Learn from Las Vegas - (Original Revised Edition)

Author: (USA) Venturi, (USA) Brown
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The publication of this book in 1972 sparked a healthy debate, calling on architects to embrace the tastes and values of "ordinary" people and temper their arrogant attitude of erecting monuments to self-congratulatory "grand" buildings. This revised edition includes: the full text of the first part describing the Las Vegas commercial strip, and the second part "Ugly and Ordinary Architecture/Decorated Sheds" summarizing the findings of the investigation into architectural symbolism and urban expansion patterns. (The latter part of the first edition, about the architectural design work of Venturi-Rauch, is not included in this revision.) This new paperback uses a smaller trim size, reduces illustrations, and is more affordable. This edition features a preface written by Scott Brown and a table of contents including articles by members of Venturi-Rauch and works related to their practice. I will state clearly that I believe these studies are outstanding in their insight and analysis, from a historical review of style and symbolism to the recognition of a new type of architecture directly resulting from speed, flexibility, the, and changing lifestyles—a rare blend of art history and theory. From Le Corbusier to Brazil to Miami to roadside motels that have stood for 40 years, the rapid development of modern architecture has encompassed all aspects of behavioral aesthetics, which architects and historians are often reluctant to engage with—Edith Louise Huxtable, The New York Times This is a challenging yet reasonable positioning that should help architecture continue to develop in the right direction. For historians, Learning from Las Vegas is a significant document of its time, a theoretical review of our architectural heritage, and a comprehensive, flexible, and creative application of history: overall, it is a treasure. This book will provoke debate, challenge, and be passed around. The debated points it raises have given rise to philosophical questions about the very nature of architecture itself.—Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians These designers launched an attack—well-informed, highly perceptive, and quite talented—one aimed at the dominant paradigm of modern architecture.—The Yale Review Venturi once wrote a dangerous book that changed the fundamental basis of many people's careers. It challenged the methods we habitually use to distinguish between the cultured and the uncultured. It is difficult to accept the idea that citizens of the "culture of uncertainty" understand the world they live in better than cultured architects. The arrogance of their position is also hard to accept.—The Ohio Review This book, along with Venturi's Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, is considered a manifesto of modernist architecture. Venturi opposed Mies van der Rohe's famous maxim "Less is more," arguing that "Less is bare." He believed that the public does not understand the language of modernist architecture and that the buildings they prefer are often ordinary, lively, ornate, and metaphorical. He argued that the appearance of Las Vegas, including its narrow streets, neon lights, billboards, and fast-food restaurants—all with trademark-like forms—perfectly reflects the public's tastes. Therefore, in this book, he called on architects to engage with the public, accept their interests and values, and learn from Las Vegas. From the perspective of popular architecture, this book provides architects with new perspectives and insights, making it a valuable and collectible work. It is a reference for architects, as well as students and teachers of architecture in related fields at various institutions.