The Edifice Complex: The architecture of power

Description

'A thrilling and passionately indignant trawl through vanity's most polluted depths' THE TIMES Why do presidents and prime ministers, tycoons and tyrants share such a fascination with grand designs? Is it to impress or terrify, to wield state power, make a bid for immortality or just satisfy their egos? From Hitler's vast Chancellery to Saddam Hussein's Mother of all Battles mosque, from Olympic stadiums to Donald Trump's excesses, Deyan Sudjic examines the murky relationship between buildings, money and politics, revealing the power of architecture - and the architecture of power. 'An often frightening, sometimes hilarious set of stories of brutality, absurdity and occasionally beauty' EVENING STANDARD 'Punchily written . . . deftly amusing . . . a closely argued, brilliantly marshalled, important book' DAILY MAIL 'Informed, lively and intelligent . . . an asylum of power-mad politicians and Croesus-rich patrons' NEW STATESMAN 'By turns funny, acidic, penetrating and provocative ...... as compelling a read as a popular novel' NORMAN FOSTER 'Ever wondered why totalitarianism and architectural excess go hand in hand? This book details modern architecture's frequent collusion with the bad guys' WALLPAPER

Director of the Design Museum, Deyan Sudjic was born in London of Yugoslav parents. Former architecture critic for the Observer and a visiting professor at the Royal College of Art. In Milan, for many years he edited Domus, the international magazine of art, architecture and design. He was Director of the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2002 and is author of The Edifice Complex, the much-praised 100-Miles City, the best-selling Architecture Pack, and monographs on John Pawson, Ron Arad and Richard Rogers. He is Director of the Design Museum in London.

Astonishing ... a thrilling and passionately indignant trawl through vanity's most polluted depths -- Jonathan Meades * Times * Punchily written ... deftly amusing ... a closely argued, brilliantly marshalled, important book -- Tom Rosenthal * Daily Mail * Full of fascinating fact and smart observation ... clever, stimulating and thoughtful -- Stephen Bayley * Observer * Essential reading for anyone who cares about the physical world around them -- Amanda Levete * Independent * As compelling a read as a popular novel ... it is as though the worlds of academe and the gossip column collide ... funny, acidic, penetrating and provocative -- Norman Foster * Royal Academy Magazine *