內容簡介
我們以為的建築是一種向上提升的藝術形式，依照世人之意形塑了這個世界。但是本書卻挑戰了這樣的說法，由一位建築師坦率說出建築真正的樣貌以及對當代建築的反思。荷蘭建築師Reinier de Graaf就他個人在這個行業中的悲喜經驗，以快照的方式揭露當代建築的世界：從市郊的紐約到北伊拉克的瓦礫堆，從倫敦、莫斯科、杜拜的千萬富翁走廊到垃圾遍佈體現戰後社會住宅破滅希望的荒地。我們遇見了意圖將野心轉化成鋼筋水泥的寡頭政治家，將建築視為單純投資的開發商，還有干擾任何建築理念與執行的政客、官僚、顧問和神秘的攀權附貴者們。
本書訴說的故事，是一個不斷被外力虐待的行業，由這些外力決定建築師的設計。為了達到目的，建築師必須為他們奮力批判的權力來服務，將自己置身於無休止的利益衝突中。於是建築師、開發商、政客與顧問們便塑造出一個競爭與妥協並存、臨時拼湊且沒有任何一方可以掌控的世界。
Architecture, we like to believe, is an elevated art form that shapes the world as it pleases. Four Walls and a Roof challenges this notion, presenting a candid account of what it is really like to work as an architect.
Drawing on his own tragicomic experiences in the field, Reinier de Graaf reveals the world of contemporary architecture in vivid snapshots: from suburban New York to the rubble of northern Iraq, from the corridors of wealth in London, Moscow, and Dubai to garbage-strewn wastelands that represent the demolished hopes of postwar social housing. We meet oligarchs determined to translate ambitions into concrete and steel, developers for whom architecture is mere investment, and the layers of politicians, bureaucrats, consultants, and mysterious hangers-on who lie between any architectural idea and the chance of its execution.
Four Walls and a Roof tells the story of a profession buffeted by external forces that determine―at least as much as individual inspiration―what architects design. Perhaps the most important myth debunked is success itself. To achieve anything, architects must serve the powers they strive to critique, finding themselves in a perpetual conflict of interest. Together, architects, developers, politicians, and consultants form an improvised world of contest and compromise that none alone can control.