Perfect Acts of Architecture

Perfect Acts of Architecture collects six sets of highly inventive drawings by contemporary avant-garde architects Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis, Peter Eisenman, Bernard Tschumi, Daniel Libeskind and Thom Mayne. Created between 1972 and 1988 (when many architects turned to teaching as economic conditions had drastically curtailed building commissions), these works reflect the period's intellectual debates and propose graphic experimentation as a mode of research. Each suite of drawings offers great insight into the creative processes of six young designers, who have since gone on to establish major international reputations. Setting this "paper architecture" in a broader historical backdrop, Jeffrey Kipnis and Terence Riley provide introductory texts and concise commentaries on each of the projects.