Is There an Object-Oriented Architecture? : Engaging Graham Harman

Description

Bringing Graham Harman's philosophy into direct confrontation with contemporary architectural theory in new and creative ways, Harman's object-oriented philosophy is one that sees the universe as a carnival of equal “objects” with no hierarchy between humans and nonhumans. In his model, unicorns, triangles, bicycles, neutrons, and humans are all things with enduring essences that outlast their partial transformations. It is a strikingly democratic vision of the universe that knocks humans off their ontological pedestal as arbiters of what is real. It also radically challenges the very precepts of architectural theory, the structure of which remains stubbornly human-centric as it seeks to give form to the human being's place at the centre of the cosmos. In this new book, each thinker develops the implications of Harman's philosophy for the future of architecture by entering into a direct exchange with the philosopher and his thinking, both questioning him and questioning with him. Cover Contents 1 Joseph Bedford 1.1 Joseph Bedford, Is There an Object-Oriented Architecture? 2 Graham Harman 2.1 Graham Harman, What Objects Mean for Architecture 2.2 Graham Harman Interview: Zero-Form, Zero-Function 3 Adam Sharr 3.1 Adam Sharr, The Circus, the Canon and a House with One Wall 3.2 Graham Harman’s Response to Adam Sharr 3.3 Adam Sharr Interview: An Extrovert and Engaging Discreetness 4 Lorens Holm 4.1 Lorens Holm, Architecture and Its Objects 4.2 Graham Harman’s Response to Lorens Holm 4.3 Lorens Holm Interview: Real Objects and Space 5 Jonathan Hale 5.1 Jonathan Hale, Buildings as Objects and Buildings as ‘Tool-Beings’ 5.2 Graham Harman’s Response to Jonathan Hale 5.3 Jonathan Hale Interview: In-between the Broken and the Unbroken 6 Peg Rawes 6.1 Peg Rawes, Non-Human Architectural Ecologies 6.2 Graham Harman’s Response to Peg Rawes 6.3 Peg Rawes Interview: A Feminist Philosophy of Relationality 7 Patrick Lynch 7.1 Patrick Lynch, The Resistance of Things 7.2 Graham Harman’s Response to Patrick Lynch 7.3 Patrick Lynch Interview: ‘The Tool Is Useful Only to the Man Who Knows How to Use It’ 8 Peter Carl 8.1 Graham Harman’s Response to Peter Carl 8.2 Peter Carl Interview: Practical Wisdom, Morals and Ethics Afterword: Graham Harman Bibliography Index