Translations from Drawing to Building

Book excerpt: Introduction by Mohsen Mostafavi The late Robin Evans (1944-1993) was a highly original historian of architecture whose writings covered a wide range of concerns: society's role in the evolution and development of building types, aspects of geometry, modes of projection, military architecture, representation of all kinds. No matter what the topic, however, he always drew on firsthand experience, arriving at his insights from direct observation. This book brings together eight of Evans's most significant essays. Written over a period of twenty years, from 1970, when he graduated from the Architectural Association, to 1990, they represent the diverse interests of an agile and skeptical mind. The book includes an introduction by Mohsen Mostafavi, a chronological account of the development of Evans's writing by Robin Middleton, and a bibliography by Richard Difford. CONTENTS Towards Anarchitecture The Rights of Retreat and Rites of Exclusion: Notes Towards the Definition of Wall Figures, Doors and Passages Rookeries and Model Dwellings: English Housing Reform and the Moralities of Private Space Not to Be Used for Wrapping Purposes Translations from Drawing to Building The Developed Surface: An Enquiry into the Brief Life of an Eighteenth-Century Drawing Technique Mies van der Rohes Paradoxical Symmetries