Architect, Verb

Architect, verb - The New Language of Building by Reinier de Graaf. The Hidden Rules of Architecture: how to build world-class, award winning, creative, innovative, sustainable, liveable and beautiful spaces that foster a sense of place and well being. 

Leading architect Reinier de Graaf punctures the myths behind the debates on what contemporary architecture is, with wit and devastating honesty. Architecture, it seems, has become too important to leave to architects. No longer does it suffice to judge a building solely by its appearance, it must be measured, and certified. When architects talk about 'Excellence', 'Sustainability', 'Well-being', 'Liveability', 'Placemaking', 'Creativity', 'Beauty' and 'Innovation' what do they actually mean?

In Architect, Verb, De Graaf dryly skewers the doublespeak and hot air of an industry in search of an identity in the 21st century. Who determines how to measure a 'green building'? Why is Vancouver more 'liveable' than Vienna? How do developers get away with advertising their buildings as promoting 'well-being'? Why did Silicon Valley become so obsessed with devising 'creative' spaces or developing code that replaces architects? How much revenue can be attributed to the design of public space? Who gets to decide what these measurements should be, and what do they actually mean? And what does it mean for the future of our homes, cities, planet?

He also includes a biting, satirical dictionary of 'profspeak': the corporate language of consultants, developers and planners from 'Active listening' to "Zoom Readiness".

Reinier de Graaf

joined OMA in 1996. He is responsible for building and masterplanning projects in Europe and the Middle East, including Al Daayan Health District in Doha, Norra Tornen in Stockholm (completed 2020), the nhow RAI Hotel in Amsterdam (completed 2020), Holland Green in London (completed 2016), Timmerhuis in Rotterdam (completed 2015), G-Star Headquarters in Amsterdam (completed 2014) and De Rotterdam (completed 2013). In 2002, he co-founded AMO, the think tank of OMA, and produced The Image of Europe, an exhibition illustrating the history of the European Union. He has overseen AMO’s increasing involvement in sustainability and energy planning, including Zeekracht: A Strategy for Masterplanning the North Sea; the publication in 2010 of Roadmap 2050: A Practical Guide to a Prosperous, Low-Carbon Europe with the European Climate Foundation; and The Energy Report, a global plan for 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, with the WWF. De Graaf has worked extensively in Moscow, overseeing OMA’s proposal to design the masterplan for the Skolkovo Centre for Innovation, the ‘Russian Silicon Valley', and leading a consortium which proposed a development concept for the Moscow Agglomeration, an urban plan for Greater Moscow. He has curated the exhibitions On Hold at the British School in Rome (2011) and Public Works: Architecture by Civil Servants (Venice Biennale, 2012; Berlin, 2013). He is the author of Four Walls and a Roof, The Complex Nature of a Simple Profession and the novel The Masterplan.