All the world's knowledge is stored and collected here. The place serves as an assembly point and information centre and is all things in one: laboratory, workshop, building site, university, theatre, opera house and museum. The shape of the building should be like a sphere with a silver-grey surface gleaming in the sunlight. It stands in a shallow pool of water. Broad walkways lead to the entrance. Extensive gardens in gentle geometric patterns invite visitors to rest, play, chat and look.

Between the 1920s and the 1960s, American mainstream cinematic architecture underwent a seismic shift. From the massive movie palace to the intimate streamlined theater, movie theaters became neutralized spaces for calibrated, immersive watching. Leading this charge was New York architect Benjamin Schlanger, a fiery polemicist whose designs and essays reshaped how movies were watched. In its close examination of Schlanger's work and of changing patterns of spectatorship, this book reveals that the essence of film viewing lies not only in the text, but in the spaces where movies are shown. The Optical Vacuum demonstrates that our changing models of cinephilia are always determined by physical structure: from the decorations of the palace to the black box of the contemporary auditorium, variations in movie theater design are icons for how viewing has similarly transformed.

From a watch to a pavilion, from urban furniture to infrastructure, from landscape design to apartment buildings: since the founding of Atelier Bonnet in the year 2000, the work of Pierre and Mireille Bonnet, covering a wide range of themes and scales, is conceived in a spirit of interaction and complicity. In the face of such a diversity of works, the monograph concentrates on a series of exemplary residential buildings, which document the skillful handling of this fundamental building task. In their most recent works, the architects have also occupied themselves intensively with the use of exposed concrete and with questions of tectonics. The resulting sculptural design and the abstract language of these objects provide further examples of a highly sensitive architecture, with an undeniable artistic dimension.

Rightly or wrongly, its designer is credited with the idea of having associated the construction with a symbolic and imaginative calendar: 365 meters in length, the number of days in a year, four courtyards, like the seasons, fifty-two doors, and seven stories...Urban myth or the truth? What is certain is that esoteric symbolism and a taste for numbers were often the prerogative of master builders and architects and undoubtedly fascinate the Italians Alfonso Femia and Gianluca Peluffo of 5+1AA. Their renowned ability to bring together the know-how of artisans, artists, contractors, and suppliers of materials has produced a remarkable aesthetic result, in which color and material articulate the internal spaces, animated by stores, restaurants, and offices.

Grand seaside hotels dominate Britain's seaside resorts with bold, largescale buildings, often magnificent examples of the most fashionable architectural style of the time. First emerging in the eighteenth century, their golden age came in the second half of the nineteenth, when a showpiece luxury hotel was a must-have for any successful seaside resort. These imposing Grands, Royals and Imperials, filled with every modern convenience of the period and containing opulent restaurants and ballrooms, are fascinating buildings that reflect the fortunes of those who built and visited them throughout the years. Karen Averby takes us through the rise, the fall and the modern-day resurgence of the grand seaside hotel across the whole of the UK, from their exclusive and luxurious nineteenth-century beginnings, through their renaissance in the interwar years, decline in the 1970s as foreign package holidays became popular and their recent, more accessible refurbished form today. This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with seaside hotels in all their variety.

Longstreth explores the early development of two kinds of retail space that have become ubiquitous in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century. Richard Longstreth is one of the few historians to focus on ordinary commercial buildings-buildings usually associated with commercial builders and real estate developers rather than architects and thus generally overlooked by historians of "high" architecture. Here Longstreth explores the early development of two kinds of retail space that have become ubiquitous in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century. One, external, is devoted to the circulation and parking of automobiles on retail premises. Longstreth analyzes the origins of this development in the 1910s and 1920s, with the super service station and then the drive-in market. The other type of space, internal, was introduced soon thereafter with the single-story supermarket. The most innovative aspect of the supermarket was how its interior was designed for high-volume turnover of a large selection of goods with a minimum of staff assistance. Longstreth focuses on Los Angeles, the principal center for the development of both kinds of space, during the period from the mid-1910s to the early 1940s. This richly illustrated study integrates architectural, cultural, economic, and urban factors to describe the evolution of retailing and how it has affected the urban landscape.

