Speaking of Buildings: Oral History in Architectural Research
Speaking of Buildings: Oral History in Architectural Research edited by Naomi Stead, Janina Gosseye, Deborah van der Plaat
English | October 15, 2019 | ISBN: 1616897546 | True EPUB | 320 pages | 4.5 MB
English | October 15, 2019 | ISBN: 1616897546 | True EPUB | 320 pages | 4.5 MB
By and large, architectural historians use texts, drawings, and photographs to craft their narratives. Oral testimony from those who actually occupy or construct buildings is rarely taken as seriously. Speaking of Buildings offers a rebuttal, theorizing the radical potential of a methodology that has historically been cast as unreliable.
Essays by an international group of scholars look at varied topics, from the role of gossip in undermining masculine narratives in architecture to workers' accounts of building with cement in midcentury London to a sound art piece created by oral testimonies from Los Angeles public housing residents. In sum, the authors call for a renewed form of listening to enrich our understanding of what buildings are, what they do, and what they mean to people.