Ten Canonical Buildings: 1950-2000 Book

To my understanding, there are two major theoretical undertakings Eisenman has undertaken as a thinking architect. The first is an attempt to deprive buildings of any kind of symbolic meaning and instead substitute a formal poetry. The second, represented in this work, is his development and application of a method for systematically analyzing modern architecture.

The ten buildings, it should be mentioned, are not his own. There is a relatively short theoretical passage at the beginning, followed by a series of meticulously drawn diagrams. The diagrams actually do serve to justify many of the exciting and abstruse points he makes in the passage. Furthermore, one becomes well-acquainted with his basis for architectural analysis, which I am convinced is a powerful tool to have handy.

Some of the issues addressed did not seem powerful or pertinent. For example, while structure seems an obvious candidate for an important design element that can be systematically analyzed, some of the distinctions he makes in this category seem minute and hairsplitting. I am tempted to believe that such abstract perfection is indeed worthwhile, even if no one really notices. Nonetheless, my design conscious tells me that it would best off to restrict attention to the differences that make an impact.