Anthony Poon's passion for music inspires a vibrant architecture that engages its users and the environment. Affordability and sustainability are hallmarks of Poon's designs, which fuse quality and innovation. His success explodes the myth that architect-designed houses are more expensive and challenging than generic solutions and raises the bar for developers and architects alike. This monograph explores three fields in which Poon Design have excelled: housing, schools, and restaurants. It explains how they enrich the experience of living, learning, and eating, and promote social interaction. Readers can track the creative process from concept sketch to model, plan to completion.

Situated on the shore of the Lake Zurich, Le Corbusier's exhibition pavilion is his last realised design. Based on his Modulor proportional system and at the scale of a single-family home, it demonstrates the potential of prefabricated elements to form a perfect space for art and design. Commissioned in 1960 by Heidi Weber, Zurich-based gallery owner and patron of Le Corbusier the visual artist, this structure in steel and glass represents pivotal aspects of his architectural philosophy and also points to the future. Architects Silvio Schmed and Arthur Ruegg have carefully restored the Pavillon Le Corbusier to its original state, including the reconstruction of missing pieces of furniture and luminaires. This book documents their research and the restored building, featuring previously unpublished historic photographs and documents alongside newly commissioned images by Georg Aerni.

Eye-Popping Show-Stopping Libraries starts out by recounting the beginning of the relationship between the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Library Association (ALA) to establish the Library Building awards and traces the development of the program over the following five decades. In the next seven chapters the authors have grouped selected award-winning libraries by big themes, to explore the evolution of service innovations and design trends; most of the selected case studies include exterior and interior photographs, as well as floor plans. The final chapter offers some thoughts on what a half-century of award-winning architecture can tell us about the future of library service and library design. In the afterword the authors review the initial round of seventeen award-winning libraries from 1963, to assess how the designs have held up over time, and to describe the current disposition of the building. Three appendixes offer a chronological list of award recipients, an alphabetical list of awardees by library, and an alphabetical list by architect. The fourth and final appendix is a chronological list of jury members. This full-color, beautifully illustrated with 141 images book presents these exemplary libraries as an exploration of the evolution of library service and design. It examines the award-winning libraries by big themes to explore how service trends and design trends have evolved. Documentation of featured library buildings (including photographs and plans) is an important element.

Over the past twenty years European cities have become the envy of the world: a Kraftwerk Utopia of historic centres, supermodernist concert halls, imaginative public spaces and futuristic egalitarian housing estates which, interconnected by high-speed trains traversing open borders, have a combination of order and pleasure which is exceptionally unusual elsewhere. In Trans-Europe Express, Owen Hatherley sets out to explore the European city across the entire continent, to see what exactly makes it so different to the Anglo-Saxon norm - the unplanned, car-centred, developer-oriented spaces common to the US, Ireland, UK and Australia. Attempting to define the European city, Hatherley finds a continent divided both within the EU and outside it.

Once the center of village and city life, diminishing congregation numbers have left church buildings increasingly empty or forced to close. So, how can they be revitalized? Since 2016, under the patronage of the Evangelical Church in Middle Germany and the International Building Exhibition IBA Thueringen, citizens have unified through solidarity-forming projects to reactivate their churches as sites of community. This second volume of the series StadtLand:Kirche presents these ambitious projects, detailing a narrative of progress through failures and successes. Case studies such as the Her(r)bergskirche in Rennsteig and the Bienen-Garten-Kirche in Roldisleben, demonstrate that realistic secular uses can complement the original offerings of the church. A new type of church is emerging as a hybrid place at the center of the village.

When the brilliant classical architect Charles Barry won the competition to build a new, Gothic, Houses of Parliament in London he thought it was the chance of a lifetime. It swiftly turned into the most nightmarish building programme of the century. From the beginning, its design, construction and decoration were a battlefield. The practical and political forces ranged against him were immense. The new Palace of Westminster had to be built on acres of unstable quicksand, while the Lords and Commons carried on their work as usual. Its river frontage, a quarter of a mile long, needed to be constructed in the treacherous currents of the Thames. Its towers were so gigantic they required feats of civil engineering and building technology never used before. And the interior demanded spectacular new Gothic features not seen since the middle ages. Rallying the genius of his collaborator Pugin; flanking the mad schemes of a host of crackpot inventors, ignorant busybodies and hostile politicians; attacking strikes, sewage and cholera; charging forward three times over budget and massively behind schedule, it took twenty-five years for Barry to achieve victory with his 'Great Work' in the face of overwhelming odds, and at great personal cost. Mr Barry's War takes up where its prize-winning prequel The Day Parliament Burned Down left off, telling the story of how the greatest building programme in Britain for centuries produced the world's most famous secular cathedral to democracy.

