Author Archives: Andy Stratton

Against The Wall

Called a “security fence” by the Israeli government and the “apartheid wall” by Palestinians, the barrier currently under construction in the West Bank has been the subject of intense controversy since the first olive tree was uprooted in its path. In violation of a ruling by the International Court of Justice and a resolution by

Whereabouts

Whereabouts is a study of eight prominent young North American architecture firms. For the most part working within a vocabulary of late modernism, these firms — two from each point of the compass — have been strongly influenced by regional concerns. Shim/Sutcliffe of Toronto and Brian MacKay-Lyons of Nova Scotia stand for the North; from

Starting From Zero

Architect and social critic Michael Sorkin develops his own vision of the future lower Manhattan through a series of chronologically organized essays illustrated with full-color images of his own plans. Mixing his inimitable brand of social criticism with more personal reflections, Starting From Zero offers a striving challenge to the Ground Zero redevelopment plan recently

The Next Jerusalem

This important collection brings together noted Israeli, Palestinian, and American architects and urbanists to consider the physical future of Jerusalem and to offer specific proposals for making the city functional, beautiful, and physically generous to its inhabitants’ needs. The essays focus on issues of ecology, preservation, neighborhood development, and open space. While the authors take

Other Plans

Architect, writer, teacher–and agent provocateur–Michael Sorkin was commissioned by the University of Chicago in 1998 to produce an “alternative” master plan for its architectural revitalization. His studio had barely begun before they were dropped from the process. In the capacity of concerned alumnus, however, Sorkin and his group soldiered on and, in Pamphlet Architecture 22,

After the World Trade Center

The terrorist attacks of September 11 have created an unprecedented public discussion about the uses and meanings of the central area of lower Manhattan that was once the World Trade Center. While the city sifts through the debris, contrary forces shaping its future are at work. Developers jockey to control the right to rebuild “ground