Neil Leach
Encyclopedia
Neil Leach is an architect and theorist. He teaches at the University of Southern California
and has taught at the University of Brighton
, University of Bath
, Architectural Association School of Architecture
, University of Nottingham
, Columbia University
, Cornell University
, SCI-Arc, Royal Danish Academy of Art
, Dessau Institute of Architecture
, and Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia
. He was the co-curator (with Xu Wei-Guo) of the A2 Exhibition of Avant-Garde Architecture at the Architecture Biennial Beijing 2004, the Emerging Talents, Emerging Technologies Exhibition at the Architecture Biennial Beijing 2006, the (Im)material Processes Exhibition at the Architecture Biennial Beijing 2008, and the Machinic Processes Exhibition at the Architecture Biennial Beijing 2010. He was also the co-curator (with Roland Snooks) of the Swarm Intelligence: Architectures of Multi-Agent Systems Exhibition in Shanghai in 2010, and (with Philip Yuan) of the DigitalFUTURE Exhibition in Shanghai in 2011.
Leach's position in regards to architectural theory was first set out in the "cultural reader" he edited, Rethinking Architecture (1997). The book contained a selection of well-known writings about architecture written by thinkers within Continental Philosophy
, ranging from Hermeneutics and Phenomenology to Structuralism
and Deconstruction
, prefaced by Leach's own introductions. Among the authors included were: Jacques Derrida
, Martin Heidegger
, Umberto Eco
, Michel Foucault
, Jean Baudrillard
and Andrew Benjamin
. What the selection set out to represent was a rethinking of architectural practice; making it a critical activity, not simply accepting the given paradigm
, while at the same time placing architecture within the realm of cultural studies
.
His more recent work has developed in the direction of materialism and computation, inspired in part by the work of Gilles Deleuze
and Manuel DeLanda but also by new scientific thinking. This informs his curatorial work and design teaching which engage extensively with scripting and digital fabrication. He is the co-recipient of a NASA
grant to explore the potential use of the robotic fabrication technology, Contour Crafting
, for building structures on the Moon
.
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and has taught at the University of Brighton
University of Brighton
The University of Brighton is an English university of the United Kingdom, with a community of over 23,000 students and 2,600 staff based on campuses in Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings. It has one of the best teaching quality ratings in the UK and a strong research record, factors which...
, University of Bath
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
, Architectural Association School of Architecture
Architectural Association School of Architecture
The Architectural Association School of Architecture, more usually known as the AA, is an architectural school in London, United Kingdom...
, University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, SCI-Arc, Royal Danish Academy of Art
Royal Danish Academy of Art
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts has provided a practice-oriented complement to the scholarly investigation of the arts carried out at Danish universities for more than 250 years, playing a crucial part in the development of the distinctive tradition of the art of Denmark.- History :The Royal...
, Dessau Institute of Architecture
Dessau Institute of Architecture
Dessau Institute of Architecture is a graduate unit within the Faculty of Architecture and Building Engineering in Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Dessau, Germany. The institute runs a four semester professional masters program in architecture, which is taught in the English language...
, and Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia
Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia
The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia is a cutting edge education and research centre dedicated to the development of an architecture capable of meeting the worldwide challenges in the construction of habitability in the early 21st century...
. He was the co-curator (with Xu Wei-Guo) of the A2 Exhibition of Avant-Garde Architecture at the Architecture Biennial Beijing 2004, the Emerging Talents, Emerging Technologies Exhibition at the Architecture Biennial Beijing 2006, the (Im)material Processes Exhibition at the Architecture Biennial Beijing 2008, and the Machinic Processes Exhibition at the Architecture Biennial Beijing 2010. He was also the co-curator (with Roland Snooks) of the Swarm Intelligence: Architectures of Multi-Agent Systems Exhibition in Shanghai in 2010, and (with Philip Yuan) of the DigitalFUTURE Exhibition in Shanghai in 2011.
