Narrative Architecture: A Kynical Manifesto

Narrative Architecture reveals a stream of remarkable architectural and urban visions in the twentieth century that culminated in the construction of one of the most powerful, misunderstood and underutilized media of architectural and urban critique, thinking and representation.

This historical genealogy in three parts weaves inseparable modern architecture and narrative critique through never before seen images of half a century of utopian, heroic, commercial, ironic and critical projects by Le Corbusier, Team 10, Constant, Victor Gruen, Yona Friedman, Archizoom, Superstudio and Rem Koolhaas.

Alluding to Diogenes, the ancient kynic who wandered with a lantern in search of an honest man, through narrative, archival and provocative images and texts, the book lays the groundwork in search of an honest architecture able to question the pressing challenges of our times.

Cruz Garcia and Nathalie Frankowski are architects, educators, codirectors of international studio WAI Architecture Think Tank and authors of Pure Hardcore Icons: A Manifesto on Pure Form in Architecture.