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This book ‘deconstructs’ a single recently constructed house located in Seattle, WA, in an attempt to recover its backstory. The information is presented along four vectors – atoms, labors, sources and ingredients. Though remarkably detailed, the A House Deconstructed contends that a huge proportion of what we ‘know’ about the house is unknowable, not because our epistemological instruments aren’t strong enough or calibrated precisely enough, but because things themselves are indeterminate, uncertain. This begs the question about agency. If we are to critique our profession and even improve some of its claims about Sustainability, then we must develop a more robust understanding of the building industry and the sourcing and making of materials. We must even develop a stronger awareness of the history of atoms and how architecture brings that history into a remarkable focus.
This book 'deconstructs' a single recently constructed house located in Seattle, WA, in an attempt to recover its backstory. The information is presented along four vectors - atoms, labors, sources and ingredients. Though remarkably detailed, the A House Deconstructed contends that a huge proportion of what we 'know' about the house is unknowable, not because our epistemological instruments aren't strong enough or calibrated precisely enough, but because things themselves are indeterminate, uncertain. This begs the question about agency. If we are to critique our profession and even improve some of its claims about Sustainability, then we must develop a more robust understanding of the building industry and the sourcing and making of materials. We must even develop a stronger awareness of the history of atoms and how architecture brings that history into a remarkable focus.
When India emerged from colonial rule in 1947, the division of Punjab left its historic capital, Lahore, in newly created Pakistan. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru insisted that Punjab's new capital, Chandigarh, should be a symbol of the nation’s faith in the future, unfettered by the traditions of the past. Its design and construction galvanized national attention, and Le Corbusier, the icon of European architectural modernism, was invited to help remake India’s national ideal. Le Corbusier arrived in 1950, in the twilight of his career. He set to work alternately wooing and clashing with Nehru and with the Indian planners and builders, prevailing ultimately only in the design of...
- Author is known as an international authority on the subject. - Based on original archival research, the book provides a fresh perspective by situating the city in both historical and cultural context. - Will appeal to a range of disciplines, from urban planning to architecture and landscape architecture, to cultural and postcolonial studies.
Praise for the First Edition "Because of its exceptionally wide perspective, even architectural historians who do not teach general survey courses are likely to enjoy and appreciate it." —Annali d'architettura "Not only does A Global History of Architecture own the territory (of world architecture), it pulls off this audacious task with panache, intelligence, and—for the most part—grace." —Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians Revised and updated—the compelling history of the world's great architectural achievements Organized along a global timeline, A Global History of Architecture, Second Edition has been updated and revised throughout to reflect current scholarship....
A renaissance man of Indian modernism, Aditya Prakash (1923-1988) trained as an architect in London and also studied at the Glasgow School of Art. His buildings adhered to the strictest principles of modernism as adapted to the Indian climatic and living conditions. His work in all forms is characterised by rigorous authenticity and directness. He began his career as an architect in the Chandigarh Capital Project and later went to work for the Punjab Agricultural University before he became the principal of the Chandigarh College of Architecture. Besides practising architecture, Prakash was a prolific painter, sculptor, furniture designer, stage set-designer, poet and public speaker. As an academic, his first love was sustainable urbanism. He published two books and several papers on the subject. This book traces the width of Prakash's career and obsessions, and includes critical essays, interviews and a chronology of works, along with lavish illustrations of a portfolio of select works.
A carefully crafted selection of essays from international experts, this book explores the effect of colonial architecture and space on the societies involved – both the colonizer and the colonized. Focusing on British India and Ceylon, the essays explore the discursive tensions between the various different scales and dimensions of such 'empire-building' practices and constructions. Providing a thorough exploration of these tensions, Colonial Modernities challenges the traditional literature on the architecture and infrastructure of the former European empires, not least that of the British Indian 'Raj'. Illustrated with seventy-five halftone images, it is a fascinating and thoroughly grounded exposition of the societal impact of colonial architecture and engineering.
Shivdatt Sharma (b. 1931) is one of the most prolific Indian modernist architects. Starting out as an architect in the Chandigarh Capital Project Team led by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, Sharma subsequently became Chief Architect of the Indian Space Research Organisation. He then went into private practice. Sharmas architecture is a distinct blend of the core principles of Modernism, interpreted through the lens of contemporary Indian realities. Modernism was adopted as both symbol and instrument of nation-building in Nehruvian India. Working alongside designers and artists, architects went to work building innumerable small townships, universities, public institutions, housing estates...
Eight essays challenge the tendency of previous studies of non-western architecture to pursue singular identities and to glorify pasts.
The unlikely story of Le Corbusier and Chandigarh has proven itself to be one of modernisms boldest experiments. Born of a vision of a modern India, Chandigarhdesigned by Le Corbusierwas created as a statement for an emerging modern nationstate. Its Capitol Complex, considered by many as Le Corbusiers masterpiece, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. Like all visionaries, Le Corbusier was adept at taking the iconic and symbolic and using them to fashion his own unique vocabulary. This volume explores the way in which his ideas created fertile grounds for architecture and urban planning in Chandigarh, and in India, that encapsulated the visions of the post-war and post-colonial era. With insightful analyses of buildings across Chandigarh, the author illuminates the compositional poetry evident in Le Corbusiers structures and the ways in which the patina of time has changed the city. A visceral journey through a remarkable modernist landscape using the photographic medium, Chandigarh Revealed pays homage to the works of a master with reflective observations of a living city.