Writing Atmosphere: Experiments in Spatial and Environmental Writing

David Gissen, California College of the Arts

Discussant: M. Christine Boyer, Architecture, Princeton University

David Gissen is a historian, theorist, curator and critic whose work examines histories and theories of architecture, landscapes, environments and cities, primarily in the 19th and 20th century. His recent work focuses on developing experimental forms of historical practice, writing, and translation to depict the spaces, environments, and landscapes of the past.

The participants will discuss images of historic writings from within and at the peripheries of the disciplines of architecture and urbanism. Collectively, these writings suggest possibilities for writing architecture and the city and with several examples operating outside the conventions of history, theory and criticism.