Cornell Journal of Architecture Releases Spirits, Volume 10

Focusing on the worlds beyond the physical manifestation of architecture, "Spirits," volume 10 of the Cornell Journal of Architecture will be released on Halloween.

"This issue threads together many readings of spirits — from the virtual to the atmospheric, from ghost cities to haunted houses, and from representation to alcohol," says Editor-in-Chief Caroline O'Donnell, Edgar A. Tafel Assistant Professor of Architecture and the director of the M.Arch. program. "The journal's themes aim to be of Cornell but also span from the traditional to the avant-garde. Thus, issue nine's theme — mathematics — recalled Colin Rowe's 'Mathematics of the Ideal Villa' and notions of proportion in architecture, while also engaging in new architectural methodologies involving computation. 'Spirits' talks about the intangible and invisible parts of architecture, from the traditional notions like Genius Loci — spirit of place — to the virtual."

The Cornell Journal of Architecture is conceptualized, designed, and reviewed by students, who participate in a theory and representation class dedicated to producing the journal. ARCH 4300 Architectural Publications: Sojourns, led by O'Donnell during the spring 2015 semester, focused on interviewing and editing as well as illustrating and producing "Spirits."

"One change for this issue, partly due to feedback and partly in relation to the theme, was a concerted effort to increase the drawings to balance the words more evenly," says O'Donnell. "It has always been our position that drawings and images should be as legible as words. For 'Spirits,' we included diptych images that connect the next with the previous articles."

Contributions to "Spirits" include "What Keeps You Up at Night?" by Diana Agrest; "Ghost Cities of the Twenty-First Century," by Jeffrey Johnson; "Dash," by Jimenez Lai; "Phenomenal Animisms: Parasols, Spirits, and Malicious Houses," by Spyros Papapetros; and "Black Whisky," by Dexter Sinister. The students who comprised the editorial board of "Spirits" include Snigdha Agarwal (M.Arch. '15), Stephanie Cheung (B.Arch. '18), Siobhan Lee (M.Arch. '16), Maur Dessauvage (B.Arch. '16), Katie Donahue (M.Arch. '15), Jennifer Kathleen Dumler '15, Peta Feng (B.Arch. '16), Andreea Gulerez (M.Arch. '16), Jose Ibarra (B.Arch. '16), Tamara Z. Jamil (B.Arch. '16), John Lai (B.Arch. '17), Whitney Liang (M.Arch. '16), Nikki Liao (B.Arch. '15), Apexa Patel (M.Arch. '16), and Gosia Pawlowska (B.Arch. '16), and Whitney Van Houten (M.Arch '16).

"Spirits" can be read online at cornelljournalofarchitecture.cornell.edu, and purchased at the Cornell Book Store, Buffalo Street Books, McNally Jackson Books in New York City, and select architecture bookstores worldwide as well as on amazon.com.

By Rebecca Bowes