Reinier de Graaf’s Architect, Verb Explores Myth and Meaning

The OMA partner’s third book traces the history and terms that dominate architectural discourse today.

By: Jaxson Stone

“Architecture, it seems, has landed on the wrong side of history,” writes Dutch architect Reinier de Graaf in the introduction to his new book Architect, Verb. De Graaf, who is also a partner in the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), states that while the industry confronts the most pressing issues of our time (economic inequality, climate change, and human rights), “the discipline has not made a good showing.”

With dry wit, humor, and honesty, the architect sets out to debunk the myths of contemporary architecture by asking questions like “Who determines how to measure a ‘green building’?” and “Why is Vancouver more livable than Vienna?” Through these questions he challenges industry buzzwords such as “starchitecture,” “livability,” and “sustainability,” among other trendy terms. In a satirical appendix to the book, de Graaf includes a section titled “The Principles of Profspeak,” a word he loosely characterizes as a “testament to the promiscuity of jargon” and “semantic opportunism at its best.” When it comes to terms like “evidence-based design,” “green,” and “wellness,” what do they really mean? And more important, who determines their meaning?