Q.The Phaidon Atlas may be beautiful, but what does it tell you about architecture?
A.What the buildings look like!
It’s an Atlas, an overview. The porn tag is defined by how the viewer uses the book. I prefer to get mine out after midnight and flick it vigorously.
Its heavy, its boring, many images can be found in other places, worst of all, it is ignorant. Just as an example look at the Latin America section, its useless. But hey the people at Phaidon are not stupid, the book will sell, and the journalist at Slate got it right, -the ideal consumer of that book is not an architect.
I'll be embarrased if my friends find that thing in my flat.
Is it Archi-porn? No.
It's called Archi-Porn, because it arouses the senses, without stimulating the intellect. It's all Ahhh Ohhhh look at that image, without any interest for the subject of the image, except maybe for desire. It's skindeep, it's shallow.
Archi-Porn is the force behind those really bad student projects. "I wanted it to look like the XYZ building from ABC"
Wasn't there an anrchitecture school in the US that banned Phaidon Press from the library?
The german Taschen Verlag is just as bad. As is any book called "American (or European, Japanese, etc) Architecture I, II & III" or "New York (or Paris, Berlin, Tokyo) Interiors".
Personally I like to flick through them when on the loo.
It's a nice book. Great color photos and diversity. I've personally never seen such a comprehensive architecture book.
This IS a book I would want my friends to find on my coffee table, especially those not familiar with architecture.
The point of it is just like any other comprehensive book - to put all the parts in one place, in a logical presentation. I could go and cut up my 12 years of architecture magazines, but that would make a mess. I like the idea of one, simple presenation.
Honestly, the answers some people post on here make no sense to me: "Its heavy, its boring, many images can be found in other places, worst of all, it is ignorant." Ignorant??
Hi, trace.
Its heavy >>> it is
Its boring >>> not for you, fare enough
images etc... >>> I didn't discover anything new.
ignorant >>> I believe that as an 'Atlas' it lacks information. Which pretty much makes again its size, weight, photographic content a simple marketing device.
As I said before the book has a purpose but I wouldnt buy it, neither I would use up the same space that I can use for other books.
and again I dont think that it is Archi-porn.
coffee table:
glass top; tempered glass min.thck. 1/2"
marble top; min. 3/4" plywood backing req.
wood; 2" x 4" min. support req. min. @16" o.c.
steel; 1/4" fillet weld in field. deputy inspector req.
other funky materials; check with local bld'g. dept.
no permit req. if you put it on floor.
min room size for the Atlas; 10' x 10' w/ 3' clr. on each side.
not permitted on second stories.
Just bought it at Costco no less. I think that says alot especially for trying to get it out to the main stream.
We keep it on the coffee table so when our friends with no taste in design come over and think they know anything about architecture and speak with out thinking I can take the book and bonk them over the head with it.
As for the archi-porn comment my wife and i did go through it last night in bed once the kids were asleep.
taken from the msn article posted in this discussion.
..."Still, it would have been nice to include a couple of references to Gehry's other work, including his iconic Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which looks like the concert hall's older sibling but was in fact designed after it."
60? where? shiiit, it's like 100...
i want the pocket size version. the cover is shite though, blobchitecture in full swing with all yer wireframe 3dsmax stuff. i think all in all, i rathr buy the case study houses , there's a kind of royale modernism aura to it that the atlas doesnt have. i would have to refurbish my living room in pavillion style, but can you immagine the ammount of scandinavian architects i could shag then?
it's great for beginners....and don't tell me when you were all freshmen in high school you wouldn't have wanted that? I bought a similar yet less comprehensive book by Taschen called "modern architecture"....at the time I was only 16 and was first introduced to names like ghery and sci-arc.
Sep 15, 04 4:30 pm ·
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Is the Phaidon Atlas Archi-porn?
Q.The Phaidon Atlas may be beautiful, but what does it tell you about architecture?
A.What the buildings look like!
It’s an Atlas, an overview. The porn tag is defined by how the viewer uses the book. I prefer to get mine out after midnight and flick it vigorously.
The book that is.
It is Porn...........And I want my very own share of it!!
