The Guardian architecture book selection

The Guardian selected Mortal Cities & Forgotten Monuments as one of the best architecture books of 2016.

The Guardian’s architecture critic and journalist Rowan Moore selected the latest edition of Mortal Cities & Forgotten Monuments as one of the best architecture books of 2016 :
‘Most of the time the pursuit of architecture is not as serious as its practitioners would like us to think. It can add to or detract from human joy or, by acting as the background of the events of our lives, impart a subtle influence to them. It is not generally a matter of life or death. Which makes two of this year’s books, about the relation of buildings to violent conflict, stand apart from the normal run of musings about the design of buildings.’

‘The other is Mortal Cities Forgotten Monuments (University of Chicago Press £35) by Arna Mačkić, a Bosnian-born architect who as a child fled to Holland with her family. In her book she returns to Mostar, whose famous and beautiful bridge, a symbol and instrument of the peaceful co-existence of communities, was destroyed in Bosnia’s war. She reflects on the effects of war on cities and on the successes and failures of Mostar’s rebuilding, and proposes ways of rebuilding Bosnia’s heritage. Both Mačkić’s and al-Sabouni’s writings are remarkable for their calm perceptions in the face of horrors.’

Rowan Moore, the Guardian, Tuesday 6 December 2016
Rowan Moore’s best architecture books of 2016 

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