"13 Ways of Looking at Architectural Theory" is a hands-on tool for use in the investigative processes of architectural thinking, writing and drawing, and is a useful supplement to main textbooks. It enhances the learning experience by successfully combining the theories that are the foundation of architectural study, and the poetry behind the architectural process.
The book strongly references and aligns with Robert Harbison's "Thirteen Ways: Theoretical Investigations in Architecture." Following Harbison's progression of ideas the topics covered in the book include: sculpture; machines; the body; landscape; models; ideas; politics; the sacred; subjectivity, and memory. Rather than being text-heavy and seeing students as passive readers, "13 Ways of Looking at Architecture" includes several features that allow students to relate to the concepts, to visualize, and to participate. In each chapter students will find: example sketches from the author and previous students; invitations for students to draw and write their own ideas; prose sections demonstrating architecture's link with poetry by connecting topics in the book to Wallace Steven's poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird"; and over 100 original poems, which are used as lesson examples.
Glenn NP Nowak, Foundation Program Coordinator and Interim Director of the UNLV Downtown Design Center, teaches architectural theory and design studio at introductory and advanced levels. He founded the Hospitality Design (HD) Concentration where he co-teaches with architects from several major firms. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture at Ball State University and his Master of Architecture at Cornell University. He continues to investigate the poetics of space and the architectonics of writing.