A practicing architect based at OMA’s headquarters in Rotterdam, Reinier de Graaf juggles building and master planning projects in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East with a prolific writing career. His latest book, Four Walls and a Roof: The Complex Nature of a Simple Profession, takes an idiosyncratic look at architectural history and dissects contemporary practice—from the quotidian (and sometimes comic) frustrations to the occasional triumphs and memorable failures.

Architectural Record: First, why did you write this book?