ARCHITECTURE OF NORMAL BY DANIEL KAVEN

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ARCHITECTURE OF NORMAL BY DANIEL KAVEN

$75.00

Published by Birkhäuser | $75 | ISBN 978-3-0356-2438-0
456 pages | 8.5 x 11 in. | Cloth-covered hardback

— 2022 GRAY Awards Winner in Product Design —

Daniel Kaven’s Architecture of Normal explores the dissonance between the overwhelming American landscape and the underwhelming architecture of its strip malls, fast food chains, motels and tract housing. Part travelogue, art book and architectural survey, the book charts the patterns created by reigning modes of transportation and examines how we came to accept the bland, branded boxes lining America’s streets and freeways. Beginning with a portrait of ambulatory Native American societies and the introduction of horses by the Spanish, Kaven discusses the built environment as it has been shaped by trains, cars, planes and rockets, and looks toward a future architecture defined by autonomous cars and air taxis. This highly visual narrative includes extensive historical photography and Kaven’s own art.

"Part Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and part Learning from Las Vegas, this honest portrayal of the connection between urbanization and colonization from Portland-based artist Daniel Kaven is a cornucopia of visual imagery."

—Sean Ruthen, Spacing Magazine

"Kaven has assembled an enticing visual narrative that includes extensive historical photography, architecture commentary, personal anecdote and original art. It serves as a critical travelogue of what the world accepts as the American landscape, but leaves the door open for further debate over whether it is a dream-scape or nightmare."

—Steven Heller, The Daily Heller / PRINT Magazine

“Architecture of Normal: The Colonization of the American Landscape reads like an enthralling textbook—a breezy history teeming with photography, original artwork, and timelines—even as its author offers a more cautionary take on what we have wrought.”

—Brian Libby, Metropolis

"We shelve this in Architecture, but this was my favorite History book of the year. Through images, narrative, and a detailed timeline, Kaven shows how the American Southwest went from a pristine landscape populated by people who were one with the land to a giant homogenized strip-mall."

—Brad L., Bookseller at Harvard Book Store

"Kaven has crafted a thoroughly researched and well-reasoned treatise in which he argues that historical eras’ dominant modes of transportation — walking on foot, riding horses, trains, cars, and airplanes — have inexorably influenced our public and private spaces."

—Richard Speer, The Democracy Chain

"An instructive and aesthetically stunning collage."

—Kai Spanke, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

"There is a clear chronological progression to the chapters, one that traces the physical history of the United States from Native American building complexes in the Southwest around 1500 years ago to the present, and billionaires building rockets that take off from spaceports in the same part of the country.”

—John Hill, Archidose

"The bland sameness that characterizes much of the American built environment is fertile ground for architectural criticism. Daniel Kaven, architect and artist, offers a new entry in this genre describing the impact on the United States of successive eras of transportation technologies in Architecture of Normal: the Colonization of the American Landscape."

—Amy Trendler, Art Libraries Society of North America


PRESS:

Metropolis
"On the Road or in the Air, Daniel Kaven Sees the Journey as Destination" by Brian Libby

The Daily Heller / PRINT Magazine
"The Reality and Mythology of American Transport" by Steven Heller

Spacing Magazine
Book Review: Architecture of Normal: The Colonization of the American Landscape by Sean Ruthen

ICON Magazine
"How did transport shape the American landscape?" by Francesca Perry

In the Design Lounge
Interview with Daniel Kaven: "Has the Evolution of Transportation Made the Experience of Travel Irrelevant?" with host Brandon Gaston

The Democracy Chain
"Daniel Kaven, Architecture of Normal: The Colonization of the American Landscape" by Richard Speer

Gray Magazine
"Architect Daniel Kaven Releases New Book: Portland-based Kaven looks at the evolution of the built environment in the United States" by Rachel Gallaher

Archidose
Review of Architecture of Normal by John Hill

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
"Zum Shoppen in die desolate Komfortzone" by Kai Spanke

