Fairground Theory

Name: Fairground Theory
Price: 170 AUD
Availability: OutOfStock
ISBN: 9781350524705

The Hidden Life and Architecture of the Travelling Fair

Professor Stephen Walker (Manchester School of Architecture, UK)

$170

Hardback

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English

Bloomsbury Visual Arts
05 February 2026

Theory of architecture; History of architecture; Sociology: sport & leisure

Fairground Theory goes behind the scenes of the travelling fair – exploring its design, its atmosphere, and the people and processes that make it happen – in order to develop the first architectural theory of the fair.

Even well-known places can be made strange when the fair arrives in town.

As visitors to the fair, we are willingly overtaken by the all-round intensity of the environment: loud, fast, bright, busy, and disorientating.

Yet the design of the fairground site and its rides – seemingly so anarchic and chaotic – involves extensive considerations which are usually invisible to visitors.

This book reveals these considerations, uncovering the relational architecture of events, bodies, networks, and machines which has long constituted the hidden life of the fairground.

Combining extensive fieldwork and archival study of travelling fairs in the UK, the study also connects to other examples from around the world – temporary, ephemeral, and permanent architectures from World Expos and pleasure gardens to amusement parks and parades.

Deploying event theory, process philosophy, and the work of thinkers including Whitehead, Simondon, and Stengers, Fairground Theory situates fairs – both historic and contemporary – within a sustained theoretical exchange with architectural, urban, social and cultural theory.

By: Professor Stephen Walker (Manchester School of Architecture UK)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 238mm, Width: 162mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 620g
ISBN: 9781350524705
ISBN 10: 1350524700
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 05 February 2026
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

1. Introduction 2. Fairs and What Not 3. Setting Out 4. Swings and Roundabouts 5. Bollards and Market Crosses 6. Fair Week 7. Fair Weather 8. Conclusions Bibliography Index

Stephen Walker is Professor of Architectural Humanities at The Manchester School of Architecture, The University of Manchester, UK.