Author Description

A collection of essays by architects, exploring the influences that shaped their intellectual lives: the cultural context of their upbringing; the architecture and art that marked their aesthetic viewpoints; their reading and acceptance of momentous ideas; their travels; and their significant encounters with noteworthy figures or kindred spirits. The Intellectual Life of the Architect is a unique collection of intellectual autobiographies written by leading professional and academic architects who have collectively elaborated some significant reforms to the discipline of architecture over the past several decades. By recounting their artistic formations, travels, readings, debates, they candidly explain the very conditions that led to their hard-earned convictions, their agreements or disputes with other schools of thought. Other professionals, academics, and especially students of architecture, stand to benefit from the common experiences of this international group of architects who have developed encompassing views on nature, the city, and her architecture. AUTHOR: Samir Younes is a traditional architect, theorist, and educator. His writings focus on architectural theory, aesthetics, and the intersecting areas of the philosophy of history, cultural philosophy and politics. After studying physics and architecture at MIT, Kent Bloomer received B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees in sculpture at Yale. He has lectured internationally. His professional activities focus on sculpture and large-scale architectural ornament.