to a critical understanding of the past, the modernity of architecture's contemporaneity, and the enduring influence of Frampton's anteroom view of history.

The compiled chapters in this book strive to provide a glimpse into the constellation of themes that allowed Frampton to maintain his unique perspective on history, even amidst the ever-flowing stream of time and the overwhelming flood of temporalities spanning from 1980 to 2020. By elucidating how Frampton's critical presentation of the history of modern movement architecture and his innovative classificatory mode (periodization?) contribute to our understanding of the contemporaneity of architecture today, this book offers a profound and thought-provoking exploration of the field.

Dimension: 229 x 153 x 13 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781839986376