The architecture of James Stirling – practising as Stirling and Gowan, then James Stirling, Michael Wilford and Associates – is notoriously hard to write about. The work appears riddled with contradictions: simultaneously modern and archaic; playful and serious; scholarly, yet curiously resistant to critical interpretation. Indeed, Stirling’s architecture no longer seems particularly current: flippant, joyful and excessive, when our times seem to call for moderation, discretion and reliability. This talk begins with my ongoing failure – against my better judgement – not to write about Stirling’s architecture, discusses themes of play and projection, and reflects on why the work seems so hard to interpret.
About Professor Adam Sharr
Adam Sharr is Professor of Architecture at Newcastle University, Editor-in-Chief of arq: Architectural Research Quarterly, Series Editor of Thinkers for Architects, and Principal of the Design Office design research consultancy, listed in the AJ’s 40 Under 40 in 2020. He is author or editor of eight books including Modern Architecture: A Very Short Introduction (2018); Demolishing Whitehall: Leslie Martin, Harold Wilson and the Architecture of White Heat (2017, 2010); and Heidegger’s Hut (2017, 2006).
Lecture Series
Each year the History of Architecture and Built Environment (HABE) research group in ESALA welcomes guest speakers and colleagues to present an evening seminar on their research. The events are a fantastic opportunity to hear about the latest research in the field from researchers working in the UK, Europe and beyond. These events are free to attend, and attract an international online audience as well as being a way for all those in the University with an interest in the history of the built environment to come together as a community.
University students (of all levels) and staff are encouraged to attend on campus, with the seminars usually taking place in the Elliot Room at Minto House, 20 Chambers Street.
View the complete event series with registration links:
