Deyan SudjicThe Edifice Complex: How the Rich and Powerful--and Their Architects--Shape the World

This is a profound book on the nasty ways power expresses itself in the built environment. Although these chapters seem culled from Sudjic's articles, and will therefore have the edge of a journalist, and that profession's need for the current, this book speaks in a larger way throughout recent history as to the efforts made by the powerful to subdue the world and the people forced to build within it. It's an unsettling and eye-opening book on the grotesquely powerful, and the grotesquely ambitious architects who serve them. The message of the book reverberates beyond the specific examples Sudjic cites, and makes you wonder about the horrors perpetrated upon innocent people throughout the world throughout history, all in the name of some ruler's petty self- aggrandizement. Highly recommended.

It took me some time to figure out what the Edifice Complex meant.I first thought, being an "English Patient" in the realms ofEnglish-speaking world, edifice complex meant something like "SportsComplex". Later I found out that it was a derivitive of Oedipus Complex,that there is a psychology in a poweful man, an urge to make a mark, adesire to control, and an ambition to build. To build big and high.I found this book particulary interesting because it focuses on theside of clients, their hidden chambers of obsessions, disguised inthe form of political beliefs, orchestrated and realized by the handsof architects. Plenty of different types of influential clients andtheir episodes are portrayed.Some stories are old (or well known)and some stories are new. To the oldstories, like that of Hitler/Mitterrand/Hussein, Sudjic gave a differentbent, to the new and lesser knowns, like that ofMao/Rockerfeller/Agnelli/ US Presidents, Sudjic wrote electrifying lines.Another remarkable aspect of the book is the political skills of manypast and current star architects. Johnson/ Pei/ Piano/Koolhaas/ Gehry (and many more mentioned in the book) are illustrated astrue Machiavellian architects of this century that have tongue and pen torealize the dreams of their Princes.In the conclusion, Sudjic sums up by showing what kind of prevailingarchitectural garments are out there for different political strategists.The author also kindly guides us to the further readings that pertain tothe subject matter of the book.One thing that made my head skew: Why are Blair and Libeskind beatenwhen, in contrast, following French President and English Architectmentioned in the book are promoted? Does it explain Sudjic's politicalstance and his allies? Just a thought...

The reins of power can be fleeting or be erased with the passage of time, but the architecture of the world has made bold statements on the lives of those who once ruled and wooed the world. News events and crises can sometimes be quickly forgotten in a week or so, but imagery of palaces, museums, coliseums, theme parks, libraries, castles, pyramids and other landmarks are indelibly planted in our minds and visual memories. Is there anyone whom, when mentioning New York or Paris, cannot help but visualize the World Trade Center or the Eiffel Tower? Art, architecture and power hold sway over all of us, whether or not we realize it. Architecture is a statement of power, raw power. It is a lasting legacy of those who don't want to drift into obscurity . . . ever.An Edifice Complex can loosely be defined as a politician or leader who wants to leave behind a structure, sometimes preferably a behemoth, as a part of his or her "legacy." Deyan Sudjic, prolific architectural author, prefers to think of architecture not as an art form, but rather as a "naked expression of power." In his fascinating newest release (which incidentally reads like a novel), THE EDIFICE COMPLEX: How the Rich and Powerful-and Their Architects-Shape the World, Sudjic postulates this theory citing the architectural legacies of the likes of Hitler to Hussein, with a little help from their friends, the actual architects.It is no secret that Adolph Hitler would have loved to be an architect, but few realize that Saddam Hussein may well have had a similar desire to be a master builder and architect. Hussein modeled "himself on Nebuchadnezzar and on Stalin." His lavish State Mosque and statement of power had room for some 30,000 worshipers, the largest Islamic mosque the Islamic world had ever seen. Sudjic casually writes about many leaders and wealthy people, some well known, others obscure, who hoped to make their mark throughout eternity with their structures. According to him, "It {architecture} cannot make us live forever, but architecture can be used to confront our fear of death, and to offer the hope of some kind of permanence."I thought this book would be as dry as a bone, but the author had a way with words and numerous stories that actually made it quite interesting. The book drew me in quite quickly when he related the story of how Emil Hácha fainted from the sheer force and intimidation of Hitler and the architecture of the German Reich. Obviously this book would have a narrow readership, particularly those with an interest in architecture, but the eclectic reader certainly wouldn't be disappointed.

nice book, nearly new, i didn't expect it was totally new, but actually almost new.5 more words more required