The Berlage survey of culture, education, and practice of architecture and urbanism / edited by Salomon Frausto.

Rotterdam : NAi Publishers : Berlage Institute, 2011.

525 p. : ill., maps, charts, plans ; 23 cm.

The Berlage Survey, inspired by the Institute's twentieth anniversary, chronicles both the Berlage's last two decades of exemplary educational practice and offers a select history of the Dutch tradition in architecture and urbanism in relation to its international context. The book consists of a dynamic assortment of essays, manifestos, interviews, research, conversations, projects and images. It provides a select survey of the Berlage's production and attempts to define a period of discourse within architecture. The selection of projects suggests the diversity and rich quality of Berlage design research and the value of its contributions to discussions about the built environment. Within four prepositional sections, contributions, derived both from the archive and contemporary commissions, are arranged in chronological order. This arrangement, which comes to represent the evolution of architecture culture and discourse, also functions as an informal history of the Institute, documenting the theoretical trends that have developed across the Berlage's existence. The book also includes a more formal history, in the form of an illustrated chronology, which highlights select moments in the Institute's research and public programs. These contributions - both unearthed from the Berlage's rich archive and newly commissioned for this publication - are divided into four sections, labeled 'about', 'around', 'within', and 'from' and are categorized according to their relationship with the Berlage. 'About' includes texts specifically about the place and functions as a traditional history of its evolution. 'Around' consists of ideas and contexts that have made the Berlage possible and surveys the environment - both pedagogical and architectural - that surrounds it. 'Within' is composed of work produced within the Berlage's walls, of the research, design, and investigation that lend the place its characteristic vitality. And finally, 'From' compiles a selection of texts that result from Berlage programs and initiatives and are paradigmatic of the Institute's function as an intellectual and cultural platform. An editorial gloss, inspired by the embellished annotations and flourishes of medieval texts, serves to unite the publication's diverse material, providing a secondary narrative mode and allowing for a novel reading experience. This gloss is composed of complementary quotations and historical anecdotes, and suggests the palimpsest-like dynamism of the publication's theoretical juxtapositions and thematic interrelationships.--Publisher's website.

English

November 30, 2011