The Architect and the Animal

A spirited abecedarium-style book that shows how architects have engaged with animals as references and metaphors in modern and postmodern architecture.

Through an examination of 26 case studies (26 different animals explored by 26 different architects, from A to Z), The Architect and the Animal illustrates the various ways in which animals become reflective extensions of a predominantly humanistic-anthropocentric science and art, mirroring that of architecture itself. Why are animals represented and in what context? In which ways do they express critical stances against modernity? How do they relate to local myths and indigenous identities? How do they defend global cultural history and tradition? Can animals, through their silent presence, become authors of criticism and resistance both in aesthetic and cultural terms?

In modern architectural discourse, the animal was typically approached not through its various cultural or symbolic identities but as a body examined and analyzed under a formalistic scientific lens. In this edited volume, Kostas Tsiambaos goes beyond the formalistic use of animals to explore a less operative—and more meaningful—understanding of animal references and representations in twentieth century architecture. Both playful and serious, there is nothing quite like this book.“Animal creatures have been lurking around the world of modern architecture, hiding in plain sight, for over a century. The Architect and the Animal captures their impact and importance in a delightfully whimsical repertoire. In vignette after vignette, the usual parade of famous designers and buildings is rendered strange again, becoming a novel and surprising festival of surrealism, biomorphic form, and alternative political imaginations.”
—Lucia Allais, Associate Professor and Director of the Buell Center, Columbia University

“As this riveting lexicon shows, the animal inhabits the history of modern architecture not just as an inspiration, a model, or a symbol, but as an intercessor to alternative mythographies and topologies.”
—Maarten Delbeke, ETH ZurichKostas Tsiambaos is Associate Professor in History & Theory of Architecture at the School of Architecture of the National Technical University in Athens (NTUA). He is the author of From Doxiadis’ Theory to Pikionis’ Work.