Dimensions
154 x 236 x 34mm
Why have presidents, prime ministers, mayors, millionaires and despots come to share such a fascination with grand designs? What makes the rich and powerful want to leave their mark on the world?
In 'The Edifice Complex' renowned writer and critic Deyan Sudjic explores the intimate relationship between buildings, power, money and politics in society. Architecture, he shows, has a unique place in the wielding of authority. It can be used to impress, glorify or intimidate; as an instrument of nation-building and statecraft, an expression of ego or a bid for immortality. From Blair to Mitterrand, from Hitler to Stalin to Saddam Hussein, architecture has become an end in itself, as well as a means to an end.
This is a book of genuine vision and timeliness, throwing new light on the motivations of those who govern us, and on our profound relationship with the contemporary man-made world. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the power of architecture - or the architecture of power.
