What do you think?
Rate this book
The Singular Objects of Architecture
What is a singular object? An idea, a building, a color, a sentiment, a human being. Each in turn comes under scrutiny in this exhilarating dialogue between two of the most interesting thinkers working in philosophy and architecture today. From such singular objects, Jean Baudrillard and Jean Nouvel move on to fundamental problems of politics, identity, and aesthetics as their exchange becomes an imaginative exploration of the possibilities of modern architecture and the future of modern life.
Among the topics the two speakers take up are the city of tomorrow and the ideal of transparency, the gentrification of New York City and Frank Gehry’s surprising Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. As Nouvel prompts Baudrillard to reflect on some of his signature concepts (the virtual, transparency, fatal strategies, oblivion, and seduction, among others), the confrontation between such philosophical concerns and the specificity of architecture gives rise to novel and striking formulations—and a new way of establishing and understanding the connections between the practitioner and the philosopher, the object and the idea.
This wide-ranging conversation builds a bridge between the fields of architecture and philosophy. At the same time it offers readers an intimate view of the meeting of objects and ideas in which the imagined, constructed, and inhabited environment is endlessly changing, forever evolving.
Jean Baudrillard is one of the most influential thinkers of his generation and author of The Vital Illusion (2001).
Jean Nouvel has designed buildings throughout the world, including the new Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, and is a recipient of France’s Grand Prix d’Architecture.
Robert Bononno, a translator and teacher, lives in New York City.
Among the topics the two speakers take up are the city of tomorrow and the ideal of transparency, the gentrification of New York City and Frank Gehry’s surprising Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. As Nouvel prompts Baudrillard to reflect on some of his signature concepts (the virtual, transparency, fatal strategies, oblivion, and seduction, among others), the confrontation between such philosophical concerns and the specificity of architecture gives rise to novel and striking formulations—and a new way of establishing and understanding the connections between the practitioner and the philosopher, the object and the idea.
This wide-ranging conversation builds a bridge between the fields of architecture and philosophy. At the same time it offers readers an intimate view of the meeting of objects and ideas in which the imagined, constructed, and inhabited environment is endlessly changing, forever evolving.
Jean Baudrillard is one of the most influential thinkers of his generation and author of The Vital Illusion (2001).
Jean Nouvel has designed buildings throughout the world, including the new Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, and is a recipient of France’s Grand Prix d’Architecture.
Robert Bononno, a translator and teacher, lives in New York City.
104 pages, Paperback
Published November 15, 2005
About the author
Jean Baudrillard
188 books1,672 followersJean Baudrillard was a French sociologist, philosopher, cultural theorist, political commentator, and photographer. His work is frequently associated with postmodernism and post-structuralism.
Jean Baudrillard was also a Professor of Philosophy of Culture and Media Criticism at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where he taught an Intensive Summer Seminar.
Jean Baudrillard's philosophy centers on the twin concepts of 'hyperreality' and 'simulation'. These terms refer to the virtual or unreal nature of contemporary culture in an age of mass communication and mass consumption. We live in a world dominated by simulated experiences and feelings, Jean Baudrillard believes, and have lost the capacity to comprehend reality as it actually exists. We experience only prepared realities--edited war footage, meaningless acts of terrorism, the destruction of cultural values and the substitution of 'referendum'.
In Jean Baudrillard's words,
"The very definition of the real has become: that of which it is possible to give an equivalent reproduction...The real is not only what can be reproduced, but that which is always already reproduced: that is the hyperreal...which is entirely in simulation."
Jean Baudrillard was also a Professor of Philosophy of Culture and Media Criticism at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where he taught an Intensive Summer Seminar.
Jean Baudrillard's philosophy centers on the twin concepts of 'hyperreality' and 'simulation'. These terms refer to the virtual or unreal nature of contemporary culture in an age of mass communication and mass consumption. We live in a world dominated by simulated experiences and feelings, Jean Baudrillard believes, and have lost the capacity to comprehend reality as it actually exists. We experience only prepared realities--edited war footage, meaningless acts of terrorism, the destruction of cultural values and the substitution of 'referendum'.