With customers demanding an increasingly personalised experience, stores must project a distinctive visual style to stand out among the many uniform products and services out there. Stylish Retail Store Interiors analyses a variety of case studies to outline the latest trends in retail design, from organising store layout to designing enticing product displays, providing both a useful reference for professionals and a source of inspiration for students.

The Basics Interior Design series comprises a collection of titles examining the application of interior design principles to different types of space. Packed with cutting-edge examples and fully illustrated with clear diagrams and inspiring imagery, they offer an essential introduction to the subject. This second edition of Retail Design examines the latest developments in the contemporary retail design sector worldwide. It guides the reader step by step through the retail design process, providing strategies that can produce a successful retail space and a design that is appropriate for the brand, product, consumer and retailer. A new chapter exploring consumer behaviour is combined with clear explanations of branding and identity, to provide the starting point for the design concept. The relationship between the interior and its context, site and setting is then examined, alongside in-depth investigations of layout, circulation and pace and other design considerations. Fully updated with new international case studies and expanded coverage on sustainability, interactivity, and innovative design concepts - this new edition of Retail Design offers cutting-edge insights into the practice of contemporary retail design and shows designers how to meet and exceed the expectations of today's clients and consumers.

The Landscape Project is a collection of essays by the landscape architecture faculty at the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, long considered a leading institution in the field of landscape architecture. This collection covers topics such as food, biodiversity, water, plants, energy, public space, politics, mapping, practice, and representation and serves as essential reading for students and professionals wishing to engage with the full scope of today's landscape. These essays radically expand the purview of landscape architecture.

On the promontory of Kinnaird Head, on the north-east coast of Scotland, sits a peculiarly designed lighthouse. It is an exception in history - the only lighthouse in the world to be built into a castle. Originally constructed in 1571 by Sir Alexander Fraser, the castle towered over his new town of Fraserburgh with Scotland's forgotten university built in its shadow. For 200 years this small tower played host to lairds, lords and Jacobites before abandonment in 1750. The castle was saved from ruin in 1787 when the newly formed Northern Lighthouse Board transformed it into their first Scottish lighthouse. Every Stevenson engineer visited and left their mark on the site, while a never-ending watch of keepers kept the light flashing for 200 years. With automation in 1991 there was a second abandonment of the old tower, until it made its latest transition from lighthouse to museum. Since 1995 it has been Scotland's most visited lighthouse, frozen in time as a monument to the manned lighthouses of old.

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. The mall near Mat thew Newton's childhood home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was one of the state's first enclosed shopping malls. Like all malls in their heyday, this one was a climate-controlled pleasuredome where strangers converged. It boasted waterfalls, fish ponds, an indoor ice skating rink larger than Rockefeller Center's, and a monolithic clock tower illuminated year-round beneath a canopy of interconnected skylights. It also became the backdrop for filmmaker George A. Romero's zombie opus Dawn of the Dead. Part memoir and part case study, Shopping Mall examines the modern mythology of the mall and shows that, more than a collection of stores, it is a place of curiosity, ritual, and fantasy. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

Cardiff's civic centre in Cathays Park, described as the finest civic centre in the British Isles, is an impressive planned group of public buildings, begun largely with wealth created by the coal industry in the south Wales coalfield. This book covers the Cardiff site's earlier evolution as a private park in the nineteenth century by the fabulously rich Bute family, and the borough's battles to obtain land for public buildings and the park's development in the twentieth century, to become Britain's finest civic centre. All the buildings, memorials and statues in the park are fully described and illustrated in this book which includes maps, plans and photographs. The History and Architecture of Cardiff Civic Centre is the first in the series Architecture of Wales, published in partnership with the Royal Society of Architects in Wales.

