Table of Contents

Apologue: Revolution, Critique, and Return to Philosophy Exordium: Learning from Valéry Reading Marx Critical Pedagogy: Architecture or Revolution PART 1 1. The Blank Wall: Architecture and the French Revolution Architecture and Bourgeoisie Invention of the Blank Wall Theses on the Blank Wall Virtue and Terror The Blank Wall and Philosophy of Revolution 2. The Architecture of Bonapartism Corbusianismand Bonapartism Keynesianism and Corbusianism Neo-Bonapartism and Specters of Le Corbusier PART 2 3. Marx and CritiqueCritique and Enlightenment Transcritique Critique and the Unconscious 4. Transcritique of ArchitectureThe Sublime Object of Critique Phantasmagoria of Architecture Architecture and the Capitalist Unconscious PART 3 5. Toward A Philosophy of Shelter Shelter, Not A Lofty Tower Universality of Shelter and the Philosophy of Right Coda: In Defence of Marx Index

About the Author

Nadir Lahiji is an architect. He is most recently the author of An Architecture Manifesto: Critical Reason and Theories of a Failed Practice (Routledge, 2019). His previous publications include, among others, Adventures with the Theory of the Baroque and French Philosophy, and the co-authored The Architecture of Phantasmagoria: Specters of the City.

Reviews

‘An urgent and passionate call for architecture to awaken from its current dogmatic slumber, Nadir Lahiji’s Architecture or Revolution is also a stunning attempt to re-read Marx as our contemporary. Against the defeatist consolations of so-called "post-critical" theory and neoliberal fantasies of capitalist progression, this remarkable book shows how we need Marx’s critical and emancipatory perspective more than ever. The lesson is that a critical theory of architecture will be Marxian, or it will not be at all.’
David Cunningham, Institute for Modern and Contemporary Culture, University of Westminster‘In his latest book, Architecture or Revolution, architectural philosopher Nadir Lahiji argues cogently and fiercely for what he calls the "right to shelter." Shelter is more than a roof over one’s head, more than what Le Corbusier described as "a primal instinct." It’s a human right inherently linked to a political philosophy—to a fundamental commitment to equality. Starting from a rereading of Marx and the French Revolution, Lahiji calls for architecture to move beyond capitalist complaisance and nihilism and take a revolutionary stance, one that conjoins aesthetics and ethics with a critique of political economy. A fervent cry from the contemporary barricades.’
Joan Ockman, Vincent Scully Visiting Professor of Architectural History, Yale University‘With Architecture or Revolution, Nadir Lahiji provides the most thorough attempt to conceive an emancipatory theory of building that anyone has yet tried. His book doesn’t just propose a Marxist theory of architecture, but engages architecture as itself a form of Marxist practice. The insights are stunning, and the ramifications are far-reaching.’
Todd McGowan, University of Vermont‘In Lahiji’s Architecture or Revolution, le Corbusier’s pronouncement, "Architecture or Revolution" is, perhaps for the first time, analyzed seriously. Examined in the context of the French Revolution and the revolutions projected by Corb’s philosophic contemporaries, "revolution" is shown to be the logical option that Corb so incorrectly dismisses. Lahiji makes the argument that, starting with Corb, architects, especially in the academy, have eradicated both the idea of a true revolution and the critical framework we need to articulate its necessity.’
Peggy Deamer, Yale School of Architecture, emerita

"An urgent and passionate call for architecture to awaken from its current dogmatic slumber, Nadir Lahiji’s Architecture or Revolution is also a stunning attempt to re-read Marx as our contemporary. Against the defeatist consolations of so-called ‘post-critical’ theory and neoliberal fantasies of capitalist progression, this remarkable book shows how we need Marx’s critical and emancipatory perspective more than ever. The lesson is that a critical theory of architecture will be Marxian, or it will not be at all." - David Cunningham, Institute for Modern and Contemporary Culture, University of Westminster"In his latest book, Architecture or Revolution, architectural philosopher Nadir Lahiji argues cogently and fiercely for what he calls the "right to shelter." Shelter is more than a roof over one’s head, more than what Le Corbusier described as "a primal instinct." It’s a human right inherently linked to a political philosophy—to a fundamental commitment to equality. Starting from a rereading of Marx and the French Revolution, Lahiji calls for architecture to move beyond capitalist complaisance and nihilism and take a revolutionary stance, one that conjoins aesthetics and ethics with a critique of political economy. A fervent cry from the contemporary barricades." - Joan Ockman, Vincent Scully Visiting Professor of Architectural History, Yale University"With Architecture or Revolution, Nadir Lahiji provides the most thorough attempt to conceive an emancipatory theory of building that anyone has yet tried. His book doesn’t just propose a Marxist theory of architecture but engages architecture as itself a form of Marxist practice. The insights are stunning, and the ramifications are far-reaching." - Todd McGowan, University of Vermont"In Lahiji’s Architecture or Revolution, le Corbusier’s pronouncement, “Architecture or Revolution” is, perhaps for the first time, analyzed seriously. Examined in the context of the French Revolution and the revolutions projected by Corb’s philosophic contemporaries, “revolution” is shown to be the logical option that Corb so incorrectly dismisses. Lahiji makes the argument that, starting with Corb, architects, especially in the academy, have eradicated both the idea of a true revolution and the critical framework we need to articulate its necessity." - Peggy Deamer, Yale School of Architecture, emerita