‘When a work reaches its maximum intensity,’ wrote Le Corbusier, ‘a phenomenon of ineffable space occurs.’ The ultimate quality of architecture would reside, therefore, in the resistance to its description. However, to tell us this, and much more, the Swiss master has published more than seventy books and his so compelling formula in supporting the ineffable also shows how words are able to grasp it. This brief essay investigates the multiple intersections between discourse and design: the way buildings try to ‘talk’ with their own specific means; how architects are trying to remain relevant without building; the paradoxes of architecture description after its completion; the modes of communication during the project processes; the capacity of narrative to act before the project operations start and infiltrate the collective perception, making possible innovative approaches...

Inhabitation is the primary action of becoming rooted with the land through settlement. The dwelling space is an expression of this bond – both inside and out. To feel oneself inextricably linked to a place, to exist in it perceiving it as an integral part of one’s existential reality, is to place the landscape as the fundamental core of the living space. In the ancient forms of living, this core of domestic life was the hearth – archetypal representation of a purely introspective idea of architecture. Conversely, the landscape today represents a characteristic element of modern and contemporary inversions of the housing and typological modalities. The house meant shelter – a protective enclosure whose centralities were the fire and the patio; in the contemporary experience, we look away from the center and gaze towards outside. Reality is no longer impervious. Once changed into art, into a scenario, reality becomes domestic; it becomes landscape, the lifeblood of man’s abode. Therefore, living a space is a conceptual and material expression of this current condition of belonging to places whilst remaining linked to perception.

Charles Correa – seen by many in India as a sort of guru, as someone capable to transcend and grasp the ineffable reality that surrounds us – has left his noteworthy architectural heritage across the globe. In 2013, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) celebrated him as one of the greatest contemporary urban planners showcasing his work in an exhibition called: “Charles Correa: India’s greatest architect”. Profoundly tied to my Indian origins, to me Correa has been the master over distance, a personal benchmark to set my goals against. He was my inspiring thinker, architect and urbanist, or simply said, the designer I would have liked to be. Many of Correa’s last works show his deep-rooted search of the highest spiritual dimension in the attempt to trap part of the cosmic energy surrounding us into architectural works that were – and are – the shadow of his soul.

"In this ethnographic study of time, place, and memory, Aseel Sawlha offers a fresh perspective on the rebuilding efforts of this city [Beirut] and explains how the residents of Beirut used individual and collective memories of their celebrated architectural past to compete and negotiate for the reinstatement of municipal services and the reconstruction of their environment."--Page 2 of cover.

Thirty years have passed since eminent cultural and literary critic Fredric Jameson wrote his classic work, The Political Unconscious: Narrative as a Socially Symbolic Act, in which he insisted that 'there is nothing that is not social and historical - indeed, that everything is "in the last analysis" political'. Bringing together a team of leading scholars including Slavoj Zizek, Joan Ockman, Jane Rendell, and Kojin Karatani, this book critically examines the important contribution made by Jameson to the radical critique of architecture over this period, highlighting its continued importance to contemporary architecture discourse. Jameson's notion of the 'political unconscious' represents one of the most powerful notions in the link between aesthetics and politics in contemporary discourse. Taking this, along with other key concepts from Jameson, as the basis for its chapters, this anthology asks questions such as: Is architecture a place to stage 'class struggle'?, How can architecture act against the conditions that 'affirmatively' produce it? What does 'the critical', and 'the negative', mean in the discourse of architecture? and, How do we prevent architecture from participating in the reproduction of the cultural logic of late capitalism? This book breaks new ground in architectural criticism and offers insights into the interrelationships between politics, culture, space, and architecture and, in doing so, it acts as a counter-balast to the current trend in architectural research where a general aestheticization dominates the discourse.

This book gathers more than 150 peer-reviewed papers presented at the 5th INTBAU International Annual Event, held in Milan, Italy, in July 2017. The book represents an invaluable and up-to-date international exchange of research, case studies and best practice to confront the challenges of designing places, building cultural landscapes and enabling the development of communities. The papers investigate methodologies of representation, communication and valorization of historic urban landscapes and cultural heritage, monitoring conservation management, cultural issues in heritage assessment, placemaking and local identity enhancement, as well as reconstruction of settlements affected by disasters. With contributions from leading experts, including university researchers, professionals and policy makers, the book addresses all who seek to understand and address the challenges faced in the protection and enhancement of the heritage that has been created.