Rafael Pardo: New Brutalism


Book Description

The concrete, geometrically sculptural houses of Mexican architect Rafael Pardo The buildings of Mexican architect Rafael Pardo are almost sculptural--concrete prisms intersecting to form domestic spaces. This monograph presents eight projects built in Xalapa, Veracruz, including photographs, original sketches and an interview by Miguel Adrià.




Brutalism Reinvented


Book Description

From luxury apartment towers to offices, places of worship to museums, brutalist architecture is having a 21st-century moment— and this book is here to explore the new interpretations of the style. Designed with the same bold aesthetic that informed Le Corbusier himself, this book features fifty recent examples of how architects around the world are embracing the principles of brutalism — simplicity, functionality, and rawness — reimagining them for today’s standards and tastes. Drawing from the radical approach of the controversial architectural movement, today’s Brutalist buildings are both sophisticated and elegant. As the hundreds of exterior and interior photos in this book reveal, architects have taken advantage of new technology to make concrete-based structures that are refined and alluring, as well as stylish and modish unlike their predecessors. Each chapter is dedicated to a different type of building and is introduced with a selection of iconic structures as an essential visual reference for Brutalism’s new look. In some instances the overall strength of the aesthetic is paired with equally forceful materials such as glass, metal and brick; other examples show how classically brutalist lines are integrated into generously proportioned, light-filled spaces. An informative celebration of Brutalist architecture’s legacy, this book is an exciting exploration of how today’s most innovative architects are discovering the inherent beauty of powerful concrete volumes that was at the heart of Le Corbusier’s original vision.




Construction and Building Research


Book Description

Many areas of knowledge converge in the building industry and therefore research in this field necessarily involves an interdisciplinary approach. Effective research requires strong relation between a broad variety of scientific and technological domains and more conventional construction or craft processes, while also considering advanced management processes, where all the main actors permanently interact. This publication takes an interdisciplinary approach grouping various studies on the building industry chosen from among the works presented for the 2nd International Conference on Construction and Building Research. The papers examine aspects of materials and building systems; construction technology; energy and sustainability; construction management; heritage, refurbishment and conservation. The information contained within these pages may be of interest to researchers and practitioners in construction and building activities from the academic sphere, as well as public and private sectors.




Raw Concrete


Book Description

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ALICE DAVIS HITCHCOCK AWARD 'Brilliant' ELAIN HARWOOD 'Part history, part aesthetic autobiography, wholly engaging and liable to convince those procrastinators sitting (uncomfortably) on the concrete fence' JONATHAN MEADES 'A learned and passionate book' SIMON BRADLEY, author of The Railways 'A compelling and evocative read, meticulously researched, and filled with insight and passion' KATE GOODWIN, Head of Architecture, Royal Academy of Arts _______________________________ The raw concrete buildings of the 1960s constitute the greatest flowering of architecture the world has ever seen. The biggest construction boom in history promoted unprecedented technological innovation and an explosion of competitive creativity amongst architects, engineers and concrete-workers. The Brutalist style was the result. Today, after several decades in the shadows, attitudes towards Brutalism are slowly changing, but it is a movement that is still overlooked, and grossly underrated. Raw Concrete overturns the perception of Brutalist buildings as the penny-pinching, utilitarian products of dutiful social concern. Instead it looks a little closer, uncovering the luxuriously skilled craft and daring engineering with which the best buildings of the 1960s came into being: magnificent architectural visions serving clients rich and poor, radical and conservative. Beginning in a tiny hermitage on the remote north Scottish coast, and ending up backstage at the National Theatre, Raw Concrete embarks on a wide-ranging journey through Britain over the past sixty years, stopping to examine how eight extraordinary buildings were made - from commission to construction - why they have been so vilified, and why they are beginning to be loved. In it, Barnabas Calder puts forward a powerful case: Brutalism is the best architecture there has ever been, and perhaps the best there ever will be.




Art of Latin America


Book Description

Marta Traba, one of Latin America's most controversial art critics, examines the works of over 1,000 artists from the first 80 years of the 20th century. This book is an indispensable reference for anyone interested in studying the evolution of Latin American art.




