Oppositions Reader: Selected Readings from a Journal for Ideas and Criticism in Architecture 1973-1984
by K. Michael Hays
Category: Architecture

In its eleven-year history, Oppositions, the journal of the New York-based Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS), had an impact far beyond what its modest cover might suggest. Indeed, Oppositions set the agenda, introduced the key players, and published the seminal pieces in the theorization of architecture in the last twenty years. It is a testament to the enduring importance of the journal that its issues are still highly sought after today, prized (and priced) as collector's items, and found behind the desk at virtually every architectural library. Oppositions Reader collects the most important essays from 26 issues of Oppositions. Essays from the editors of the series-Peter Eisenman, Kenneth Frampton, Mario Gandelsonas, Anthony Vidler, and Kurt Forster-are included, along with texts by such noted architects, theorists, and historians as Aldo Rossi, Alan Colquhoun, Leon Krier, Denise Scott Brown, Bernard Tschumi, Rem Koolhaas, Mary McLeod, Georgio Ciucci, and Rafael Moneo. The page design, by Massimo Vignelli, has been faithfully reproduced. Harvard Professor K. Michael Hays has selected the writings for inclusion. Contributors include: Diana Agrest, Stanford Anderson, Giorgio Ciucci, Stuart Cohen, Alan Colquhoun, Francesco Dal Co, Peter Eisenman, William Ellis, Kurt W. Forster, Kenneth Frampton, Mario Gandelsonas, Giorgio Grassi, Fred Koetter, Rem Koolhaas, Leon Krier, Mary McLeod, Rafael Moneo, Joan Ockman, Martin Pawley, Aldo Rossi, Colin Rowe, Denise Scott Brown, Jorge Silvetti, Ignasi de Sol -Morales, Manfredo Tafuri, Bernard Tschumi, Anthony Vidler, and Hajime Yatsuka. It is an understatement to say that this volume is indispensable for any scholar or student interested in contemporary architectural theory.