Architecture, Power and National Identity

The first editionofArchitecture, Power, and National Identity, published in 1992, has become a classic,winning theprestigious Spiro Kostof award for the best book in architecture and urbanism. Lawrence Valefully has fully updated the book, which focuses on the relationship between the design of national capitals across the world and the formation of national identity in modernity. Tied to this,it explains the role that architecture and planning play in the forceful assertion of state power. The book is truly international in scope, looking at capital cities in the United States, India, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Bangladesh, and Papua New Guinea. It is richly illustrated, with 165 halftones.

Lawrence Vale is the Head of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT.