Why We Build

Rowan Moore is the architecture critic for the Observer and previously for the Evening Standard. He is also a trained architect, and between 2002 and 2008 was the Director of the Architecture Foundation.Rowan Moore is the architecture critic for the Observer and previously for the Evening Standard. He is also a trained architect, and between 2002 and 2008 was the Director of the Architecture Foundation.

'A refreshingly humane and lucid book from one of our most intelligent architecture critics' Daily Telegraph 'Vivid and witty ... it's a book about what happens when other non-architectural matter - capital, sex, family life, the caprices of function - barges into a discipline that sometimes likes to think of itself as pure' Guardian 'Architecture critic for the Observer, Rowan Moore, has written a fantastic book which is well worth reading for anyone interested in architecture.' Sir Paul Smith 'Moore has a lot to offer those who like verbal flexibility and thought-provoking aphorisms. There is also a sense of mischief ... if famous architects were a coconut shy, Moore would go home with the giant teddy ... Elegant and witty, with a sometimes 18th-century sensuality, this is a hard-hitting book with great panache.' Sunday Telegraph 'Moore has conjured a rare feat in producing a work that will be appreciated by professionals and punters alike.' Observer 'Moore writes with economy, clarity and wit' Will Wiles, Building Design 'A paean to the way we inhabit, which explains why good architecture changes constantly' Financial Times 'Intelligent and cultured ... packed with passionately held ideas about the epiphanies, farces and humanity in architecture' Independent 'Thoughtful and elegantly written, Why We Build will appeal to anyone with an interest in architecture ... It benefits from a clear style and years of architectural criticism ... the argument is forceful, but not prescriptive, the satisfying result of prolonged and sensitive observation of both buildings and human nature.' Spectator 'Lively and engaging ... Anyone with an interest in architecture will find good things here' Evening Standard 'A subtle, often eccentric but always entertaining guide ... A fascinating work of love, intellectual curiosity and endurance' Literary Review 'Dazzling ... there's plenty to discover.' Sunday Times

• Chapter - 1: Desire shapes space, and space shapes desire Chapter - 2: The fixed and the wandering home Chapter - 3: The true fake Chapter - 4: The inconsistent horizon, or notes on the erotic in architecture Chapter - 5: Power and freedom Chapter - 6: Form follows finance Chapter - 7: The rapacity of 'hope' Chapter - 8: Eternity of overrated Chapter - 9: Life, and the look of life Chapter - 10: Indespensible as bread Section - 11: List of illustrations Section - 12: Selected bibliography Section - 13: Acknowledgements Section - 14: Index