Has architectural theory become a historical phenomenon to be
anthologized and studied as another passing phase in the history of the
discipline? Do the current commonplace watchwords of "practice" and
"research" mark the end of theory's place in architectural discourse?
This edited volume posits the contrary--that theory remains urgent and
even unavoidable, so ingrained in architectural practice and pedagogy
that it remains a vital if sometimes latent influence.
Architectural theory is not confined to its supposed heyday in the
decades leading up to the year 2000; it has persisted and expanded as
the stakes of theoretical discussions have transformed. 2000+: The
Urgencies of Architectural Theory collects new essays from a range of
the most compelling architectural historians and theorists of the
moment, including Lucia Allais, Beatriz Colomina, Mark Cousins, Arindam
Dutta, John Harwood, Catherine Ingraham, Mark Jarzombek, Mari Lending,
Spyros Papapetros, Felicity Scott, Pelin Tan, Bernard Tschumi, Eyal
Weizman, Mark Wigley, and Mabel Wilson. Brought together for a
conference marking the end of Wigley's tenure as dean of Columbia
University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation,
these thinkers chart new directions and points of critical importance
for theory in architecture.
