How "drowned town" literature, road movies, energy landscape photography, and "death train" narratives represent the brutality of industrial infrastructures.In this book, Michael Truscello looks at the industrial infrastructure not as an invisible system of connectivity and mobility that keeps capitalism humming in the background but as a manufactured miasma of despair, toxicity, and death. Truscello terms this "infrastructural brutalism"--a formulation that not only alludes to the historical nexus of infrastructure and the concrete aesthetic of Brutalist architecture but also describes the ecological, political, and psychological brutality of industrial infrastructures. Truscello explores the necropolitics of infrastructure--how infrastructure determines who may live and who must die--through the lens of artistic media. He examines the white settler nostalgia of "drowned town" fiction written after the Tennessee Valley Authority flooded rural areas for hydroelectric projects; argues that the road movie represents a struggle with liberal governmentality; considers the ruins of oil capitalism, as seen in photographic landscapes of postindustrial waste; and offers an account of "death train narratives" ranging from the history of the Holocaust to postapocalyptic fiction. Finally, he calls for "brisantic politics," a culture of unmaking that is capable of slowing the advance of capitalist suicide. "Brisance" refers to the shattering effect of an explosive, but Truscello uses the term to signal a variety of practices for defeating infrastructural power. Brisantic politics, he warns, would require a reorientation of radical politics toward infrastructure, sabotage, and cascading destruction in an interconnected world.

Atmosphere, Cinema, Architecture: Thematic Reflections on Ambiance and Place explores cinema and architecture as ambient and affective settings or circumstances that can enable the emergence of atmosphere. This book is an interdisciplinary reading of cinematographic practice which develops useful implications for spatial composition in art and architectural design. The way a film is set up, directed, composed, framed, and technically constructed can provide parallels, analogies and metaphors for the spatial organisation of cities, landscapes and buildings. Likewise, the way a built setting is conceived and devised can inform approaches to framing and spatial organisation in cinematography. The book begins on a personal note with a series of recollected atmospheric experiences, leading to an investigation of ambiguity and consilient discrepancy as circumstantial conditions necessary for the production of atmosphere. The mood of melancholia is explored to show the pivotal role that ambiguity, discrepancy and irresolution play in its distinctive ambiance. Atmosphere is then defined as an emergent condition arising between an ambient, affective circumstance and a mooded human being. The book then moves to analyse the inherent conditions in the setup of filmic and architectural settings that render them atmospheric. Reference is made to the cinema of Bresson, Resnais, Lynch, Tarr, Malik and Campion, and to Romanesque tympanae, the architectonic scenography of Franz Kafka's novel The Castle and the work of Spanish architects Flores Prats. The concluding section, Anatomy of Atmosphere, is a lexicon of concepts, themes and tactics around atmosphere that might usefully inform creative practice.

Icons of Sound: Voice, Architecture, and Imagination in Medieval Art brings together art history and sound studies to offer new perspectives on medieval churches and cathedrals as spaces where the perception of the visual is inherently shaped by sound. The chapters encompass a wide geographic and historical range, from the fifth to the fifteenth century, and from Armenia and Byzantium to Venice, Rome, and Santiago de Compostela. Contributors offer nuanced explorations of the intangible sonic aura produced in these places by the ritual music and harness the use of digital technology to reconstruct historical aural environments. Rooted in a decade-long interdisciplinary research project at Stanford University, Icons of Sound expands our understanding of the inherently intertwined relationship between medieval chant and liturgy, the acoustics of architectural spaces, and their visual aesthetics. Together, the contributors provide insights that are relevant across art history, sound studies, musicology, and medieval studies.

After decades of research on minds and brains and a decade of conversations with architects, Michael Arbib presents When Brains Meet Buildings as an invitation to the science behind architecture, richly illustrated with buildings both famous and domestic. As he converses with the reader, he presents action-oriented perception, memory, and imagination as well as atmosphere, aesthetics, and emotion as keys to analyzing the experience and design of architecture. He also explores what it might mean for buildings to have "brains" and illuminates all this with an appreciation of the biological and cultural evolution that supports the diverse modes of human living that we know today. These conversations will not only raise the level of interaction between architecture and neuroscience but, by explaining the world of each group to the other, will also engage all readers who share a fascination with both the brains within them and the buildings around them. Michael Arbib is a pioneer in the interdisciplinary study of computers and brains and has long studied brain mechanisms underlying the visual control of action. His expertise makes him a unique authority on the intersection of architecture and neuroscience.