Art Libraries Society of North America
Review: Architecture of Normal: The Colonization of the American Landscape by Amy Trendler

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"In the West, the extended range of jets and the decrease in the cost of air travel gave rise to remote cities, which quickly became global destinations. Las Vegas, in particular, with its legalized gambling and penchant for grandiose entertainm
"Henry Ford understood the power of specialization and the value of providing labor with high-paying, stable jobs. The Model T would lead the way in popularizing auto transport in America. Operating an automobile proved to be less expensive than
"Albuquerque, as she stands today, is a remnant of America’s enduring drive to be first and win at all costs. The supremacy of Cornelius Vanderbilt, Henry Ford and the Wright Brothers is manifest block by block and street by street in Albu
"Kaven has crafted a thoroughly researched and well-reasoned treatise in which he argues that historical eras’ dominant modes of transportation — walking on foot, riding horses, trains, cars, and airplanes — have inexorably inf
@boston lists 'Architecture of Normal' as one of "6 Books You Should Read This July, According to Local Booksellers": "If you’re a visual learner and a lover of history and design, this book is for you. Bookseller Brad Lennon sa
"After seeing the autobahns of modern Germany and knowing the asset those highways were to the Germans, I decided, as president, to put an emphasis on this kind of road building, The old convoy [along the Lincoln Highway] had started me thinking
"As business districts and shopping districts continued to spread out, large, purpose-built retailers rapidly expanded and began building their own regional distribution networks in tandem with their continued interstate expansion. In some cases
"The explosion of the suburbs created long boulevards that could cultivate driver-centric architecture and advertising. Signs and buildings screaming for the attention of those cruising along invaded American cities and towns. By the 1940s and 1
"In my mind, this world of strip malls, billboards and multi-national brands was everywhere. We would take road trips to neighboring states in our Jeep Wagoneer and it all looked like Albuquerque—same freeways, same restaurants, same strip
AON on the coffee table at @williamkaven's recently completed Royal II Residence. #architectureofnormal #booksinthewild #danielkaven #williamkavenarchitecture #architecture #art #design #americanarchitecture #photography #culture #historyofarchitect
"The railroads themselves minted unprecedented fortunes. A collection of very few men—including Stanford, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan—was able to gain control of the rail system by building it, commanding the freight that
"In 1964, a World’s Fair was held in Queens, New York. At the helm was Robert Moses, a master builder who had been in charge of much of the public works construction of highways and parks in New York City. It was there, over the fair&rsquo
“Architecture of Normal reads like an enthralling textbook—a breezy history teeming with photography, original artwork, and timelines—even as its author offers a more cautionary take on what we have wrought.” —Brian Lib
"Returning man to explore space has continued to be a politically complex mission since Apollo. There have been numerous trips to space to facilitate satellites and the International Space Station, but interplanetary exploration has not been on
"Main Street business in downtowns across America, which had continued to prosper with the popularization of the car in the first half of the 20th century, eroded after the creation of the Interstate Highway System and the rise of destination ma
"The San Estévan del Rey Mission Church is a still-extant structure that stands out from the humble adobe structures that are prevalent on the mesa. The church, which was established by the Spanish and built on the backs of the Acoma, is
1873: Invention of the streetcar. 1904: New York City’s subway system is built. 1904: Rocket pioneer Robert Goddard first introduces the concept of vacuum tube trains, or vactrains, which would go from Boston to New York in just 12 minutes.
"The new wide boulevards of the West streamed off the freeways, accommodating recently constructed malls and collecting new and older brands like McDonald’s, Dairy Queen and Kentucky Fried Chicken. The similarity of the local conditions an
Happy Birthday to the Pony Express, which was born #onthisday in 1860. "In the 1860s, the creation of the Pony Express would inaugurate horse-relay delivery as an alternative to steamship mail delivery to accommodate the rapid population growth
"The disintegration of the city is well on its way. People have abandoned the most desirable commercial and residential locations in cities, close to the centers of activity, in order to escape from annoyances and inconveniences. This unplanned