Description:
While writing a speech about the visual antecedents of the World Wide Web, I came across a copy of Robert Venturi's Learning From Las Vegas, and realized that much of what Venturi has to say in the '50s about Las Vegas architecture had great similarities to the appropriation of physical metaphors in cyberspace, and the compression of space and time into flatspace. Iconography and Electronics... is a thought-provoking collection of Venturi's essays, screeds, and articles (episodically) exploring the use of electronics in architectural design (despite the title's promise). Regardless of what you think of Venturi's architecture you are sure to be stimulated and challenged by his proposed marriage of the physical and the digital. However, if you've not read much architectural theory before, be forewarned: Venturi, like most in his field, prefers a turgid and dense style that sometimes seems to be the illegitimate spawn of early 20th century continental philosophy and MFA thesis proposals. Nonetheless, this book is Recommended.
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