A Situation Constructed from Loose and Overlapping Social and Architectural Aggregates


Book Description

Cities structure our lives, resources, interactions, and identities. From Sebastiano Serlio to Rem Koolhaas, architects have used the metaphor of theater, presenting the city as stage, as comic sets for comic acts, as a delirious city for delirious subjects, generic city for generic subjects, and so on. Today, however, we are social anywhere, actors on- and offstage. So what happens when the city no longer structures us, or when basic urban elements ? streets, buildings, facades, and addresses ? have been augmented, superimposed, and untethered by or replaced through technology?




Ugly, Useless, Unstable Architectures


Book Description

Ugly, Useless, Unstable Architectures traces productive intersections between architecture and the discourses of Post-Structuralism and New Materialism. It investigates how their unique ‘ontological regimes’ can be mobilised to supersede the classical framework that still informs both the production and the evaluation of architecture. Throughout its three main chapters, this enquiry challenges one of the most prevalent tropes of architectural assessment: Beauty, Utility and Stability. Author Miguel Paredes Maldonado critically unpacks the spatial and operational qualities of these three idealised concepts, before setting out an alternative framework of spatial practice that draws from Gilles Deleuze’s post-structuralist take on the production of the real and Manuel DeLanda’s model-based branch of New Materialism. This book reads and situates a series of spatial works through the lens of this critical methodology to contest the conceptual aspects traditionally underpinning architectural ‘value’. It posits that architecture can operate as a continuous, generative spectrum encompassing a broad range of potential configurations. Written for academics and students in architectural theory, design and contemporary philosophical thought alike, this book should appeal to a wide audience.




Lineament: Material, Representation and the Physical Figure in Architectural Production


Book Description

This comprehensive catalogue of contemporary work examines the renewed investment in the relationship between representation, materiality, and architecture. It assembles a range of diverse voices across various institutions, practices, generations, and geographies, through specific case studies that collectively present a broader theoretical intention.




Inflection 06: Originals


Book Description

Architects are expected to create original ideas resulting in a unique, bespoke design. With the rise of Modern Architecture, originality became ingrained in perceptions of good design. As a result, originality has become a barometer against which we measure the value of design. However technology today allows for ease of replication and copies, thus originality in design has become an ostensibly hollow prospect. Originals gathers a wide range of responses, varied in their opinions and approaches to originality and authorship in design and architecture. Inflection is a student-run design journal based at the Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne. Born from a desire to stimulate debate and generate ideas, it advocates the discursive voice of students, academics and practitioners. Founded in 2013, Inflection is a home for provocative writing—a place to share ideas and engage with contemporary discourse.




Diagramming the Big Idea


Book Description

As a beginning design student, you need to learn to think like a designer, to visualize ideas and concepts, as well as objects. In the second edition of Diagramming the Big Idea, Jeffrey Balmer and Michael T. Swisher illustrate how you can create and use diagrams to clarify your understanding of both particular projects and organizing principles and ideas. With accessible, step-by-step exercises that interweave full color diagrams, drawings and virtual models, the authors clearly show you how to compose meaningful and useful diagrams. As you follow the development of the four project groups drawn from the authors’ teaching, you will become familiar with architectural composition concepts such as proportion, site, form, hierarchy and spatial construction. In addition, description and demonstration essays extend concepts to show you more examples of the methods used in the projects. Whether preparing for a desk critique, or any time when a fundamental insight can help to resolve a design problem, this new and expanded edition is your essential studio resource.




MOS


Book Description

Their work has been described as experimental and innovative, qualities front-and-center in their previous collection Everything All at Once. In just ten years, Michael Meredith and Hilary Sample have established MOS as one of the leading young architecture practices in the country. Selected Works, the first monograph on the built work of the New York–based firm, follows the design studio's evolution from their earliest works to their most celebrated houses and institutional buildings. The thirty-two projects featured range from the sophisticated to the absurd—from the serene Floating House in Ontario, Canada, and the sustainable Kathmandu Orphanage in Nepal to the playful puppet theater at Harvard's Carpenter Center and the appropriately named Rainbow Vomit installation in New York, a digital, interactive, computational heap of building blocks in a constant state of near collapse. The collection also includes a selection of the couple's unorthodox writings, including their satirical "Office Policy" employee manual.




