The Architecture of Community 2nd edition by Krier, Leon (2011) Paperback

by Léon Krier

"No architect has explored architecture's claim to universality better than Léon Krier, and it is this which makes him the most controversial figure of contemporary architectural culture." -Demetri Porphyrios Leon Krier is one of the best-known—and most provocative—architects and urban theoreticians in the world. Until now, however, his ideas have circulated mostly among a professional audience of architects, city planners, and academics. In The Architecture of Community, Krier has reconsidered and expanded writing from his 1998 book Choice or Fate. Here he refines and updates his thinking on the making of sustainable, humane, and attractive villages, towns, and cities. The book includes drawings, diagrams, and photographs of his built works, which have not been widely seen until now. With three new chapters, The Architecture of Community provides a contemporary road map for designing or completing today’s fragmented communities. Illustrated throughout with Krier’s original drawings, The Architecture of Community explains his theories on classical and vernacular urbanism and architecture, while providing practical design guidelines for creating livable towns. The book contains descriptions and images of the author’s built and unbuilt projects, including the Krier House and Tower in Seaside, Florida, as well as the town of Poundbury in England. Commissioned by the Prince of Wales in 1988, Krier’s design for Poundbury in Dorset has become a reference model for ecological planning and building that can meet contemporary needs.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Urbanism, Urban Planning, Cities, Urban Design, Urban

Paperback

First published May 8, 2009

About the author

Léon Krier was a Luxembourgish architect, architectural theorist, and urban planner, a prominent critic of modernist architecture and advocate of New Classical architecture and New Urbanism. Krier combined an international architecture and planning practice with writing and teaching. He was well known for his master plan for Poundbury, in Dorset, England. He was the younger brother of architect Rob Krier.

Reviews

[Drew Norwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. This book is “a collection of text and drawings that outline in an accessible way a general theory for the making of modern cities and villages." It “outlines a diagnosis and a cure, a critique and a project." A critique of the architecture of modernism and postmodernism, which is marked by industrial methods and utilitarian ends; and an explanation of the cure—a return to traditional building methods and design which facilitates organic growth of cities and villages and supports places that are both sustainable and beautiful. It is full of thought-provoking illustrations and pictographs that, upon reflection, make the underlying concepts crystal clear.

Quotes:
“Whether it is a pace of worship, a telephone box, or a garden wall, a building expresses the fundamental values of its builders and designers. It is a symbol of our state of mind and our self-respect. Symbols are at once expressive and instrumental. They are not merely means of expression or mirrors; they are tools, means of safeguarding civic and personal values, of encouraging and supporting them…Buildings are never neutral; they always have either a positive or negative influence. They are active.”

“All traditional architecture clearly distinguishes between public symbolic institutional buildings, on the one hand, and utilitarian private buildings, on the other. . . If factories have the facades of cathedrals and houses resemble royal palaces, if museums look like assembly lines and churches like industrial warehouses, a basic value of the body politic is threatened, the very nature of its public realm is in peril."

"Growth makes sense only when it has a predetermined goal. Maturity is the end goal of all growth. Overexpansion signifies a loss of limits. All excessive expansion and growth lead to the exhaustion of the generative process."

"Manufacturing and commercial logic does not by sheer necessity produce cities of enduring value. While these activities are necessary conditions for building settlements, great cities are never their automatic by-product. Qualities such as civic vitality, urbanity, beauty, pride of home, citizenship, character, and the beauty of public spaces, squares, parks, and architecture are not just wild flowers in the field of economic relationships."

"[F]unctional zoning is not a neutral tool. It transforms a society of active, independent individuals into mobilized yet passive masses. Functional zoning replaces the organic order of the city with the mechanical disorder of the suburbs and the absence of true centers and centrality. . . Industrial logic would appear to be in conflict with social and ecological logic, with ethical and aesthetic logic. It transforms each citizen into a potential and involuntary agent of energy waste."

"Whether in the long term the air is polluted by public buses or private cars, or whether suburbanites live in ecologically perfect houses are not questions of ecological relevance. The ecological challenge lies in the self-reorganization of territorial relationships within society's daily routines."

"Ideally, the goal of obligatory schooling should be to make people independent and reliant on their individual gifts and vocations rather than transforming them into dependent, passive, and depressed masses. Very few people are gifted enough for the kind of theoretical and epistemological education that is now showered upon the masses; training and apprenticeship in practical crafts and know-how are the natural way to awaken the unique, personal talents of most individuals."

[Samuel Boucké · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of great importance, a vision for the future. Changed my perspective completely. Highly recommended for everyone!

[Al Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

An odd book, but one worth sitting and thinking about. The style is visual, cartoonish, polemical... I think it needs to be read charitably to get much out of it.

As a descriptive book about where it would be nice for architecture to go, I think it's great. After reading it I feel better equipped to describe things I like and don't like, and have a better sense of why that is the case. That said, if you're friendly to his ideas this really is a melancholy book for most Americans because we've got so far to go (and despite the hype are not going in the right direction very quickly).

[Bill Leach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Krier grew up in Luxembourg, and was shocked by the disorder when he traveled to larger cities. He devoted his life to designing buildings in the Classical form. "Architecture finds its highest expression in the classical orders ..." and "To date, historic centers remain the only true centers of urban, civilized society."