Leach's position in regards to architectural theory was first set out in the "cultural reader" he edited, Rethinking Architecture (1997). The book contained a selection of well-known writings about architecture written by thinkers within Continental Philosophy
Continental philosophy
Continental philosophy, in contemporary usage, refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from mainland Europe. This sense of the term originated among English-speaking philosophers in the second half of the 20th century, who used it to refer to a range of thinkers and...
, ranging from Hermeneutics and Phenomenology to Structuralism
Structuralism
Structuralism originated in the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure and the subsequent Prague and Moscow schools of linguistics. Just as structural linguistics was facing serious challenges from the likes of Noam Chomsky and thus fading in importance in linguistics, structuralism...
and Deconstruction
Deconstruction
Deconstruction is a term introduced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his 1967 book Of Grammatology. Although he carefully avoided defining the term directly, he sought to apply Martin Heidegger's concept of Destruktion or Abbau, to textual reading...
, prefaced by Leach's own introductions. Among the authors included were: Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
, Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."...
, Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
, Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
, Jean Baudrillard
Jean Baudrillard
Jean Baudrillard was a French sociologist, philosopher, cultural theorist, political commentator, and photographer. His work is frequently associated with postmodernism and post-structuralism.-Life:...
and Andrew Benjamin
Andrew Benjamin
Andrew Benjamin is an Australian philosopher and Professor of Critical Theory at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Benjamin first came to critical attention with his writings in continental philosophy, writing articles and editing books on the thinking of Martin Heidegger, Theodor Adorno,...
. What the selection set out to represent was a rethinking of architectural practice; making it a critical activity, not simply accepting the given paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
, while at the same time placing architecture within the realm of cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
.
His more recent work has developed in the direction of materialism and computation, inspired in part by the work of Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze , was a French philosopher who, from the early 1960s until his death, wrote influentially on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes of Capitalism and Schizophrenia: Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus , both co-written with Félix...
and Manuel DeLanda but also by new scientific thinking. This informs his curatorial work and design teaching which engage extensively with scripting and digital fabrication. He is the co-recipient of a NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
grant to explore the potential use of the robotic fabrication technology, Contour Crafting
Contour Crafting
Contour Crafting is a construction process under development by Behrokh Khoshnevis of the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute that uses a computer-controlled crane or gantry to build edifices rapidly and efficiently without manual labor. It was originally conceived...
, for building structures on the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
.
Publications
- On the Art of Building in Ten Books with Joseph Rykwert (1988, 1991)
- Rethinking Architecture - editor (1997)
- Millennium Culture (1999)
- The Anaesthetics of Architecture (1999)
- Architecture and Revolution - editor (1999)
- Mars Pants with Oliver Froome-Lewis et al. (2000)
- Designing for a Digital World - editor (2002)
- The Hieroglyphics of Space - editor (2002)
- China (2004)
- Fast Forward>>, Hot Spots, Brain Cells - co-editor with Xu Wei-Guo (2004)
- Digital Tectonics - co-editor with David Turnbull and Chris Williams (2004)
- Emerging Talents, Emerging Technologies: Architects - co-editor with Xu Wei-Guo (2006)
- Emerging Talents, Emerging Technologies: Students - co-editor with Xu Wei-Guo (2006)
- Forget Heidegger (2006)
- Camouflage (2006)
- (Im)material Processes: Architects - co-editor with Xu Wei-Guo (2008)
- (Im)material Processes: Students - co-editor with Xu Wei-Guo (2008)
- Digital Cities - editor (2009)
- Machinic Processes: Architects - co-editor with Xu Wei-Guo (2010)
- Machinic Processes: Students - co-editor with Xu Wei-Guo (2010)
- Swarm Intelligence: Architectures of Multi-Agent Systems - co-editor with Roland Snooks (forthcoming)
- Fabricating the Future - co-editor with Philip Yuan (forthcoming)
- Scripting the Future - co-editor with Philip Yuan (forthcoming)