Chinese Brutalism Today


Book Description

Chinese Brutalism Today' is divided into three chapters and ends with a methodological afterword that explains the reasons why the research was carried out and the scientific tools used. The first chapter is "Exposed concrete in the design process," the second is "Identity Research: Towards an Ornate Surface" and the third is "Global ambition: towards a polished surface." The narration takes place through a substantial written part accompanied by specific images that facilitate the understanding of the text. Transversally, in the narrative, an interpretation is given to the precise and ambiguous dictates announced in 2017 by President Xi Jinping: to pursue a contemporary architecture made of "international standards with Chinese characteristics."




Etudes


Book Description

John Marx's watercolors, first published in the Architectural Review, are a captivating example of an architect's way of thinking. Subtle and quiet they are nonetheless compelling works in how they tackle a sense of place, of inhabiting space and time all the while resonating with the core of one's inner being. There is an existential quality to these watercolors that is rare to be found in this medium. Something akin to the psychologically piercing observational quality of artists like De Chirico or Hopper. As architects strive to communicate their ideas, it is interesting to explore the world of Marx's watercolors as an example of a humane approach to conveying emotional meaning in relation to our environment. Marx's subject matter read like "built landscapes" heightening the role of the manmade yet wholly in balance with the natural world. This is a message and sentiment that is perhaps more important than ever to relay to audiences.




Imagining the Modern


Book Description

Imagining the Modern explores Pittsburgh's ambitious modern architecture and urban renewal program that made it a gem of American postwar cities, and set the stage for its stature today. In the 1950s and '60s an ambitious program of urban revitalization transformed Pittsburgh and became a model for other American cities. Billed as the Pittsburgh Renaissance, this era of superlatives--the city claimed the tallest aluminum clad building, the world's largest retractable dome, the tallest steel structure--developed through visionary mayors and business leaders, powerful urban planning authorities, and architects and urban designers of international renown, including Frank Lloyd Wright, I.M. Pei, Mies van der Rohe, SOM, and Harrison & Abramovitz. These leaders, civic groups, and architects worked together to reconceive the city through local and federal initiatives that aimed to address the problems that confronted Pittsburgh's postwar development. Initiated as an award-winning exhibition at the Carnegie Museum of Art in 2014, Imagining the Modern untangles this complicated relationship with modern architecture and planning through a history of Pittsburgh's major sites, protagonists, and voices of intervention. Through original documentation, photographs and drawings, as well as essays, analytical drawings, and interviews with participants, this book provides a nuanced view of this crucial moment in Pittsburgh's evolution. Addressing both positive and negative impacts of the era, Imagining the Modern examines what took place during the city's urban renewal era, what was gained and lost, and what these histories might suggest for the city's future.




Concrete Concept


Book Description

"A lively journey around the world's brutalist buildings" Frieze.com "A dazzlingly shot whistle-stop of the much-maligned style's greatest hits ... the book showcases confidence, clarity and the historical importance of the movement." Monocle No modern architectural movement has aroused so much awe and so much ire as Brutalism. This is architecture at its most assertive: compelling, distinctive, sometimes terrifying. But, as Concrete Concept shows, Brutalism can be about love as well as hate. This inspiring and informative photographic survey profiles 50 brutalist buildings from around the world. Travelling the globe – from Le Corbusier's Unite d’Habitation (Marseille, France), to the Former Whitney Museum (New York City, USA) to Preston Bus Station (Preston, UK) – this book covers concrete architecture in its most extraordinary forms, demonstrating how Brutalism has changed our landscapes and infected popular culture. Now in a stylish mini format, this is the perfect tour of Brutalism's biggest hits.




Immersed


Book Description

Immersed - The California Houses of Feldman Architecture is an in-depth look at 20 years of the firm's defining residential work spanning three areas: Urban, Suburban, and Rural. Feldman Architecture, a vibrant San Francisco-based studio, aims to create authentic, site-sensitive, sustainable spaces through a deeply collaborative process. This book, which includes commentary from Aaron Betsky and Daniel P. Gregory, as well as an interview with Vladimir Belogovsky, situates Feldman Architecture's work within the northern California design canon and illustrates how the firm's voice subtly translates across diverse geographies and contexts. Jonathan Feldman, in closing, reflects upon the values and aspirations that unify the firm's work and inform its vision for the future.