All Over the Map Writing on Buildings and Cities Michael Sorkin Robert Hughes once described Michael Sorkin as “unique in America––brave, principled, highly informed and fiercely funny.” All Over the Map confirms all of these superlatives as Sorkin assaults “the national security city, with its architecture of manufactured fear.”
Twenty Minutes in Manhattan Michael Sorkin The walk from my apartment in Greenwich Village to my studio in Tribeca takes about twenty minutes, depending upon the route and whether I stop for a coffee and the Times. Invariably, though, it begins with a trip down the stairs. And so sets out architecture critic Michael Sorkin on his daily walk from his home in a Manhattan old-law-style tenement building. Sorkin has followed the same path for over fifteen years, a route that has allowed him to observe the startling transformations in New York during this period of great change.… Read More »
Indefensible Space The Architecture of the National Insecurity State Michael Sorkin Showing how the upswell of paranoia and growing demand for security in the post-9/11 world has paradoxically created widespread insecurity, these varied essays examine how this anxiety-laden mindset erodes spaces both architectural and personal, encroaching on all aspects of everyday life. Starting from the most literal level—barricades and barriers in front of buildings, beefed up border patrols, gated communities, “safe rooms,”—to more abstract levels—enhanced surveillance at public spaces… Read More »
Against The Wall Israel's Barrier to Peace Michael Sorkin Called a “security fence” by the Israeli government and the “apartheid wall” by Palestinians, the barrier currently under construction in the West Bank has been the subject of intense controversy since the first olive tree was uprooted in its path. In violation of a ruling by the International Court of Justice and a resolution by the United Nations General Assembly, the structure juts deep inside Palestinian territory, altering not only the geographical landscape, but the political one as well. This groundbreaking book… Read More »
Whereabouts New Architecture with Local Identities Michael Sorkin, Susanna Sirefman Whereabouts is a study of eight prominent young North American architecture firms. For the most part working within a vocabulary of late modernism, these firms — two from each point of the compass — have been strongly influenced by regional concerns. Shim/Sutcliffe of Toronto and Brian MacKay-Lyons of Nova Scotia stand for the North; from the South are the offices of Rick Joy and Wendell Burnette, both of Phoenix. SHoP, based in New York City, and Wesley Wei, based in Philadelphia, are the firms… Read More »
Starting From Zero Reconstructing Downtown New York Michael Sorkin Architect and social critic Michael Sorkin develops his own vision of the future lower Manhattan through a series of chronologically organized essays illustrated with full-color images of his own plans. Mixing his inimitable brand of social criticism with more personal reflections, Starting From Zero offers a striving challenge to the Ground Zero redevelopment plan recently chosen by New York’s establishment insiders.
The Next Jerusalem Sharing the Divided City Michael Sorkin This important collection brings together noted Israeli, Palestinian, and American architects and urbanists to consider the physical future of Jerusalem and to offer specific proposals for making the city functional, beautiful, and physically generous to its inhabitants’ needs. The essays focus on issues of ecology, preservation, neighborhood development, and open space. While the authors take a variety of approaches, all agree on the necessity of sharing the city amicably.
Other Plans Michael Sorkin Architect, writer, teacher–and agent provocateur–Michael Sorkin was commissioned by the University of Chicago in 1998 to produce an “alternative” master plan for its architectural revitalization. His studio had barely begun before they were dropped from the process. In the capacity of concerned alumnus, however, Sorkin and his group soldiered on and, in Pamphlet Architecture 22, present their background studies and proposed schemes, shown here in models and colorful drawings.This critical analysis of the official plans adopted by the University… Read More »
After the World Trade Center Rethinking New York City Michael Sorkin The terrorist attacks of September 11 have created an unprecedented public discussion about the uses and meanings of the central area of lower Manhattan that was once the World Trade Center. While the city sifts through the debris, contrary forces shaping its future are at work. Developers jockey to control the right to rebuild “ground zero.” Financial firms line up for sweetheart deals while proposals for memorials are gaining in appeal. In After the World Trade Center, eminent social critics Sharon Zukin and… Read More »
Some Assembly Required Michael Sorkin is widely hailed as one of the best architecture critics writing today. Iconoclastic and often controversial, he is a witty, entertaining, yet ultimately serious writer. In this new collection, Sorkin reviews the state of contemporary architecture and surveys the dramatic changes in the urban environment of the past decade. From New York to New Delhi, from Shanghai to Cairo, Sorkin offers a sweeping assessment of the impact of globalization, environmental degradation, electronic media, rapid growth, and the legacies of modernist planning… Read More »
Last Updated: 07/28/2025 20:25