Birkhäuser Architectural Guide Switzerland


Book Description

Whether it be Calatrava's elegant bridges in Seville or Barcelona, Peter Zumthor's beautiful thermal baths in Vals, Switzerland, Dominique Perrault's Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, or Tadao Ando's museum building on the island Naoshima, these are just a few structures which have been celebrated around the world, making their architects household names. In the 20th century, we have seen striking buildings scatter our town-scapes, awe-inspiring skyscrapers shape our skylines, and beautiful bridges span our rivers. Growing numbers of people are becoming aware of the architectural environment around them and are taking an interest in the issues which are at the heart of our built surroundings. The Birkhauser Architectural Guides provide a handy overview to the greatest - and latest - buildings in the 20th century. Each volume is devoted to one country or group of countries, and the contents are organised by provinces and towns. Full addresses and information on the architect, the building itself, in addition to a general overview of the architectural scene in the given country are presented. Available are guides to Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Benelux, France, Japan, and Spain at the special low price of $18.




Swiss Sensibility


Book Description

Contemporary architecture in Switzerland is influenced by Peter Zumthor and Herzog & de Meuron, recipients of the Swiss Pritzker Prize, as well as a number of other prominent architects. The book presents 25 buildings in Switzerland designed by 16 influential Swiss architects: The range covers high-density urban developments through to rural sites in the alpine environment, with examples of traditional craftsmanship and materials, and modern construction technology and engineering. Large-format photographs illustrate the buildings’ proportions, materials, and details. Four authors analyze the Swiss building culture and its high architectural quality from an insider’s and an outsider’s point of view. In a detailed interview, Peter Zumthor explains his approach to architectural design.







Enclose | Build


Book Description

The building shell is the interface with the outside world, it offers protection and at the same time represents its owners or occupants. But what are the criteria for choosing a specific shell? Why is a particular material used on a particular undercoat? The fifth volume of the SCALE series, Enclose | Build, is not about the curtain, the dressing of the facade that surrounds a building, but rather on a causal level about the exterior termination of a building, the wall, the facade, which can be made of various materials, surfaces, and achieves different design effects. It shows the conditions under which certain constructions can be employed and why; what criteria such as construction costs, issues of sustainability, of energy efficiency, of assembly or of insulation or protection against moisture can also influence the choice of a system. In addition to classical constructions, Enclose | Build offers a look at future developments. How will the facade evolve as an interface for information? What do viable concepts for environmentally active, energy-efficient building shells look like? Enclose | Build is an indispensable tool for every architect and planner.




Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century Architecture


Book Description

For more information including the introduction, a full list of entries and contributors, a generous selection of sample pages and more, visit the Encyclope dia of 20th Century Architecture website. Focusing on architecture from all regions of the world, this three-volume set profiles the twentieth century's vast chronicle of architectural achievements, both within and well beyond the theoretical confines of modernism. Unlike existing works, this encyclopedia examines the complexities of rapidly changing global conditions that have dispersed modern architectural types, movements, styles, and building practices across traditional geographic and cultural boundaries.




Birkhäuser Architectural Guide


Book Description

In the 20th century, France has proved astonishingly fertile ground for modern architecture. The architectural ideas of Modernism and the avant garde are firmly rooted here and dominate the French architectural landscape unlike in any other country. Her architects are acclaimed throughout the world. Paris, a center for international architecture, rightly forms the focus of this guidebook with more than 100 notable buildings. However, this guidebook also does justice to the entire country with more than 450 buildings from all regions. The buildings are documented with photographs, drawings and texts, providing a comprehensive and portable guide.




Paradise Planned


Book Description

Paradise Planned is the definitive history of the development of the garden suburb, a phenomenon that originated in England in the late eighteenth century, was quickly adopted in the United State and northern Europe, and gradually proliferated throughout the world. These bucolic settings offered an ideal lifestyle typically outside the city but accessible by streetcar, train, and automobile. Today, the principles of the garden city movement are once again in play, as retrofitting the suburbs has become a central issue in planning. Strategies are emerging that reflect the goals of garden suburbs in creating metropolitan communities that embrace both the intensity of the city and the tranquility of nature. Paradise Planned is the comprehensive, encyclopedic record of this movement, a vital contribution to architectural and planning history and an essential recourse for guiding the repair of the American townscape.




Constructing Landscape


Book Description

This is a systematic introduction to technical and constructional open space planning, with all the relevant topics covered, from the most common materials and surfaces to the construction of open space elements and the use of plants. The text is supported by over 1200 photographs, illustrations and plans.




250 Things an Architect Should Know


Book Description

Michael Sorkin's iconic list is now in a handsome printed package, a perfect gift for any architect, student of architecture, or design-savvy urbanist. By turns poetic and humorous, practical and wise, this book is a joyful celebration of the craft of architecture. A posthumous book by critic, architect, urban theorist, and educator, Michael Sorkin (1948-2020), 250 Things An Architct Should Know is filled with details that architects love to obsess over, from the expected (golden ratio and the seismic code) to the unexpected (the heights of folly and the prismatic charms of Greek islands.)