Architecture Follows Fish

“Well-illustrated with historical photographs and incorporating a consideration of trade, economics and ecology, this is one of those rare books that makes you think differently about an entire sector of the built environment.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“Tavares brings a unity that successfully makes readers see North Atlantic fisheries, and in particular fishing people, in a new light: Even up and inland from the sea, we are as much part of, and subject to, the marine environment as the species we chase.”
—Technology and Culture

“Tavares encourages us to see the ocean not merely as a resource but as a spatial agent that shapes everything from fishing gear to processing infrastructures and food systems.”
—Prostor: A Scholarly Journal of Architecture and Urban Planning

“Tavares fundamentally reimagines architecture, viewing it not as a human-centric discipline but as an emergent art and activity arising from complex ecological matters… An effective and groundbreaking approach to architectural history.”
—Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians

“Tavares’ work points to ways in which such “amphibious” architectural histories might be developed to enhance our understanding of how the socioecological crises of the present have been materially as well as ideologically constructed: plank by plank; brick by brick; fish by fish.”
—Architectural Theory Review

“With Architecture Follows Fish, Tavares offers concrete examples of architecture “as a component within a larger socioecological history,” establishing a fascinating analytical framework that fishing communities’ diverse perspectives could only further illuminate.”
—H-Net Reviews

“In much the same way that technologies, tools, and systems of marine apparatuses can help make the ocean navigable for us terrestrial beings, a book like Architecture Follows Fish can help us shift the lens of understanding about the built environment and its place in a shifting ecological narrative.”
—The Art Bulletin