Speaking of Buildings
Subtitle: Oral History in Architectural Research
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Published: 2019
Language: eng
Number of pages: 304
ISBN-13: 9781616897543
Subjects: Architecture; Oral history
Description: By and large, architectural historians use texts, drawings, and photographs to craft their narratives. Oral testimony from those who actually occupy or construct buildings is rarely taken as seriously. 'Speaking of Buildings' offers a rebuttal, theorizing the radical potential of a methodology that has historically been cast as unreliable. Essays by an international group of scholars look at varied topics, from the role of gossip in undermining masculine narratives in architecture to workers' accounts of building with cement in midcentury London to a sound art piece created by oral testimonies from Los Angeles public housing residents. In sum, the authors call for a renewed form of listening to enrich our understanding of what buildings are, what they do, and what they mean to people.