Matthew Soules is an associate professor of architecture at the University of British Columbia and a graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD). Soules has been visiting faculty at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, a visiting associate professor at the GSD, and a guest critic at institutions throughout Canada and the United States. He is the founder and director of Matthew Soules Architecture.
""[A] compelling, chilling read which attacks the comforting notion
of home, forcing the reader to find their bearings and prepare the
ground for a different, concrete future."
- London School of Economics Review of Books,
"
""[A] whirlwind tour of the outrageous physical distortions, urban
warp zones, and typological mutants wreaked upon the global
landscape by the international finance industry."
- Architect's Newspaper,
"
""[A]ny knowledge architects can gain about the workings of
architecture within capitalism -- about the "numbers" -- can't be
all that bad. As such, this book is a very good place to
start."
- A Daily Dose of Architecture Books,
"
""In this utterly original book, Matthew Soules addresses the
phenomenon of 'the financialization of everything' that has been
described in recent years by scholars such as Saskia Sassen, and
depicts its profoundly disturbing effects on the world of
architecture."
- George Baird, Emeritus Professor of Architecture, University of
Toronto,
"
""It is hard to figure out what is most dazzling about Matthew
Soules's Icebergs, Zombies, and the Ultra Thin: the dissection of
the complex but very material nature of finance capital; the adroit
linking of real estate calculations to the physical shape of
housing; the exposure of how, in architecture, base (the money
equations) and superstructure (architectural aspiration) are
dialectically intertwined; the weaving of cultural and economic
theory with concrete facts; or the simultaneous breadth and depth
of examples. I think, ultimately, it's his reminder that--like the
goldfish asking, 'What water?'--architecture's inability to
comprehend its submersion in finance capital dooms both our urban
life and our architectural reputation."
- Peggy Deamer, editor of Architecture and Capitalism: 1845 to the
Present,
"
""It's useful to understand just why and how architecture mutated
to create these products of architectural Darwinism. At this,
Soules excels....Over eight chapters, the extent to which our
capitalist society determines architectural form is clearly and
concisely laid bare."
- Canadian Architect,
"
""Occasionally we read a book that really matters. This is one of
them."
- The Ormsby Review (Canada),
"
""Soules compellingly explains the workings of financial capitalism
and its consequences through global case studies."
- BOMB Magazine,
"
""Soules deftly weaves together social, political, economic, and
cultural theory with a variety of concrete physical examples to
explore the role that architecture serves in sustaining finance
capitalism. The result is a compelling and well-articulated
indictment of architecture's role not just in relation to finance
capitalism but its role as finance capitalism....Icebergs, Zombies
and the Ultra Thin is ultimately a very worthwhile read for anyone
who is interested in better understanding the physical ways in
which capitalism shapes our cities in the 21st century."
- Spacing (Canada),
"
""Soules' book lives up to its bizzaro title as he takes us on a
global tour of the weird ways in which financial forces are
mutating our built environments, from mountainside suburbs in Las
Vegas to houses wrapped by golf courses."
- The Tyee,
"
""Soules's excellent book makes sense of the capitalist forces we
all feel but cannot always name. Agency requires awareness;
Icebergs, Zombies, and the Ultra Thin arms architects and the
general public with an essential understanding of how capitalism
makes property. Required reading for those who think tomorrow can
be different from today."
- Jack Self, co-editor of Real Estates: Life Without Debt,
"
""The probing, surprising book provides vivid illustrations of the
changes that occur when a city's housing becomes a prime
destination for investment by the rich....Icebergs, Zombies and the
Ultra-Thin explains how the behavior of the world's so-called
high-net-worth-individuals, or HNWIs, exacerbates urban inequality
-- and is literally changing the layout and architecture of big or
desirable cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Miami and Melbourne."
- Vancouver Sun,
"
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