Real and Fake in Architecture: Close to the Original, Far from Authenticity

The condition of »fake« and »real« in architectureis rarely publicly discussed nor has it encounteredbroad journalistic or scholarly attention.This book explores the realm of truth, authenticityand fakery in architecture, providinga timely collection of analytical essays and projects.Photographers, writers and architectsshare their understanding and speculationsabout a broad range of spaces and concepts –all searching for common ground between realand imagined, function and story.The authors challenge our perception of »authenticity« through the examination of built andsimulated environments, architectural fiction,theatric illusions and mannerist trickery. Theyexamine the notion that the principle of Sullivan’s»form follows function« contains a paradoxcaused by the ambiguity and complexity of architecturalexpression. Buildings are perceivedthrough an individual’s personal experienceswhile also being interpreted along broader culturalvalues. The works shown reveal that underscrutiny, any built environment harbors both, revealsmoments of truth, deception and ambiguity– all of it partially in the eye of the beholder.The diverse contributions shed light on unexpectedidentities in architecture inviting criticalthought about our built environment – analogand digital.The goal of this publication goes beyond unmaskingdeception in architecture, it aims atunfolding time-lines and revealing the layerednature of people and places. The images andessays reveal our contemporary condition andlet collective and individual narratives unfold, arange of truths in themselves. Expanding fromthe discussion about truthful materiality and tectonics,this book provides an understanding ofreal, authentic, and fake in urbanism and architecture