In Moe’s own words, the title is an abbreviated version of his message “Unless architects begin to describe buildings as terrestrial events and artifacts, architects will―to our collective and professional peril―continue to operate outside the key environmental dynamics and key political processes of this century.” The book is a research tour de force in a fascinating attempt to trace every single material and component that went into building one of the 20th century most iconic buildings, The Seagram Building in New York.

By demonstrating how the building of a single tall building managed to affect supply chains, ecosystems and even human capital in places far away from the site of the building, Moe proves without a doubt that the way we currently conceptualize architecture is counterintuitive to the pressing need for resilient urban, natural and human ecosystems at a planetary scale.