The first part of this book is a critique of modern building design. He has a particular hate for sprawling growth and for growth upward. Much of his criticism is in the form of sweeping generalities such as:

- "Although industrial logic is dominated by the idea of growth it seems to remain in a state of pathological adolescence and thus is incapable of achieving full maturity, the goal of all forms of growth."

- "Modernism celebrates innovation as the leading motor of artistic creation. This can only lead to the systematic confusion of categories and minds, to generalized arbitrariness and delusion."

Krier sees the proper design to be a self contained ten minute town, which centers on a few large public buildings, is mostly comprised of blocks of residential units with light commercial on the ground floors and a good number of public parks and squares. He is big on columns and cupolas / belvederes. Private space is clearly separated from public space by buildings and high masonry walls.

Growth is managed by adding more ten minute cities. "... a city can only grow through an increase in the number of complete urban quarters."

The problem of industry: "Large plots for industry, commerce, and crafts should be located on the edge of each quarter with access to large circulation roads."

Krier characterizes zoning as "both unnecessary and anachronistic". His designs are such that the individual builder has little latitude within the architectural plan for the area.

His preference is for natural building materials such as wood, stone, earth and clay, believing that they tend to produce objects for long-term use. "Modernist (industrial) building techniques predominantly using synthetic building materials, ferroconcrete, plastics, glass, steel, glues, etc., tend to produce objects for short-term consumption." He states that modern construction techniques have "... destroyed the majority of the thirty-nine construction crafts and their immense repertory of technical know-how."

In the end, however, it is all about appearance. His drawings are all of traditional spacious buildings with little use. Few people are included in his drawings.

In chapter 6 he states that "Town planning and architecture largely determine how we live our daily lives, how we use our resources and time." This is surprising in that his arguments never extend to land availability, cost of construction, large commercial activities, where people may work, job transitioning, the rich versus the poor, recreation. His thoughts don't seem to extend beyond people living in their quarters, walking around the parks, visiting in the squares and buying a few items at the local store. While cars are mentioned, it is apparently felt that they will see little use. Public transportation is not mentioned.

The last chapter presents some of his projects including
- the Villa for Lord Rothschild at Strongilo, Corfu
- the masterplan for Georgetown, Romania
- Poundbury, Dorchester, U.K.

Notably, they seem to be works where cost is not a major factor.

[Sula · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Appreciating and judging architecture is everyone’s affair. Just as food concerns us personally in a daily manner, we live with buildings whether we like it or not.'

First of all, I do agree with the essence of Leon Krier's argument which he presents in this book. However, as a case for his argument, this book is very weak. It's heavily opinionated, going over the same few points again and again. It is not an in-depth well-researched argument that draws on various studies and sources, fairly comparing different points of view. At times he comes across as disconnected from the real world who worship modernism and live in a filter bubble (only he doesn't come across as quite as arrogant and snobby). It's disappointing, as I think there is a for that side there is a strong argument founded in research, but instead this is a rather emotional and unsubstantiated book.

[Christopher Hillard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book from an author with a strikingly contrarian point of view. You don't need to agree with he author's conclusions (and on many points, I don't) to find this engaging if you have an interest in architecture or urbanism.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m no architect but Krier’s views resonate with my own. I’ve experienced functional architecture and brutalism and I just fail to understand how it came to happen. Same thing with the habit of city zoning schemes, which create a dependency on cars. Very good book for the layman.

[Simon Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Krier is often bombastic, purporting sometimes questionable opinions, articulates a clear critique of modern urbanism and planning. Alongside this he puts forth principles for a positive urbanism as well. Excellent read with gorgeous illlustrations!

[jacob wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books discussing how urban planning works and how to structure livable spaces.

[paulina · Rating 4 out of 5]

przeczytałam bo musiałam i nawet fajne było bo dużo obrazków

[Bradley Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite radical, though based in sound reasoning. Excellent read

[বোন রোদ · Rating 5 out of 5]

9.4/10

This book has been my safe place this past week of reading it. My academic life has gone from well-paced to terrifyingly overwhelming in the span of reading this book, but every morning and every night I have opened it with a sense of relief, reprieve, joy.

This book brings joy, and the best part? It teaches you how to spread it, too.

The Architecture of Community is a true polemic by Léon Krier, a collection of thoughts at times linked and at times barely, somewhat scattershot but never anything less than wholly coherent. This is one thing that LK does fabulously in TAoC: he introduces concepts that blow you away with their ingenuity, explains them in a way that renders them intuitively comprehensible, to the point that you yourself would feel comfortable explaining to someone else, and moves onto the next one. Sometimes, too, he takes concepts you already vaguely understood or held as generally true, but then explains why you hold them, and simultaneously why you should keep holding them.

The beauty of his book, is its unrelenting siding with the layperson. It banishes the notions of ‘expert knows best’, shows you exactly how expert has never cared for you anyway, tells you exactly how you, yes you, know best. Every person who hasn’t been brainwashed—that is to say, most of everyone who isn’t an architect or architecture snob—knows best.

Léon Krier will not tell you what to think. He’ll explain to you why you’re right, how to achieve what you’re thinking of, and what to avoid when achieving it.

This book is phenomenal. It is entertaining at every step, at times mind-blowing, at times, unexpectedly, emotionally moving. It is a capital ‘P’ Polemic, not Luddite by any terms; it is most applicable today, it is necessary to read Today.

[Austin Tunnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I've read in a long time. I really, really recommend.

[Mark Einselen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible illustrations. I love lingering on each page.