Totems brings together ten texts by the French-British architectural historian and critic Irénée Scalbert. Written between 2001 and 2025, they are an expression of his relentless critical engagement with architecture and its cultural contexts. The essays, which vary in length and style – from concise observations to detailed analyses – trace the development of his thinking as a critic, teacher and participant in the architectural discourse.

Organised thematically into sections on buildings, cities and the environment, the collection also loosely traces an autobiographical arc. The early texts reflect Scalbert's formative years in London during a period of architectural upheaval, marked by the buildings of James Stirling and Norman Foster, influential figures such as Aldo Rossi, and his close connection to contemporaries such as Peter St John (Caruso St John Architects) and Tom Emerson and Stephanie Macdonald (6a architects). The later pieces deal with questions of urbanism and nature and with the meaning and significance of contemporary architecture from a broader geographical and conceptual perspective and from a personal, sometimes speculative point of view.