This book examines the notion of 'the homely' which rests at the foundation of Gaston Bachelard's concrete metaphysics. In order to trace the development of this effaced notion through the history of contemporary Continental philosophy and literature, this study progresses along two distinct arcs. One is presented in a traditional chronological fashion whereby the reader is invited to dig down into the enormous chasm set forth in Martin Heidegger's writing and its reception; become lost in Mark Danielewski's House of Leaves; climb out from this labyrinth into the maternal home; and, finally, come slowly to rest in Gaston Bachelard's concrete metaphysics. Then a Bachelardian topoanalysis is applied to these images drawn from philosophy and literature, metaphysical and concrete expression, in order to follow a second, more significant arc along which progressively more primal spaces are uncovered. This second arc leads back, ultimately, to the foundation of concrete metaphysics: home. Through this topoanalysis the author articulates a fundamental insight about the human desire to have 'a place of one's own', a warm and comfortable, fixed and fixing space in which to set ourselves apart from the strife and turmoil of 'The World'.

Anyone with an interest in buildings and the built environment would do well to purchase a copy of Owen Hopkins' book. - Monocle This innovative and unique book is a visual guide to the buildings that surround us. Architectural features are pinpointed and labelled on images of buildings so that, unlike with other architectural dictionaries, you don't have to know the name before looking it up. Clear line drawings and extensive colour photographs illustrate each of the main building types, from forts to churches, stately homes to skyscrapers. The individual structural elements and materials common to all buildings are then explained, whether in Classical, Gothic or Modernist style. A comprehensive glossary completes the book. This revised edition includes an expanded section on modern structures and materials, as well as the latest styles and concepts from the last ten years. A must for all lovers of architecture and those who would like to learn more Over 11,000 copies sold in English worldwide Covers all key building types and styles, from cathedrals to skyscrapers, Classical to contemporary. Each building type is illustrated with extensive photographs and annotated drawings Contains a comprehensive glossary of architectural terms

This highly acclaimed survey of modern architecture and its origins has become a classic since it first appeared in 1980, and has helped to shape architectural practice and discourse worldwide. For this extensively revised and updated fifth edition, Kenneth Frampton has added a new section that explores in detail the modernist tradition in architecture across the globe in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. He examines the varied ways in which architects are not only responding to the geographical, climatic, material and cultural contexts of their buildings, but also pursuing distinct lines of approach that emphasize topography, morphology, sustainability, materiality habitat and civic form. It remains an essential book for all students of architecture and architectural history.

A captivating exploration of Britain's most iconic contemporary buildings, from the Barratt home to the Millennium Dome. 'A love letter to contemporary buildings and a fantastic account of recent British history, rich in humour.' NINA STIBBE 'Brilliant, encyclopaedic, funny and often cutting.' DANNY DORLING 'An eloquent, witty, passionate tour of Britain since the 1980s.' JOHN BOUGHTON 'Recounts the stories of our lived landscapes with wit, passion and a shot of anger.' TOM DYCKHOFF 'Grindrod has spoken to everyone and his observations are humane and acute.' OWEN HATHERLEY Wimpey homes. Millennium monuments. Riverside flats. Wind farms. Spectacular skyscrapers. City centre apartments. Out of town malls. The buildings designed in our lifetimes encapsulate the dreams and aspirations of our culture, while also revealing the sobering realities. Whether modest or monumental, they offer a living history of Britain, symbols of the forces that have shaped our modern landscape and icons in their own right. ICONICON is an enthralling journey around the Britain we have created since 1980: the horrors and delights, the triumphs and failures. From space-age tower blocks to suburban business parks, and from postmodernist exuberance to Passivhaus eco-efficiency, this is at once a revelatory architectural grand tour and an endlessly witty and engaging piece of social history.

Despite strong forces toward globalization, much of late 20th century urbanism demonstrates a movement toward cultural differentiation. Such factors as ethnicity and religious and cultural heritages have led to the concept of hybridity as a shaper of identity. Challenging the common assumption that hybrid peoples create hybrid places and hybrid places house hybrid people, this book suggests that hybrid environments do not always accommodate pluralistic tendencies or multicultural practices. In contrast to the standard position that hybrid space results from the merger of two cultures, the book introduces the concept of a third place and argues for a more sophisticated understanding of the principal.

