A beautifully illustrated single-project monograph on the innovative design process and creation of a flagship lakeside resort in central China, the Hilton Wuhan Optics Valley resort, this book showcases the chronological project phases, from the early-stage site preparations, design and engineering parameters, through to final construction and completion. The resort is a business and convention center, as well as a prime hub for political and business activities. There are dedicated spaces for meetings and receptions, a full suite of leisure facilities, such as a large spa area, an indoor heated swimming pool, an outdoor swimming pool, a gym, a cycling route, a lakeside basketball court, and a tennis court. The hotel component of the resort comprises luxury guest rooms and suites, all with private balconies overlooking a beautiful lake, a convention centre with a huge zero-pillar banquet hall, and an outdoor ceremonial lawn. Hilton Wuhan Optics Valley is featured by its innovative design. Tightly knit around the core site, the layout is characterised by a central symmetry and a clear separation of the external and the internal areas. The creative use of a cluster of courtyards interlacing each other characterises the hotel lobby. The functional areas are thus separated so that the guests can enjoy an experience of unique spaces typically offered only by small hotels. The design of the facade drew inspiration from Jing-chu culture clean lines, delicate details, traditional textures and natural materials and imparts a sense of understated luxury and otherworldly elegance, allowing the architecture of the hotel to perfectly blend into the natural environment around Yanxi Lake. This book is a unique reference and useful guide for architects, engineers and designers of resorts, or related typologies.

Set within the fascinating cultural and political world of Vienna from the fin-de-siecle to the present day, this book provides an insightful analysis of the city's extraordinarily rich architectural tradition. Since 1900, Vienna has produced many great architects and their work includes some of the finest masterpieces of the twentieth century, such as Otto Wagner's Stadtbahn stations, his Postsparkasse and his Majolica House, Adolf Loos's American Bar and Goldman & Salastch, the Secession building by Joseph Maria Olbrich and Josef Hoffmann's Palais Stoclet. Beautifully illustrated with paintings, drawings and photographs, the book stresses the importance of the highly polarized cultural politics that engulfed Vienna and produced much of what is modern in every field of culture and science. It shows how leading cultural figures such as Freud, Mahler, Schoenberg, Klimt and Twain encouraged a 'rebellious' architecture, which continued in later eras with the Wiener Gruppe, amongst others. The book also relates architectural history to the political economy that has shaped Vienna and highlights the relatively unknown tradition of Viennese social housing, initiated by social democratic Red Vienna in the 1920s. Today, 60% of Vienna's population lives in the most successful social housing in the world, which has proved to be an important factor in stimulating the successful economy of the country as a whole.

The commanding bulk of King Henry VIII in his full regalia, and Queen Elizabeth I with her fiery red hair, are mighty royal figures who still hold our fascination over four hundred years on. The Tudor period they dominated is still personified by the houses that remain standing in England's towns and villages. Black and white timber framed buildings 'jettying' out between more recent bland structures, and rambling rows of quaint cottages around a green; these are as much the iconic image of England as that of the monarchs themselves. This book sets out to explain the rich range of houses built during the Tudor period. It is divided into five sections, looking firstly at the general changes in society and how they affected the housing of the period. The second section explains the structure of the houses and the different materials used. There is a chapter on the styles of timber frame, brick, and stone houses, together with dating details. There is a section on interiors, with information about original features, and finally some details about the gardens and landscapes that surrounded the larger Tudor homes. There is also a Glossary, and a Quick Reference Guide that helps to identify the use of Tudor styles in houses of the Victorian and more modern eras.

Here is the account, in storybook form with illustrations by the author, of two artists and how they settled in northern New Mexico to try their skill at designing and building adobe houses.

In one volume clear and thorough instructions on remodeling adobe houses plus how to build an adobe fireplace. Illustrations and practical instructions make working from this book a pleasure. Designed for use by the most inexperienced person as well as the professional builder. Based on 48 years of the author's experience.

A guide, with floor plans ranging from a small casita to larger ones is given in this book, with several pluses. The smaller homes are so arranged that they allow for growth as the family, or purse, increases in size. Cabinet work throughout is in keeping and suggestions for furniture designed to complement the house are here. Plastering, the making of adobes, painting, plumbing, wiring--all the things that must be taken into account are dealt with in a practical manner that helps prevent costly errors.