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Recent years have seen the construction of buildings made of plastic, structures that are as attractive as they are unusual. After initial experiments in the 1970s, plastic is currently experiencing a tremendous boom. Originally used for temporary structures like the BMW Pavilion in Frankfurt, it is now employed in many permanent buildings as well, including the recent Catholic church in Radebeul by Staib/Behnisch. Prominent international avant-garde architects such as Shigeru Ban and Herzog & de Meuron frequently use transparent plastic for their structures. Transparent plastic seems ephemeral and thus captures the spirit of the times. Its various qualities between transparent and transluce...
A fascinating guide to building with transparent plastics. Prominent international avant-garde architects such as Shigeru Ban and Herzog & de Meuron frequently use transparent plastic for their structures. Transparent plastic seems ephemeral and thus captures the spirit of the times.
The “old” material of wood has been used to construct dwellings of different types since the dawn of mankind. And not without reason. Its low density combined with high rigidity, good processability, and its resistance makes it an excellent building material. There is currently a pioneering renaissance of the timber construction, for two distinct reasons: first, wood is increasingly being rediscovered as one of the most important renewable raw materials for sustainable construction. Moreover, a revolution in the construction of timber structures began several years ago with the ever-progressive use of three-dimensional CAD models for digitally controlled robot manufacturing The book docu...
There is a long tradition of using wood as a distinct and ecologically sound building material. Wooden architecture conveys for today’s world the breadth of knowledge held in Western and Eastern cultures about the creative use of this unique material. The typical technique of building with wood, joinery, requires that elements are connected only by the skillful interlocking of the constructive parts. In this book, the history of wooden architecture is described in detail using hundreds of examples from Japan, China and Europe. From a holistic understanding, a picture emerges that is informative for architects, and designers, reopens an almost lost world to builders, and will enthrall laypeople. Also available in a German edition (ISBN 978-3-0356-2479-3)
From the publishers of Architectural Graphic Standards, this book, created under the auspices of The American Planning Association, is the most comprehensive reference book on urban planning, design, and development available today. Contributions from more than two hundred renowned professionals provide rules of thumb and best practices for mitigating such environmental impacts as noise, traffic, aesthetics, preservation of green space and wildlife, water quality, and more. You get in-depth information on the tools and techniques used to achieve planning and design outcomes, including economic analysis, mapping, visualization, legal foundations, and real estate developments. Thousands of illustrations, examples of custom work by today?s leading planners, and insider information make this work the new standard in the field. Order your copy today.
This book considers the potential of new, smart materials and their use in architecture. It begins with an overview of current global tendencies (technological, demographic, and socio-anthropological) and their relevance for architectural design. Expanding upon approaches for flexible design solutions to address change and uncertainty, Dr. Kretzer begins by exploring adaptive architecture and proceeds to introduce the topic of “information materials,” which encompasses smart and functional materials, their current usage, and their potential for the creation of future spaces. The second chapter provides a comprehensive overview of architectural materials, past and present, split into the ...
Brigitte Petendra beschäftigt sich mit der räumlichen Dimension von Arbeit in einer flexibilisierten Arbeitswelt. Als Analysefall zieht sie den spezifischen Ort „Büro“ heran, der im Zuge des Abbaus bürokratischer und fordistisch-tayloristischer Arbeitsweisen sowie der Pluralisierung von Arbeitsorten zunehmend reorganisiert wird. Ausgehend von diesen Reorganisationsprozessen wird das moderne Büro als symbolisch-materielles Arrangement der Flexibilisierung von Arbeit betrachtet. Anhand von Interviews, Kognitiven Karten und Ortserkundungen werden vier Fälle komparativ analysiert und Wahrnehmungsprozesse sowie Alltagspraktiken der Büroarbeiter geschildert. Die Autorin arbeitet die Ambivalenz und Heterogenität der räumlichen Flexibilisierung von Arbeit heraus, die als Spannungsverhältnis zwischen der Auflösung traditioneller büroräumlicher Strukturen und deren Relokalisierungen beschrieben wird.
This book investigates the architectural, product design, and urban typology of the capsule which, beginning in the 1960s, broadened the concept of the basic building blocks of architecture to include a minimal living unit, called the "capsule." Here it is presented with regard to the continuity of the development of the Modern Movement, its revisionist criticism, pioneering examples, as well as contemporary examples and uses. The typology of the capsule allows us to consider this theme in terms of the architecture of resistance, with the potential to search for an "other" architecture that is embedded in our contemporaneity (manifested in small dwellings, composite structures, and container units; shelters and mobile homes in nature and the urban environment; technology transfer in high-tech designs; devices, additions, and extensions etc.). The concept of the capsule as a building element of architecture, as well as a spatial element, can therefore be regarded as having a generative potential for an architecture of personal space for the individual, forcing us to reflect on our existing living and dwelling conditions.
Design Ideas offers students a variety of different ways to go about finding a design solution. In addition to suggesting fundamental ways to get the creative process moving and develop a design approach, it also proposes various sources of inspiration for design ideas. It focuses on the three elements of place, form, and function, which can sometimes constitute immediate springboards for concrete designs. These elements must eventually be incorporated as the design process. Subjects: Creativity in the design process; Sources of inspiration and design approaches; Working with place; Working with form; Working with function.
This edited book explores and promotes reflection on how the lessons of Metabolism experience can inform current debate on city making and future practice in architectural design and urban planning. More than sixty years after the Metabolist manifesto was published, the author’s original contributions highlight the persistent links between present and past that can help to re-imagine new urban futures as well as the design of innovative intra-urban relationships and spaces. The essays are written by experienced scholars and renowned academics from Japan, Australia, Europe, South Korea and the United States and expose Metabolism’s special merits in promoting new urban models and evaluate ...