Steel has, over centuries, played a crucial role in shaping our material, and in particular, urban landscapes. This books undertakes a cultural and ecological history of the material, examining the relationship between steel and design at a micro and macro level - in terms of both what it has been used to design and how it has functioned as a 'world-making force', necessary to the development of technologies and ideas. The research for the book is informed by diverse fields of literature including industry journals, contemporary accounts and technical literature - all framed by rich, early accounts of iron and steel making from the middle ages to the opening of the industrial age, and most notably, the crucial works of Vannoccio Biringuccio, Georgius Agricola, Andrew Ure and Harry Scrivenor. In contrast, trans-cultural accounts of the history of metallurgy from eminent sinologists and cultural historians like Joseph Neeham and G.E.R. Lloyd are used. Readings on the pre-history and history of science, as well as histories and philosophies technology from scholars such as Siegfried Giedion, Merritt Roe Smith, L.T.C Rolt, Robert B. Gordon inform the analysis. Social and economic history from historians such as Eric Hobsbawn, William T. Hogan and David Brody are consulted; labour process theory is also examined, particularly the influential writings of F.W. Taylor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and his contemporary critics, like David Nobel and Harry Braverman. Many other disciples also inform the account: histories of urban design and architecture, transport and military history, environmental history and geography.

Is it possible for a group of the world's most respected environmental scientists to truly practice what they preach? Can their expertise in climate change help them in transforming an old house and its nine acres into their new office building and campus - a building that is as energy efficient as possible, uses local materials, and generates all of the energy it consumes? In this candid, charming, and informative book, the director of the renowned Woods Hole Research Center tells a story that will interest anyone who has ever thought about doing a "green" rehab, has tried to build green, or just wonders what's actually possible. The Woods Hole Research Center is an international leader in identifying the causes and consequences of environmental change. When the WHRC needed a new administration building, its scientists and staff decided that the building should utilize "state-of-the-shelf" green building techniques and materials. However, the new office had to conform with the laws and building codes of the time, and with materials that were then available - no matter how frustrating these requirements were to the resident scientists and contractors. The author, George M. Woodwell, founder of the WHRC, was intimately involved in the design and construction of the Gilman Ordway Campus, which was completed in 2003 in collaboration with McDonough + Partners. He details the challenges they faced, some of which are familiar to everyone who tries to "build green": the vagaries of building codes, the whims of inspectors, the obstreperousness of subcontractors, the search for appropriate materials, and the surprises involved in turning an old house into a modern office building. Woodwell puts the building in a larger context, not only within the work of the Center and the tradition of Woods Hole, but in the global need to minimize our carbon emissions and overall environmental impact. Building a world that works requires rethinking how we design, reuse, and live in the built environment while preserving the functional integrity of the landscape.

What value do we place on our cultural heritage, and to what extent should we preserve historic and culturally important sites and artefacts from the ravages of weather, pollution, development and use by the general public? This innovative book attempts to answer these important questions by exploring how non-market valuation techniques - used extensively in environmental economics - can be applied to cultural heritage.The book includes twelve comprehensive case studies that estimate public values for a diverse set of cultural goods, including English cathedrals, Bulgarian monasteries, rock paintings in Canada, statues in the US, and a medieval city in Africa. The authors demonstrate the potential utility of these techniques, and highlight the important social values that cultural heritage can generate. Given limited resources, such studies can help set priorities and aid the decision making process in terms of their preservation, restoration and use. The authors conclude by reviewing the majority of cultural valuation studies done to date, and draw some general conclusions about the results achieved and the potential benefits, as well as the limitations, of valuing these types of goods. This highly original book will be of great use and interest to academics in the fields of environmental, resource, and cultural economics, as well as NGOs and policymakers involved in cultural heritage at the national, international and global level.

Advance Praise for Dynamic Urban Design

"Finally, in one book a complete guide to the theory, practice, and potential of urban design by one of Canada's preeminent urban designers."

-David R. Witty, former dean, School of Architecture, University of Manitoba, Canada

"Michael von Hausen has given us a clear and hopeful path to the creation of a sustainable urbanism, one that will be inspiring and instructive to practitioners, students, and all those who are focused on the most fundamental issue of our time."

-Jim Adams, architect and principal, McCann Adams Studio, Austin, Texas

"Dynamic Urban Design establishes Michael von Hausen as a sustainable urban design authority. Sharing insights taken from six millennia ... von Hausen articulates a clearly understandable and masterfully illustrated process."

-Kevin Harris, architect and principal, Kevin Harris Architect, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Whether we are practicing urban designers or interested citizens, virtually all of us want to live in communities that are safe, attractive, and healthy. Yet our good intentions face conflicting goals. How are we going to improve community health, reduce crime, and improve mobility in cities while at the same time expanding our cities to accommodate growth? How are we going to do all this with seemingly limited financial resources? How do we do more with less, live within our means, and still create a higher quality of life? The list of challenges is almost endless. Urban design is emerging as a critical interface that brings various professions together to address these challenges and improve our communities.

For future human survival and quality of life, the world needs a more inclusive, rigorous, socially inspired, and comprehensive urban design model integrated with sustainable development. This book delivers that model-a reference guide for doing it right.

