ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Two New Books Explore the Politics of Transitional Architecture

publication · 2026-04-24

Two recent publications examine the political and social dimensions of transitional spaces in architecture. Helmut Puff's 'The Antechamber: Toward a History of Waiting' traces the evolution of antechambers from 1500 to 1800 in European aristocratic and bourgeois homes, arguing that these spaces choreographed social hierarchies through enforced waiting. Charles Rice's 'Atrium' focuses on the late 20th-century resurgence of the atrium, linking its popularity to neoliberal corporate strategies and building code incentives in New York circa 1961. Both books analyze how transitional architecture shapes human experience and reflects economic regimes. The review, by Hunter Dukes, draws on personal anecdotes of waiting in German bureaucratic spaces to illustrate the enduring relevance of these concepts.

Key facts

  • Two books reviewed: 'The Antechamber: Toward a History of Waiting' by Helmut Puff and 'Atrium' by Charles Rice.
  • Puff's book covers European antechambers from 1500 to 1800, focusing on aristocratic and bourgeois settings.
  • Rice's book examines the atrium's rise in the 1970s and 1980s, linked to New York building codes from 1961.
  • The review mentions Fredric Jameson's 1980s analysis of the Bonaventure Hotel atrium in Los Angeles.
  • Google purchased the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago in 2022, planning to refashion its atrium.
  • Puff's book is published by Stanford University Press (paperback, $30).
  • Rice's book is published by MIT Press (hardback, $44.95).
  • The reviewer, Hunter Dukes, is managing editor of Cabinet magazine and The Public Domain Review.

Entities

Artists

  • Helmut Puff
  • Charles Rice
  • Fredric Jameson
  • Hunter Dukes
  • Herman Hertzberger
  • Francis Duffy

Institutions

  • Stanford University Press
  • MIT Press
  • Cabinet magazine
  • The Public Domain Review
  • Google
  • James R. Thompson Center
  • Bonaventure Hotel
  • Centraal Beheer Office Building

Locations

  • Germany
  • Rome
  • Paris
  • Avignon
  • Los Angeles
  • New York
  • Chicago
  • Netherlands
  • Ukraine

Sources