Cedric Price (Works II) [The Square Book]

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Cedric Price

Architectural Association Publications, London, 1984, English

Nonfiction, Architecture

ISBN: 9780904503456

From the Publisher. Cedric Price Architects was established in 1960 and this book features works from its early years—iconic projects such as The Fun Palace and Potteries Thinkbelt, built projects such as London Zoo’s Aviary, and many less well-known schemes and writings. Additional essays are contributed by eminent architectural historians Reyner Banham, Royston Landau, and Robin Middleton and colleague/critics such as David Allford, Peter Cook and Warren Chalk. Ron Herron and Architectural Association (AA) Chairman Alvin Boyarsky had invited Price to make the book to coincide with an exhibition of the work of his office at the AA in June the same year. Price complied “as a favour” to his dear friends although he has always been resistant to the crystallisation of his work in book form, being more inclined toward the immediate and ephemeral nature of magazines and journals. Price states that “there is a point reached where if too much time is required to produce something its operational integrity is marred.” This remark is central to Price’s thesis that Time is the fourth dimension in architecture and that Change is its champion.

This book (out of print) was reprinted as Cedric Price: The Square Book (also out of print) by Wiley-Academy in 2003.

On 2 book lists

Mohsen Mostafavi

On Mohsen Mostafavi’s Book List

One of the last of the old-fashioned variety of “British Gentleman.” Price's architectural speculations and realized projects are still radical today. He was an inspiration for me, but more importantly to a generation of architects that includes Archigram, Foster, Rogers, Grimshaw, and Koolhaas, to name just a few.

Carlo Ratti

On Carlo Ratti’s Book List

Provocative recipes for a living, cybernetic, and interactive architecture—radical in the 1960s, still avant-garde today.

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