Introducing, David Erdman

In the post-internet architectural climate, critical discourse historically found in the pages of institutionally backed journals has been overshadowed by a culture of abundant, shorter media. As traditional means of disseminating information have lost support, e-magazines have risen in popularity. The question stands as to whether architectural discourse has the resilience to deal with the speed of new media, and if it does, in what form that discourse might be delivered and relevant. Introducing embraces the contemporaneity of short-form writing, utilizing the medium’s versatility as a means to reinvigorate criticality within architectural discourse.

Introducing: Short Essays on Influential Thinkers and Designers in Architecture is a collection of 18 short essays developed by designer and educator David Erdman. The book suggests that short-form writing might serve as the proper vehicle for architectural discourse to flourish in the 21st century. Speculating that concise pieces of information attributed to the blogging and tweeting generation of architects is the contemporary format for the delivery of critical discourse, Erdman uses his essays to illustrate how an iterative approach to short-form writing might be the most efficient way for architecture to open new critical dialogues.

Featured practitioners include Hernan Diaz Alonso, Donald L. Bates, Andrew Bromberg, Yung Ho Chang, Neil Denari, Toyo Ito, Kengo Kuma, Paul Lewis, Takashi Murakami, Albert Pope, Wolf D. Prix, Ali Rahim, Hani Rashid, Jesse Reiser, Jonathan Solomon, Michael Speaks, Sarah Whiting, and Michael Young.

6.5 × 9”
Softcover
240 pages

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Editor: Original Copy
Project Team: Julia van den Hout, Cole Cataneo
Client: David Erdman
Graphic Design: Kammy Leung, Joonmo Ai / Original Copy
Applied Research & Design, Spring 2021