This innovative edited collection charts the rise, fall and possible futures of the word primitive.

The word primitive is fundamental to the discipline of architecture in the west, providing a convenient starting point for the many myths of architecture's origins. Since the almost legendary 1970s conference on the Primitive, with the advent of post-modernism and, in particular, post-colonialism, the word has fallen from favour in many disciplines. Despite this, architects continue to use the word to mythologize and reify the practice of simplicity.

Primitive...

"I threw the cat among the pigeons that day, smiled sweetly, and said, "Thank you. I had hoped you might have given me a cookery book, or a gardening book. I am not going to study medicine. I am actually hoping to study domestic science, or failing that I will become a nanny and care for children." Father clenched his fists, slammed them down on the arms of his chair, and said "You will become a glorified maid over my dead body, and when you leave school in three months, you will do as you are told, or I will dismiss our daily maid and you can take over the cooking and cleaning at home." A...

Economy and Architecture addresses a timely, critical, and much-debated topic in both its historical and contemporary dimensions. From the Apple Store in New York City, to the street markets of the Pan American Highway; from commercial Dubai to the public schools of Australia, this book takes a critical look at contemporary architecture from across the globe, whilst extending its range back in history as far as the Homeric epics of ancient Greece.

The book addresses the challenges of practicing architecture within the strictures of contemporary economies, grounded on the...