In Jean Baudrillard's words,
"The very definition of the real has become: that of which it is possible to give an equivalent reproduction...The real is not only what can be reproduced, but that which is always already reproduced: that is the hyperreal...which is entirely in simulation."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 16, 2015
هذا الكتاب على المستوى العام، يخاطب المنتمين بشكل أو بآخر للعمارة كفن متكامل تُشكَّل بهِ المجتمعات بصريّاً وحضاريّاً، وأيضًا يخاطب أولئك الذين يكنون حُبّاً ما للعمارة
كما أتت عبارة "الأشياء الفريدة" على غلاف الكتاب، أتى محتوى الحوار فريدًا من نوعه، ما بين الفيلسوف الفرنسي "جان بودريار" والمعماري الفرنسي "جان نوفيل"، ولأنهما في الأصل متفاهمان فكان الحوار فيما بينهما هادئاً
بالرغم من أن الحوار الذي دار بين "نوفيل" و"بودريار" أتى مشوشًا وكأنه قصصًا مصورة بسبب الترجمة إلا أنه كان كذاك الحديث المعتاد عن تلك الساحرة التي تُدعى "العمارة"
العمارة كما يقول صديقينا وكما نعرف جيدًا لها علاقة قويّة بالبيئة المحيطة والذوق العام لمواطني المدينة أو القرية وهذا لا يتعلَّق من قريبٍ أو بعيد بظهور مدرسة "العمارة المحلية" وبدء روادها بالتمرُّد على أسلوب الانترناشونال المتبع في الهيكل الخارجي للمبنى، أي عدم حمل المبنى لأي هوية ترتبط ما بينه وبين السكان والمجتمع المُحيط، بل على العكس وأقدم من ذلك وإن ذهبنا إلى الحضارات القديمة سنجد أن العمارة الاغريقية تختلف عن المصرية تمامًا وهكذا ، "نوفيل" كما نرَ من كلامه قارئ جيّد لكتابات "بودريار" الشغوف جدّاً بالعمارة ومستقبلها
إن هذه المناقشة عادية جدّاً بين معماري ورجل يهتم بالعمارة، لا ينبغي أن ندخلها تحت إطار (العظيمة) ونذهب بها إلى أعلى عليين
الإشكالية التي يدور حولها الحديث، هو المفاهيم، الماضي، مستقبل العمارة، الراديكالية أم المستقبلية، الحداثة، ما بعد الحداثة، الوظيفية، العمارة الذكية، تفرُّد المعماري.. بالأحرى حوارًا مترجمًا لحديث شيّق عن نظريات العمارة الحديثة والقديمة غلافه هو نفس غلاف الطبعة الأجنبية دون أي تغيير أو ابداع
لكن بعد أن تعاني من مواضع الفصلات بين الجمل، والجمل التي تقسّمها الفصلات إلى ثلاثة جمل ستدرك أنه حديث شيّق عن العمارة والتاريخ والفلسفة والفن
December 30, 2012
كتاب رائع وفلسفي/فكري من الدرجة الأولى، لكنه يحتاج صبر لفك رموز الترجمة، وهو عبارة عن مقابلة بين معماري وفيلسوف، وأرى أن الفيلسوف هو نجم اللقاء. إلى جانب ضعف الترجمة، حتم أسلوب المقابلة شيء من التشتيت الذهني. الصابرون القادرون على تعدي هذه العقبات، هم وحدهم القادرون على تذوق جمال هذا الكتاب، ومعضلته الفكرية، وكل التساؤلات التي يطرحها في ذهن المتلقي. الجماليات وكل الأشياء الفريدة في العمارة/وعلاقتها مع الإنسانية بكل رغباتها/ والبحث بين هذا وذاك عن جوهر المكان المعماري هي أهم محاور هذا الكتاب..
July 28, 2019
Not really my cup of coffee, I guess. With all due respect, but French intellectuals just don't seem to succeed in having a real dialogue (anyone objecting?). This book is a collection of very random thoughts on art and culture, bits of very abstract monologues, and not a real "colloquium". And remarkably: they talk about the WTC-towers in NY as if still standing (I did some research: these conversations were held back in 2000, but this book never mentions this!).
July 31, 2013
Interesting conversation between philosopher J Baudrillard and architect J Nouvel. However the thin nature of this volume leaves many of their thoughts and ideas on the surface with little deep analysis. Nevertheless this book still raises interesting ideas about post modernity and its relationship to architecture.
December 16, 2017
الترجمة سيئة.
Read
September 24, 2019What I tend to remember from the book usually are part of Jean Nouvel's words. Interesting.
Read
August 8, 2020"Olay yaratan anlaşılamaz olandır."
April 25, 2021
Baudrillard ve Nouvel in 2 söyleşisinden oluşan bir kitap
December 15, 2013
Two very interesting conversations. Excellent reading.
Read
March 1, 2016i think it is so ggod
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews