This week I want you to read Evelyn Waugh's short and humourous novel Decline and Fall. Alongside this I want you to read the section on the barrage (construction of a dam) from Le Corbusier's City of Tomorrow, partly this is to augment your understanding of the Faustian imperative (see below).
It is in Waugh's character of Prof Silinus, who we should take seriously as an effective parody, that we can see some home truths in the character of the organizer architect. Waugh was no stranger to architectural criticism, and wrote a relatively gushing review of L-C's 'City of Tomorrow' whilst clearly in two minds. It is of course the mark of a first class intellect to be able to juggle two opposite ideas in your head at the same time and still function.
For those now running short of time, Professor Otto Silinus enters Waugh's story in Part Two, in the chapter titled 'King's Thursday' (pg 115 in my edition). L-C's discussion of the dam happens around page 140 in my edition of the 'City of Tomorrow'.
P.S. You will find my own interpretation of the significance of Waugh's Prof Silinus recently posted on my blog: Architecture and Other Habits (pauldaviesarchitecture.blogspot.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment