Conversations with Architects: Philip Johnson, Kevin Roche, Paul Rudolph, Bertrand Goldberg, Morris Lapidus, Louis Kahn, Charles Moore, Robert Venturi & Denise Scott Brown

DUST JACKET NOTES: As Vincent Scully writes in his foreword, "this collection of interviews represents one of the most successful attempts to get architects to talk that I have seen to date." These are real conversations - lively and informal - with some of America's foremost architects. The architects talk frankly about themselves, their own work, and other architects and their work; the tone is buoyant throughout and stays clear of stuffy aesthetics and esoteric diatribes. No specialized vocabulary is necessary for comprehension, merely an interest n the spirit and diversity of modern architecture and the men behind it. The eight architects interviewed were selected not on the basis of fame, although all are widely known, but as representatives of major movements determining the direction of architecture today. Their works and opinions express an age seeking to relate architecture and society, an age with no father figures or dogma but a pluralism of tendencies. Similar questions and problems have been posed with each architect; the answers are more often contradictory than not, and in these differences lies the significance. This is a uniquely informal way to introduce the layman to contemporary architecture not only in the United States but throughout the world. The candid, often witty observations of the architects make the process and priorities of architecture accessible to everyone. Professionals and students will want to read the book for its documentary value.