The Italian master explains why he always insists on exhaustive research and discusses ecological issues such as roof energy accumulation capacity. His knowledge of the structural strengths of various natural fibres and thermal insulation goes hand in hand with his scheme of avoiding non-renewable energy sources. Intelligent buildings, methods of recycling, understanding of topography all fit into the overall architectural design. The most advanced building systems are also inexpensive in forming ecological spaces.
How do buildings store information and experience in their shape and form? Michael Leyton has attracted considerable attention with his interpretation of geometrical form as a medium for the storage of information and memory. In this publication he draws specific conclusions for the field of architecture and construction, attaching fundamental importance to the complex relationship between symmetry and asymmetry.
Gerald Manly Hopkins and the Victorian Visual World
Gerard Manley Hopkins initially planned to become a poet-artist. For five years he trained his eye, learned about contemporary art and architecture, and made friends in the Pre-Raphaelite circle. In her fascinating and beautifully illustrated book, Catherine Phillips, whose knowledge of Hopkins's poems is second to none, uses letters, new archival material, and contemporary publications to reconstruct the visual world Hopkins knew between 1862 and 1889, and especially in the 1860s, with its illustrated journals, art exhibitions, Gothic architecture, photographic shows, and changing art criticism.
John Ruskin (1819-1900) is best known for his work as an art critic and social critic, but is remembered as an author, poet and artist as well. Ruskin’s essays on art and architecture were extremely influential in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Ruskin’s range was vast. He wrote over 250 works which started from art history, but expanded to cover topics ranging over science, geology, ornithology, literary criticism, the environmental effects of pollution, and mythology.
The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture
It's a photocopy version! The Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture--so massive that it comes in its own plastic carrying case--is one of the rare publishing events that lives up to its hype. The book showcases 1,052 buildings completed since January 1998 with thousands of well-chosen color photographs plans, elevations, and cross-sections. Major elements of each project are described in elegantly succinct texts. Rather than simply pay lip service to the concept of "world" architecture, this book ranges throughout 75 countries on six continents.
