Reinier de Graaf is Partner at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Rotterdam.
"Something of a revelation...[De Graaf] has produced an original
and even occasionally hilarious book about losing ideals and
finding them again...He deftly shows that architecture cannot be
better or more pure than the flawed humans who make it."-The
Economist
"[It] tells the stories that tend to get left out of official
histories, but which actually shape our physical environment...De
Graaf's book is sharp, revealing, funny, drily passionate and not
always encouraging."-Rowan Moore, The Guardian
"This is a book about power, money and influence, and
architecture's complete lack of any of them. It is a book not about
architecture's successes but about its failures. Witty, insightful
and funny, it is a (sometimes painful) dissection of a profession
that thinks it is still in control."-Edwin Heathcote, Financial
Times
"De Graaf is an excellent, witty and perceptive essayist. The heart
of the book is a series of astonishing accounts of the
protracted-and as it turns out, all doomed-sagas to get big urban
projects approved and built in London (just pre-crash), Moscow
(just pre-Putin), the Emirates (just pre-oil slump), and Kurdistan
(just pre-Isis). The way de Graaf builds up to each (in hindsight)
inevitable disappointment is masterly...He emerges as an unlikely,
deeply skeptical architectural Everyman."-Hugh Pearman, The
Spectator
"This is the most stimulating book on architecture and its practice
that I have read for years. Not only is de Graaf a good
anecdotalist (his hilarious account of a long-winded and fruitless
masterplanning competition in Russia should be turned into a film),
but a perceptive analyst of how architecture represents, or
connects with, wider political and economic movements and
trends."-Paul Finch, Architects' Journal
"Takes an idiosyncratic look at architectural history and dissects
contemporary practice-from the quotidian (and sometimes comic)
frustrations to the occasional triumphs and memorable
failures."-Josephine Minutillo, Architectural Record
"Provocative...De Graaf has no fixed method. But the impressive
extent and depth of his knowledge persistently inform his
meditations, which take in many subjects. His mood is invariable.
He is constantly and exhilaratingly cynical...Because he displays
such candor-albeit polished candor, and such a perfectly gauged
lack of tact-it is easy to forget that de Graaf is an architect, an
insider, part of the system he dissects...De Graaf is likely to
remain an architect for decades to come. In those circumstances,
his enthusiasm for biting the hand that feeds him is admirably
risky."-Jonathan Meades, Literary Review
"A refreshingly accessible, honest portrayal of a quixotic field
from someone within the most successful architecture firm in the
world today... One of the most intelligent, candid discussions on
architecture I have read to date. Thus, Four Walls and a
Roof offers an entertaining, penetrating, and much needed
primer on the current state of the profession and the contemporary
global forces influencing the built environment. A must-read list
for architects, planners, and urban designers alike."-Erick
Villagomez, Spacing
"Reinier de Graaf paints an honest picture of what it is like to
work as an architect today...[He] provides engaging stories about
the banal, everyday reality of working for an acclaimed firm. These
vivid, uncompromising narratives are contextualized with shrewd
essays about architecture's lost ideals, its false pretentions, and
utter dependence on forces far more powerful than design."-Mark
Minkjan, Failed Architecture
"Ruthlessly honest about what it is like to work at architecture
and wickedly cynical about how power works in our current economy,
Reinier de Graaf's vantage point from a top architectural firm
doesn't make him crow of success but, rather, pushes us architects,
for better or worse, to keep fighting the good fight. Reading
Four Walls and a Roof will make you laugh, cry, and so
identify."-Peggy Deamer, Yale School of Architecture
"The title of this book, provided by an innocent enquirer, has
provoked Reinier de Graaf into a shrewd, lucid, and engaging survey
of the architecture and building scene. He seems to have been
everywhere and listened to anyone who is-or has been-active and
influential in building and planning, from Prince Charles to
Buckminster Fuller. Yet he has also managed to direct attention to
some neglected personalities, past and present-Ernst Neufert,
Lucien Kroll. You will not find a better guide to planning,
building, and architecture of the last half-century!"-Joseph
Rykwert, Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania
"This is a terrific book. It weaves together reflections on design,
history, politics, and economics in a seamless and illuminating
manner, offering a kaleidoscopic portrait of the state of
architecture and its recent history. The writing is delightful,
always irreverent, and at times exceedingly funny."-Bernardo Zacka,
Research Fellow, Stanford University and University of Cambridge
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