This book is a free associative recount of the "I prefer not to..." lecture series staged by architect Peter Swinnen at the ETH Department of Architecture (Zürich). Twelve particular guests touch upon various attitudes of professional abstinence and/or obstinacy. In an offbeat manner, "I prefer not to..." can be understood as a critical re-assessment of architecture's social and political ethos, often tightly contained and devoid of any unforeseen mischief. Through the words, positions and works of the speaker guests "I prefer not to..." managed - for a brief moment - to install an unformatted stage for problematization and debate. Each lecture is introduced by an editor's note, contextualizing specific choices and unadapted zooms.

208pages

11×17.8cm

Softcover

English

October 2023

ISBN 9783753301358