Time for Architecture

Reviews / Votes

"'The constant presence of time is a thread that unifies all things and all actions,' writes Robert Adam. Buildings last a long time-which distinguishes them in our throwaway society-and architecture is at the heart of this wide-ranging study of time, memory, tradition, and much else besides. Both modernists and traditionalists will benefit from this thoughtful and engaging book."Witold RybczynskiAuthor, How Architecture Works: A Humanist's Toolkit; former architecture critic, Slate"This is a book about the ways in which our shared situation in time informs how buildings and people relate to each other. It is a fundamental yet under-explored topic which Robert Adam navigates with authority, drawing not only on his profound knowledge of the history of architecture but on sources from the fields of philosophy and physics. While the author is renowned as an architect working in the classical tradition, his lucidly stated argument transcends questions of style, illuminating the ways in which all architecture operates on the human consciousness."Ellis WoodmanDirector, The Architecture Foundation"A breath of fresh air. For students, as well as the qualified, the questions raised and arguments made are rewarding; where provocative, they are for constructive purposes."Paul FinchThe Architects' Journal"Given the vast range of territory covered and the even-handed way in which this highly charged material is approached, this book could be useful to nearly everybody. Adam has written a remarkable book aimed at a wide audi?ence-and yet one that can also be successfully used by the specialist. [...] After perusing this book, the reader will leave with an introduction to the topic of time not only in architecture and urban planning, but how time applies to our very way of life, and fundamentally to the way we think about, well . . . everything."Laurence Keith Loftin University of Colorado Denver"Robert Adam [...] has established a high profile as a tireless advocate for the return of classical architecture and urban design. This book is however much more than a defence of the classical style, and explores the idea of time and architecture, considering different definitions of "modern" and "modernity", as well as touching on subjects as wide apart as memory, phenomenology, the carbon content of buildings and climate change. [...] This book is an important one: it is powerfully argued, and is often correct in exposing some thoughtless assumptions of architects and planners, while challenging many unfortunate current practices."Robin Webster, OBE, PPRIASEmeritus Professor, Robert Gordon University, UK; RIAS Quarterly Issue 48, Winter 2021/22