(Dossier Colin Rowe) Creative Redescriptions: The Operational Presence of the Past

Review of the book "The Mannerist Mind, An Architecture of Crisis", by Francisco González de Canales

Abstract

Francisco González de Canales' book “The Mannerist Mind” is a significant contribution to the field of architecture, extending academic interest from a vision centred on programme and performance towards the exploration of the figurative, language and expression in the built. This critical revision responds to the architectural homogenisation imposed by the market economy, recovering historical elements from a free and up-to-date perspective. The book, with a preface by Rafael Moneo, explores this transition through two parts: a first part that analyses the ‘formalist’ modernist tradition initiated by Venturi, and a second that examines the work of contemporary European architects such as Office KGDVS and 6a Architects. González de Canales stresses the importance of transformation over invention in architecture, proposing a political stance of resistance and cultural engagement of the architect, despite the current limitations and crisis in the sector.