Heritage, Landscape and Restoration of Historical Gardens


Book Description

The book is dedicated to historical gardens seen from a multidisciplinary perspective: landscape architecture, architecture, urban planning, art history, geoscience, digital methods, bibiotheconomy etc.. Outgoing point was a research about the gardens of the counts Károlyi, a noble family with headquarters close of the three country corner Romania-Hungary-Ukraine but properties also in Slovakia and having an architect who was landscape architect in Austria. The introduction shows an overview of the research programmes in frame of which it was performed and of the results. Because the second part of the research on Károlyi heritage was performed during the pandemic, instead of field trips specialist opinions were invited resulting in this book. The conclusions show how green spaces in itself are not only subject of study during the pandemic but also a factor to cope with it. The main body is structured into a feature paper on the Károlyi heritage in Slovakia as well as interviews from Romania and abroad structured around the contemporary challenges in the heritage, landscape and restoration of historical gardens. The invited specialists answered the same 5 questions. Three of them also visited other Károlyi gardens, two of them on the purpose of intervention. The book includes images and plans of gardens across Europe including Romania, Italy, Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands apart of Slovakia. Also methodological approaches are included




Architect's Pocket Book


Book Description

View the dedicated microsite for free sample chapters and videos - architecturalpress.com/architects-pocket-book This handy pocket book brings together a wealth of useful information that architects need on a daily basis - on site or in the studio. The book provides guidance on a range of tasks, from complying with the Building Regulations, including the recent revisions to Part L, to helping with planning, use of materials and detailing. Compact and easy to use, the Architect’s Pocket Book has sold well over 65,000 copies to the nation’s architects, architecture students, designers and construction professionals who do not have an architectural background but need to understand the basics, fast. This is the famous little blue book that you can’t afford to be without. About the authors: Charlotte Baden-Powell was trained at the Architectural Association in London. She practised architecture for over 40 years, during which time she identified the need for this book, which was first published in 1997 and her vision is as relevant today. Jonathan Hetreed and Ann Ross have drawn from years of experience of running a small practice in Bath to update and extend the scope of the new edition to reflect continuing revisions to regulations and the increasing demand for sustainable construction methods. Customer reviews: “I have had this for ages and it’s no lie when I say it’s the one book I use the most. It’s exceptional, it’s a must.” “From brick and board sizes, technical details, terminology, symbols and information for Building Reg's - this book is extremely useful, very handy and concise.” “This is a must have for anyone working in the architectural field. It's a pocket of knowledge that almost always has what you're looking for.”




Twentieth-Century Building Materials


Book Description

Over the concluding decades of the twentieth century, the historic preservation community increasingly turned its attention to modern buildings, including bungalows from the 1930s, gas stations and diners from the 1940s, and office buildings and architectural homes from the 1950s. Conservation efforts, however, were often hampered by a lack of technical information about the products used in these structures, and to fill this gap Twentieth-Century Building Materials was developed by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service and first published in 1995. Now, this invaluable guide is being reissued—with a new preface by the book’s original editor. With more than 250 illustrations, including a full-color photographic essay, the volume remains an indispensable reference on the history and conservation of modern building materials. Thirty-seven essays written by leading experts offer insights into the history, manufacturing processes, and uses of a wide range of materials, including glass block, aluminum, plywood, linoleum, and gypsum board. Readers will also learn about how these materials perform over time and discover valuable conservation and repair techniques. Bibliographies and sources for further research complete the volume. The book is intended for a wide range of conservation professionals including architects, engineers, conservators, and material scientists engaged in the conservation of modern buildings, as well as scholars in related disciplines.




Architecture in Detail


Book Description

This book is a collection of detailed studies of recent construction projects that will help all architects learn and expand the possibilities of their own work. Projects have been selected for their use of innovative techniques, and these insights could help overcome problems, reduce a project's cost, speed up work on site or help with an idea that is hard to achieve. Each project within the book consists of striking detailed drawings, supplemented by color photographs and explanatory text. These details are an excellent way to see how others are using new materials and techniques that may be relevant to an architect's own work. It can seem daunting for a student, or even a qualified architect, to see high-quality, interesting buildings when the project or daily workload is a lot more humdrum. This book demystifies construction and spreads knowledge of good practice. The author is well known as he has a biweekly feature in Building Design, the UK's most read magazine by architects. The projects have been carefully selected from those published and have been adapted and expanded to create a really useful reference.