Cross-cultural relations are spatial relations. Enclave to Urbanity is the first book in English that examines how the architecture and the urban landscape of Guangzhou framed the relations between the Western mercantile and missionary communities and the city's predominantly Chinese population. The book takes readers through three phases: the Thirteen Factories era from the eighteenth century to the 1850s; the Shamian enclave up to the early twentieth century; and the adoption of Western building techniques throughout the city as its architecture modernized in the early Republic. The discussion of architecture goes beyond stylistic trends to embrace the history of shared and disputed spaces, using a broadly chronological approach that combines social history with architectural and spatial analysis. With nearly a hundred carefully chosen images, this book illustrates how the foreign architectural footprints of the past form the modern Guangzhou.

What's so unique about the houses of London? With row upon row of brick terraces, how do the capital's most stylish people make their homes stand out? And how do those living in conversions amplify their craft to design interiors that are truly distinctive? House London showcases 50 of the most inspiring contemporary interiors in the city today. Created by some of the best designers, architects and creatives around, this book celebrates the amazing variety and vision that lies behind sometimes quite ordinary facades. Writer Ellie Stathaki (of Wallpaper*) and photographer Anna Stathaki explore different interior styles and show the very best of London homes - from the surprising interiors of humble terraces, to extraordinary conversions showcasing the height of luxury. Some homes will provide worthy inspiration, and others a level of drama most of us can only dream of. With beautiful photography throughout, each home draws on something uniquely 'London' and supporting text profiles home owners, architects and designers and highlights the architectural bones that make up the home. This book will be a must have for anyone who loves snooping around beautiful homes, or looking for design inspiration.

In Place of a Show is a compelling account of Western theatre buildings in the 21st century: theatres stripped of their primary purpose, lying empty, preserved as museums, or demolished. Playfully combining first-person narratives, scholarly research and visual documents, Augusto Corrieri explores the material and imaginative potentials of these places, charting interconnections between humans, birds, vegetation, and the beguiling animations of inanimate things, such as walls, curtains and seats. Across four chapters we learn of the uncanny dismantling and reconstitution of a German Baroque auditorium during the Second World War; the phantasmal remains of a demolished music hall in London's East End; a Renaissance Italian theatre, fleetingly transformed into an aviary by the appearance of a swallow; and a lavish opera house emerging from the Amazon rainforest. In these pages we are invited to discover theatres as sites of anomalous encounters and surprising coincidences: places that might reveal the performative entanglement of human and nonhuman worlds.

Has your church or ministry ever considered a building or expansion program? Have you ever stepped out in faith only to get bogged down in details? Is your master plan little more than a "pretty picture" to present to your congregation? In Master Planning: More than Pretty Pictures, author Timothy L. Cool provides a comprehensive primer to lead you through the myriad details, processes, steps, and decisions that must be considered as part of a church building project. With more than twenty-three years of experience working with churches, ministers, and their leadership, Cool addresses the issues churches must confront and the questions that must be answered at every critical step of the master planning process and facilities expansion project. It includes helpful information about topics such as land and site selection, zoning, funding and financing, the architectural review process, construction, and post-construction. Providing realistic and practical applications, Master Planning: More than Pretty Pictures communicates the importance of creating a master plan the right way. Crafted correctly, a solid master plan can bring unity, a renewed sense of purpose, and financial stability to the church.

What makes up a capital city? In this first comprehensive look at the architectural and urban visions for a European capital, Hein examines how these visions compare to the reality of the three headquarter cities for the European Union: Strasbourg, Luxembourg, and Brussels. Tracing the history of the EU and its creation of the new political entity of the polycentric capital, Hein explores the impact that European unification has on visionary projects and the transformation of EU member cities. Widely researched, the book also brings in architectural projects that have remained largely unknown until now. Using architectural and urban history as a lens, Hein examines the past five decades of European unification. Also analyzed for the first time are the debates, plans, projects, and constructions—both realized and failed—that accompanied this process. Looking to the future, Hein asserts that the task of these three capital cities is to balance the needs of a collective Europe with national, local, and—increasingly—regional demands.

The natural beauty of Austin, Texas, has always been central to the city's identity. From the beginning, city leaders, residents, planners, and employers consistently imagined Austin as a natural place, highlighting the region's environmental attributes as they marketed the city and planned for its growth. Yet, as Austin modernized and attracted an educated and skilled labor force, the demand to preserve its natural spaces was used to justify economic and racial segregation. This effort to create and maintain a ""city in a garden"" perpetuated uneven social and economic power relationships throughout the twentieth century. In telling Austin's story, Andrew M. Busch invites readers to consider the wider implications of environmentally friendly urban development. While Austin's mainstream environmental record is impressive, its minority groups continue to live on the economic, social, and geographic margins of the city. By demonstrating how the city's midcentury modernization and progressive movement sustained racial oppression, restriction, and uneven development in the decades that followed, Busch reveals the darker ramifications of Austin's green growth.

This is a true story of a little girl, Sibu, who was totally consumed by the beauty and the silence of the world of the unseen; nothing of this material world seemed to make sense to her. She kept secrets about her life and her spiritual relationship with God. She explored the spiritual world through dreams and visions, and that was her way of communicating with God. Her spiritual exploration denied her of her childhood and other life experiences that most children of her age had. Sibu spent most of her time in isolation communicating with her imaginary friend God . This book reveals how children can keep secrets about their lives, their personal and spiritual relationship with God. As she develops into a young woman, she gets married, and her life changes dramatically. She becomes trapped by the luxuries of the material world, and completely forgets about her imaginary friend. After some time, God seizes all the beauties and luxuries which separated Sibu from Him. Her whole luxurious life turns into a nightmare. Finally, Sibu repents and accepts God s calling. [email protected]