Real and Fake in Architecture

Schultz, Anne Catrin
Anne-Catrin Schultz studied architecture in Stuttgart and Florence. Following post-doctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technoloy in Boston, she worked for several years with Turnbull Griffin Haesloop and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in San Francisco. While developing her own practice, she has taught at the University of California in Berkeley, the California College of the Arts and the Academy of Arts University in San Francisco. In 2013 she joined the Department of Architecture at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.

The condition of "fake" and "real" in architecture
is rarely publicly discussed nor has it encountered
broad journalistic or scholarly attention.
This book explores the realm of truth, authenticity
and fakery in architecture, providing
a timely collection of analytical essays and projects.
Photographers, writers and architects
share their understanding and speculations
about a broad range of spaces and concepts -
all searching for common ground between real
and imagined, function and story.
The authors challenge our perception of "authenticity
" through the examination of built and
simulated environments, architectural fiction,
theatric illusions and mannerist trickery. They
examine the notion that the principle of Sullivan's
"form follows function" contains a paradox
caused by the ambiguity and complexity of architectural
expression. Buildings are perceived
through an individual's personal experiences
while also being interpreted along broader cultural
values. The works shown reveal that under
scrutiny, any built environment harbors both, reveals
moments of truth, deception and ambiguity
- all of it partially in the eye of the beholder.
The diverse contributions shed light on unexpected
identities in architecture inviting critical
thought about our built environment - analog
and digital.
The goal of this publication goes beyond unmasking
deception in architecture, it aims at
unfolding time-lines and revealing the layered
nature of people and places. The images and
essays reveal our contemporary condition and
let collective and individual narratives unfold, a
range of truths in themselves. Expanding from
the discussion about truthful materiality and tectonics,
this book provides an understanding of
real, authentic, and fake in urbanism and architecture.