In contributed chapters, the book provides case studies of the third place, enabling a comparative and transnational examination of the complexity of hybridity. The book is divided into two parts. Part one deals with pre-20th century examples of places that capture the intersection of modernity and hybridity. Part two considers equivalent sites in the late 20th century, demonstrating how hybridity has been a central feature of globalization.

It is 1846 when twelve-year-old street urchin Ian Walsh and his eleven-year-old drummer friend Danny Higgins decide to abandon their hardships and travel from Ireland to America. With hopes of landing jobs building a railroad in California and finding the lost cities of gold, Ian and Danny board a cargo ship bound for New York. As the ship sets sail on the sea, Danny-affectionately nicknamed "Smiles" by the crew-is happier than he has ever been. Once Ian finds his sea legs, he contentedly spends his days perched at the bow of the ship writing in his diary. After a twenty-three-day journey across the Atlantic, the ship docks in the port of New York. The two boys soon learn that the United States is at war with Mexico and that the President is calling for volunteers to meet the Mexican threat. There is no question-Ian and Danny feel compelled to help and sign up as drummer boys in the First New York. As the two boys begin a new life in a country in the midst of great change, they learn to rely on their instinct, scrappiness, and most of all, courage.

The resonant ruins of Pompeii are perhaps the most direct route back to the living, breathing world of the ancient Romans. Two million visitors annually now walk the paved streets which re-emerged, miraculously preserved, from their layers of volcanic ash. Yet for all the fame and unique importance of the site, there is a surprising lack of a handy archaeological guide in English to reveal and explain its public spaces and private residences. This compact and user-friendly handbook, written by an expert in the field, helpfully fills that gap. Illustrated throughout with maps, plans, diagrams and other images, Pompeii: An Archaeological Guide offers a general introduction to the doomed city followed by an authoritative summary and survey of the buildings, artefacts and paintings themselves. The result is an unrivalled picture, derived from an intimate knowledge of Roman archaeology around the Bay of Naples, of the forum, temples, brothels, bath-houses, bakeries, gymnasia, amphitheatre, necropolis and other site buildings - including perennial favourites like the House of the Faun, named after its celebrated dancing satyr.

Updated with expanded coverage of twenty-first century architecture, this new edition uniquely comprises a detailed survey of Western architecture as well as architecture from the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America, India, Russia, China and Japan. Significant revision also includes photographs and textual discussion of around 50 new buildings. Written in a clear and engaging style, the text encourages readers to examine the pragmatic, innovative and aesthetic attributes of buildings. Artistic, economic, environmental, political, social and technological contexts are discussed. The global reach of the text is matched by a rich assortment of photographs from around the world and a greater array of detailed line drawings than in any architectural survey. The authors have created a formidable body of work that ranges over much of the world's architectural heritage and testifies to some of the greatest achievements of the human spirit.

Featuring more than 600 sketches depicting a vast array of architecturally and culturally significant buildings, bridges, towers, monuments, and more, Draw Like an Artist: 100 Buildings and Architectural Forms is a must-have visual reference for student and aspiring architects, artists, illustrators, and urban sketchers. This contemporary step-by-step guidebook demonstrates fundamental art and architectural concepts like proportion, perspective, and spatial relationships as you learn to draw a wide range of important residential, commercial, historic, and cultural buildings, bridges, towers, and other structures from all over the world and from ancient to modern-all shown from a variety of perspectives and scales. Each set of illustrations takes you from beginning sketch lines to a finished drawing. Author David Drazil's classic drawing style will make this a go-to sourcebook for years to come. Learn how to establish basic shapes; articulate lines for structure, forms, and shading; and add defining details by drawing these celebrated sites and many others: Residential: Fallingwater in the US and the Silo in Copenhagen Commercial: Dancing House in Prague and Sugamo Shinkin Bank in Tokyo Monuments/Sacred: Stonehenge in the UK and the Cathedral of Brasilia Bridges: Jade Belt Bridge in Beijing and the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Sydney, Australia Draw Like an Artist: 100 Buildings and Architectural Forms is a library essential for any artist or architect who's interested in learning how to draw and explore the underlying design principles of influential constructions. The books in the Draw Like an Artist series are richly visual references for learning how to draw classic subjects realistically through hundreds of step-by-step images created by expert artists and illustrators.