Writing Spaces examines and compares discourses of architecture, urbanism and the built environment between 1960 and 2000, a period in which economies and cultures in the world became ever more interdependent; in which technologies revolutionised production and communications, and when the social and spatial organisation of built environments and cities were massively transformed.

As a response to these developments, social theory has been recast, arguing that space is the medium of social change and hence political struggle.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203402685

Writing Spaces examines and compares discourses of architecture, urbanism and the built environment between 1960 and 2000, a period in which economies and cultures in the world have become ever more interdependent; in which technologies have revolutionized production and communications and when the social and spatial organisation of built environments and cities has been massively transformed. As a response to these developments, social theory has been recast, arguing that space is the medium of social change and hence political struggle.

"Offers an intense scholarly experience in its comprehensiveness, its variety of voices and its formal organization... the editors took a risk, experimented and have delivered a much-needed resource that upends the status-quo." - Architectural Histories, journal of the European Architectural History Network "Architectural theory interweaves interdisciplinary understandings with different practices, intentions and ways of knowing. This handbook provides a lucid and comprehensive introduction to this challenging and shifting terrain, and will be of great interest to students, academics and practitioners alike." - Professor Iain Borden, UCL Bartlett School of Architecture "In this collection, architectural theory expands outward to interact with adjacent discourses such as sustainability, conservation, spatial practices, virtual technologies, and more. We have in The Handbook of Architectural Theory an example of the extreme generosity of architectural theory. It is a volume that designers and scholars of many stripes will welcome." - K. Michael Hays, Eliot Noyes Professor of Architectural Theory, Harvard University The SAGE Handbook of Architectural Theory documents and builds upon the most innovative developments in architectural theory over the last two decades. Bringing into dialogue a range of geographically, institutionally and historically competing positions, it examines and explores parallel debates in related fields. The book is divided into eight sections: Power/Difference/Embodiment Aesthetics/Pleasure/Excess Nation/World/Spectacle History/Memory/Tradition Design/Production/Practice Science/Technology/Virtuality Nature/Ecology/Sustainability City/Metropolis/Territory. Creating openings for future lines of inquiry and establishing the basis for new directions for education, research and practice, the book is organized around specific case studies to provide a critical, interpretive and speculative enquiry into the relevant debates in architectural theory.