August 29, 2001
Troy, N.Y. — A new book by Alan Balfour, dean of Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute’s School of Architecture, traces the
development of New York City into the “quintessential city of
the 20th century.”
World Cities: New York describes New York City’s historical
development and explains how the roots of its infrastructure
influence architecture today. Balfour accomplishes this with
photographs and essays of the city’s most significant works of
architecture both built and projected, from the past 10 years
and 10 years into the future.
Balfour describes New York as “the most ideological of cities
created by the Enlightenment — created to form a ruthless
rational order whose reality would forever be in a state of
becoming.” This state of becoming is working to change the
rules of architecture in ways not yet imagined, suggests
Balfour. He sees the future of architecture moving toward
high-tech skins over buildings akin to giant television
screens.
But he questions the new “information architecture,”
influenced by corporations and commercialization, that boldly
flaunts technology.
“The builder of a cathedral could be sure that his edifice
would engrave itself on the public’s consciousness for
centuries, but the appearance of the new Conde Nast building
can be changed in, literally, the blink of an eye. It is
amazing,” Balfour said. “This technology will very quickly
cover the walls of Times Square, overwhelming any notion of
stable realities.”
According to Balfour, the virtual reality of the Internet will
influence architecture. The world’s attention, he said, is
being drawn away from the architects and engineers who make
structures, and toward the new “electronic lords” who create
virtual realities that appeal to people in an ever more
intimate way. Balfour believes that this has the power to erode
the traditional city.
Balfour was named the American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Year 2000 Topaz Laureate, the highest recognition given in
North America for excellence in architecture education. He was
formerly Smith Professor and Dean of Architecture at Rice
University, and before joining Rensselaer was Chairman of the
Architectural Association in London.
His books include Berlin (also in the “World Cities” series),
documenting the transformation of Berlin after reunification,
published by Academy Editions in 1995. Both this and the
earlier Berlin: The Politics of Order: 1737-1989 (Rizzoli,
1990) were winners of the AIA International Book Award.
Additional books are Portsmouth (Studio Vista, 1970), and
Rockefeller Center: Architecture as Theater (McGraw-Hill,
1978). He contributed to The Edge of the Millennium (Cooper
Hewitt, 1993), Cities of Artificial Excavation: The Work of
Peter Eisenman (Rizzoli International/CCA, 1994), and
Recovering Landscape (Princeton Architectural Press, 1999). He
lives in upstate New York.
Contact: Patricia Azriel
Phone: (518) 276-6531
E-mail: N/A