In this his newest book, Peter MacCallum has assembled collections of his documentary photographs of the last decade that examine the particularities of the vernacular spaces of human labour, commerce, and habitation. Conceived as series, these documentary photographs juxtapose the miscellany of the commercial architecture of Toronto's Yonge Street with the uniform elegance of rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis in Paris; an aging zinc foundry in Montreal with a venerable independent garage in Toronto; the functional Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto with the tiny, lushly decorated Theatre du Tambour Royal in Paris. Shifting from the industrial to the moumental to the domestic, MacCallum's roving eye lands upon the gritty morphology of the coal-fired Lakeview Generating Station, the restoration of Walter Alward's great limestone monument at Vimy Ridge, and the classical Greek spirit expressed in the front porches of ordinary Toronto houses dating from the early decades of the 20th century. The result is an engrossing collection of photographs that reveal a disarming beauty in sites that both embody and encompass a rich history of industry, commerce, and human habitation.

Tells the story of the building of the American Museum of Natural History and Hayden Planetarium, a story of history, politics, science, and exploration, including the roles of American presidents, New York power brokers, museum presidents, planetarium directors, polar and African explorers, and German rocket scientists. The American Museum of Natural History is one of New York City's most beloved institutions, and one of the largest, most celebrated museums in the world. Since 1869, generations of New Yorkers and tourists of all ages have been educated and entertained here. Located across from Central Park, the sprawling structure, spanning four city blocks, is a fascinating conglomeration of many buildings of diverse architectural styles built over a period of 150 years. The first book to tell the history of the museum from the point of view of these buildings, including the planned Gilder Center, The American Museum of Natural History and How It Got That Way contextualizes them within New York and American history and the history of science. Part II, "The Heavens in the Attic," is the first detailed history of the Hayden Planetarium, from the museum's earliest astronomy exhibits, to Clyde Fisher and the original planetarium, to Neil deGrasse Tyson and the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and it features a photographic tour through the original Hayden Planetarium. Author Colin Davey spent much of his childhood literally and figuratively lost in the museum's labyrinthine hallways. The museum grew in fits and starts according to the vicissitudes of backroom deals, personal agendas, two world wars, the Great Depression, and the Cold War. Chronicling its evolution from the selection of a desolate, rocky, hilly, swampy site, known as Manhattan Square to the present day the book includes some of the most important and colorful characters in the city's history, including the notoriously corrupt and powerful "Boss" Tweed, "Father of New York City" Andrew Haswell Green, and twentieth-century powerbroker and master builder Robert Moses; museum presidents Morris K. Jesup, Henry Fairfield Osborn, and Ellen Futter; and American presidents, polar and African explorers, dinosaur hunters, and German rocket scientists. Richly illustrated with period photos, The American Museum of Natural History and How It Got That Way is based on deep archival research and interviews.

The life of Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) was full of complexity and contradictions. As a young man he joined the Catalonian nationalist movement and was critical of the church; toward the end of his life he devoted himself completely to the construction of one single spectacular church, La Sagrada Familia. In his youth, he courted a glamorous social life and the demeanor of a dandy. By the time of his death in a tram accident on the streets of Barcelona his clothes were so shabby passersby assumed he was a beggar. Gaudi's incomparable architecture channels much of this multifaceted intricacy. From the shimmering textures and skeletal forms of Casa Batllo to the Hispano-Arabic matrix of Casa Vicens, his work merged the influences of Orientalism, natural forms, new materials, and religious faith into a unique Modernista aesthetic. Today, his unique aesthetic enjoys global popularity and acclaim. His magnum opus, the Sagrada Familia, is the most-visited monument in Spain, and seven of his works are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Through brand-new photography, plans and drawings by Gaudi himself, historical photos, as well as an appendix detailing all his works-from buildings to furniture, decor to unfinished projects-this book presents Gaudi's universe like never before. Like a personal tour through Barcelona, we discover how the "Dante of architecture" was a builder in the truest sense of the word, crafting extraordinary constructions out of minute and mesmerizing details, and transforming fantastical visions into realities on the city streets.

This volume considers the major trends and developments in Iranian architecture during the 1960s and 70s in order to further our understanding of the underpinnings and intentions of Persian architecture during this period. While narrative explorations of modernism have relied heavily upon classifications based on western experiences and influences, this book provides a more holistic view of the development of Persian architecture by studying both the internal and external forces that influenced it in the late twentieth century. The chapters compiled in Architectural Dynamics in Pre-Revolutionary Iran, accompanied by more than eighty images, shed light on the fascinating — and sometimes controversial — evolution of Iranian architecture and its constant quest for a new paradigm of cultural identity.