American architect Lebbeus Woods (1940-2012) remains a quiet hero not only among his colleagues
but also for architectural students intrigued by the ideas and fluent beauty of his powerful
graphic verve as well as of his writing. His projects from the mid-1980s until the end of his
life have been widely published. However this AD in collaboration with the Estate of Lebbeus
Woods explores the earlier period beginning in the late 1960s when Woodswas honing his
draughtsmanship and theoretical positions while experimenting with a variety of themes and
different modes of expression. When he burst onto the international architectural scene with a
solo exhibition and accompanying catalogue (Lebbeus Woods: Origins) at the Architectural
Association London in 1985 some wondered how anyone could emerge so fully formed from
nowhere. Working against the logic of 'nowhere' this issue charts his early trajectory through
the largely unpublished drawings and texts linking them with what came after. Aiming to
generate new scholarship its roster of international interdisciplinary critics and
commentators offer a new understanding of Woods's work and of his formative years also shining
a light on how we might think about the 'early work' of any architect's career. Contributors:
Joseph Becker Aaron Betsky Peter Cook Mark Dorrian Riet Eeckhout Kevin Erickson Joerg
Gleiter Sharon Irish Eliyahu Keller Lawrence Rinder Ashley Simone Ben Sweeting.