I now have said book and it's so big I can't flick it vigorously.
The book is good as well!
Its heavy, its boring, many images can be found in other places, worst of all, it is ignorant. Just as an example look at the Latin America section, its useless. But hey the people at Phaidon are not stupid, the book will sell, and the journalist at Slate got it right, -the ideal consumer of that book is not an architect.
I'll be embarrased if my friends find that thing in my flat.
Is it Archi-porn? No.
It's called Archi-Porn, because it arouses the senses, without stimulating the intellect. It's all Ahhh Ohhhh look at that image, without any interest for the subject of the image, except maybe for desire. It's skindeep, it's shallow.
Archi-Porn is the force behind those really bad student projects. "I wanted it to look like the XYZ building from ABC"
Wasn't there an anrchitecture school in the US that banned Phaidon Press from the library?
The german Taschen Verlag is just as bad. As is any book called "American (or European, Japanese, etc) Architecture I, II & III" or "New York (or Paris, Berlin, Tokyo) Interiors".
Personally I like to flick through them when on the loo.
It's a nice book. Great color photos and diversity. I've personally never seen such a comprehensive architecture book.
This IS a book I would want my friends to find on my coffee table, especially those not familiar with architecture.
The point of it is just like any other comprehensive book - to put all the parts in one place, in a logical presentation. I could go and cut up my 12 years of architecture magazines, but that would make a mess. I like the idea of one, simple presenation.
Honestly, the answers some people post on here make no sense to me: "Its heavy, its boring, many images can be found in other places, worst of all, it is ignorant." Ignorant??
Hi, trace.
Its heavy >>> it is
Its boring >>> not for you, fare enough
images etc... >>> I didn't discover anything new.
ignorant >>> I believe that as an 'Atlas' it lacks information. Which pretty much makes again its size, weight, photographic content a simple marketing device.
As I said before the book has a purpose but I wouldnt buy it, neither I would use up the same space that I can use for other books.
and again I dont think that it is Archi-porn.
$160??????!!!!!!! holy crap. let's see what i'd rather buy if i had that much money for a book.
a new hard drive.
new wheels for my mt. bike or at least one.
materials for projects.
gas money
beer money
food
list goes on. . .
design requirements for the Atlas;
coffee table:
glass top; tempered glass min.thck. 1/2"
marble top; min. 3/4" plywood backing req.
wood; 2" x 4" min. support req. min. @16" o.c.
steel; 1/4" fillet weld in field. deputy inspector req.
other funky materials; check with local bld'g. dept.
no permit req. if you put it on floor.
min room size for the Atlas; 10' x 10' w/ 3' clr. on each side.
not permitted on second stories.
Just bought it at Costco no less. I think that says alot especially for trying to get it out to the main stream.
We keep it on the coffee table so when our friends with no taste in design come over and think they know anything about architecture and speak with out thinking I can take the book and bonk them over the head with it.
As for the archi-porn comment my wife and i did go through it last night in bed once the kids were asleep.
taken from the msn article posted in this discussion.
..."Still, it would have been nice to include a couple of references to Gehry's other work, including his iconic Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which looks like the concert hall's older sibling but was in fact designed after it."
I'm confused.
Ludwig Abache
"I'll be embarrased if my friends find that thing in my flat."
Are all your friends architects then? I mean my friends who are not architects love the book.
It is arch-porn, a lovely thing to digest at leisure without over stimulating an already overstretched brain.
I got mine for £60 a bargain. The book not my brain!
60? where? shiiit, it's like 100...
i want the pocket size version. the cover is shite though, blobchitecture in full swing with all yer wireframe 3dsmax stuff. i think all in all, i rathr buy the case study houses , there's a kind of royale modernism aura to it that the atlas doesnt have. i would have to refurbish my living room in pavillion style, but can you immagine the ammount of scandinavian architects i could shag then?
i need help.
They have it for under $100 at overstock.com already...
it's great for beginners....and don't tell me when you were all freshmen in high school you wouldn't have wanted that? I bought a similar yet less comprehensive book by Taschen called "modern architecture"....at the time I was only 16 and was first introduced to names like ghery and sci-arc.
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