Pandemonium: The Rise of Predatory Locales in the Postwar World (Architecture at Rice)

In our global society, information processing transpires so quickly that it is essentially timeless, and communication systems have become indistinguishable from the act of communication itself. The medium, once the message, is now invisible, resulting in new methods for wielding power in our decentralized environment. Pandemonium explores the new techniques of control underlying our digital culture. Topics discussed include the transformation of relations between labor and machines in cybernetic and informational environments, and the reorganization of the urban fabric according to new methods of communication flow. This title is conceived as a photo roman in which the design, in collaboration with Bruce Mau Design, plays as great a role as the text. It includes forewords by Lars Lerup and Bruce Mau and an introduction by Sanford Kwinter.