The Manhattan Transcripts

Through a set of theoretical drawings developed between 1976 and 1981. Bernard Tschumi argues that the disjunction between spaces and their use, objects and events, being and meaning is no accident today. But when this disjunction becomes an architectural confrontation, a new relation of pleasure and violence inevitably occurs. 'They found the Transcripts by accident ... a lifetime's worth of urban pleasures - pleasures that they had no intention of giving up. So when she threatened to run and tell the authorities, they had no alternative but to stop her. And that's when the second accident occurred ... the accident of murder ... They had to get out of the Park - quick. And the only thing which could help them was Architecture, beautiful trusting Architecture that they had used before, but never so cruelly or so selfishly ...

Philosophy and architecture by Bernard Tschumi.

"In today's turbulent times few subjects deserve a closer scrutiny than the interactions between violence and constructed environment. Modernity's contradictory histories laid bare the fact that it is impossible to consider architecture simply a benign, passive victim of humanity's violent vices. Built space is as capable of incarnating violent acts as enacting them, disciplining and silencing the subject in the process. In this compelling volume, some of the most incisive thinkers of contemporary architectural theory make manifest the intricacies of interrelations between architecture and violent events. Employing a wide variety of perspectives and methodical approaches, the authors examine some of the most dramatic and unexpected instances of these vexing relations"--Back cover.

"Including an exhaustive presentation of sketches, models, computer renderings, working drawings, and photographs of the construction process and the finished work, this book documents the project at a level of detail that allows complete and careful study from its conception to its completion. This in-depth graphic presentation is accompanied by commentaries from the architect, as well as series editors Jeffery Kipnis and Todd Gannon, that further explore both the cultural and technical significance of this important building."--BOOK JACKET.

Through a set of theoretical drawings developed between 1976 and 1981. Bernard Tschumi argues that the disjunction between spaces and their use, objects and events, being and meaning is no accident today. But when this disjunction becomes an architectural confrontation, a new relation of pleasure and violence inevitably occurs. 'They found the Transcripts by accident ... a lifetime's worth of urban pleasures - pleasures that they had no intention of giving up. So when she threatened to run and tell the authorities, they had no alternative but to stop her. And that's when the second accident occurred ... the accident of murder ... They had to get out of the Park - quick. And the only thing which could help them was Architecture, beautiful trusting Architecture that they had used before, but never so cruelly or so selfishly ...

Architect and educator Bernard Tschumi is one of the most influential figures in architectural theory and practice. This fascinating volume presents, in a sequence of ten "conversations," his autobiography in architecture, from his conceptual proposals of the early 1970s through his major current buildings and projects. Tschumi approaches his work as the gradual construction of an argument. The conversations, drawn from a six-year series of interviews with critic Enrique Walker, represent that argument in an analysis of Tschumirs"s writings, buildings, and other works. The conversations offer a clear-eyed analysis of Tschumirs"s work, suggesting the interwoven relationship between the strategies of each individual design and the formation of the architectrs"s overarching theoretical project. Among the major works of architecture investigated are Parc de la Villette in Paris; Le Fresnoy National Studio for Contemporary Arts in Tourcoing, France; and the New Acropolis Museum in Athens. Also included are Tschumi's conceptual works and writings such as The Manhattan Transcripts and Architecture and Disjunction.