Covers the development of musical life in the great centres of European music - Paris, Vienna, London and the courts of Italy and Germany. The contributions of Handel and Bach, and their lesser colleagues are set in their historical and sociological context.

Museum Thresholds is a progressive, interdisciplinary volume and the first to explore the importance and potential of entrance spaces for visitor experience. Bringing together an international collection of writers from different disciplines, the chapters in this volume offer different theoretical perspectives on the nature of engagement, interaction and immersion in threshold spaces, and the factors which enable and inhibit those immersive possibilities. Organised into themed sections, the book explores museum thresholds from three different perspectives. Considering them first as a problem space, the contributors then go on to explore thresholds through different media and, finally, draw upon other subjects and professions, including performance, gaming, retail and discourse studies, in order to examine them from an entirely new perspective. Drawing upon examples that span Asia, North America and Europe, the authors set the entrance space in its historical, social and architectural contexts. Together, the essays show how the challenges posed by the threshold can be rethought and reimagined from a variety of perspectives, each of which have much to bring to future thinking and design. Combining both theory and practice, Museum Thresholds should be essential reading for academics, researchers and postgraduate students working in museum studies, digital heritage, architecture, design studies, retail studies and media studies. It will also be of great interest to museum practitioners working in a wide variety of institutions around the globe.

Urban Grids: Handbook for Regular City Design is the result of a five-year design research project undertaken by professor Joan Busquets and Dingliang Yang at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. The research that is the foundation for this publication emphasises the value of open forms for city design, a publication that specifically insists that the grid has the unique capacity to absorb and channel urban transformation flexibly and productively. Urban Grids analyses cities and urban projects that utilise the grid as the main structural device for allowing rational development, and goes further to propose speculative design projects capable of suggesting new urban paradigms drawn from the grid as a design tool. Text in Spanish.

Thinking Big: A History of Davis Langdon provides a history of one of the world's largest quantity surveying companies. They have been involved in the rebuilding of Ground Zero, Chek Lap Kok, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York and the Millennium Dome in London, amongst thousands of other projects around the world. Thinking Big is complete with illustrations of projects and details the working of this global multi-million dollar corporation and their impact on some of the most exciting buildings of the last century. Organised around seven chapters that cover different elements of the company's history in detail and written by a senior partner of the company, Thinking Big provides details of the company's foundation in the early years of the twentieth century, through the difficult years of the depression, to the firm's growth in the 1930s and its international expansion in the post-war years. The book discusses the turbulent period of the 1970s and its leading to a merger and growth of new markets in the 1980s. Thinking Big outlines the company's survival during the recession through to its increasing growth and diversification in the new millennium. The book goes on to look at the new challenges the company faces, including sustainability and the current economic crisis.

Based on a new way of describing and analyzing the kinds of spatial patterns produced by buildings and towns, this study presents a new theory of space: how and why it is a vital component of how societies work. The authors examine what it is about different types of societies that leads them to adopt different spatial forms and from this general theory they outline a "pathology of modern urbanism" in today's social context.

Now as before, Japanese architecture is very popular in Europe and the western world. This publication provides an overview of its many design concepts and cross-references. Using design examples and interviews, the book presents thirteen current positions.The publication focuses on young architects who take up extremely independent positions within Japanese architecture, as well as on Pritzker Prize winners Toyo Ito and Fumihiko Maki. Six essays by European specialists on Japan provide supplementary insights into the aesthetics and space concepts of Japanese architecture, making cross-references to Japan's architectural history, and explaining current lines of development. The book thus combines a self-reflective approach with an outsider's analytical view.

Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) was one of the most revolutionary technological visionaries of the 20th century. As an architect, engineer, entrepreneur, and poet, he was a quintessentially American self-made man. But he was also an outsider: a technologist with a poet's imagination who already developed theories of environmental control in the thirties ("more with less") and who anticipated the globalization of our planet ("think global-act local"). In light of the reawakening interest in his works and thoughts, and of their growing importance for our technological world, it is time for a reedition of this comprehensive and legendary publication from 1999. The visual reader Your Private Sky examines and documents Fuller's theories, ideas, and projects, and critically deals with his ideology of "rescue through technology."

Greg Penoyre and Sunand Prasad (recently elected President of the RIBA) have been in practice together for 18 years. In that time, they have garnered an eclectic portfolio of buildings that are both visually striking and practical, and for a variety of uses, including education, healthcare, housing and culture. "Transformations: The Architecture of Penoyre & Prasad" consists of eight essays written by Prasad: 'The Anchor of Function'; 'Architecture, Art and Culture'; 'Plan Section and Elevation'; 'Who Designs?'; 'From DIY to PFI'; 'Environments for Healing'; 'Environments for Learning'; and 'Working with Existing Buildings'. These texts discuss Penoyre and Prasad's engagement with their clients and examines its relationship to both architectural history and the contemporary situations and purposes for which the practice works. "Transformations" provides a unique and personal insight into Penoyre and Prasad's major projects, including Moorfields Eye Hospital, the Rich Mix Centre, Wolverhampton Civic Halls, Woodacre Farm Learning Difficulties Unit and the University of Portsmouth Frewen Library.

Modern American Poetry and the Architectural Imagination: The Harmony of Forms assesses the relationship between architectural and poetic innovation in the United States across the twentieth century. Taking the work of five key poets as case studies and drawing on the work of a rich range of other writers, architects, artists, and commentators, this study proposes that by examining the sustained and productive—if hitherto overlooked—engagement between the two disciplines, we enrich our understanding of the complexity and interrelationship of both. The book begins by tracing the rise of what was conceived of as 'modern' (and often 'international style') architecture and by showing how poetry and architecture in the early decades of the century developed in dialogue, and within a shared, and often transnational, context. It then moves on to examine the material, aesthetic, and social conditions that helped shape both disciplines, offering new readings of familiar poems and bringing other pertinent resources to light. It considers the uses to which poets of the period put the insights of architecture—and vice versa. In closing, Gill turns to modern and contemporary architects' written accounts of their own practice, in memoirs and other commentaries, and examines how they have assimilated, or resisted, the practice and vision of poetry.

It has been shown that spatial perception can be improved through practice. Opportunities to offer such practice are offered in this workbook, which was tested by nearly one thousand architecture students before publication, and emerged from an academic study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, conducted jointly by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and the ETH Zurich. The book contains 75 exercises that work with architectural elements but can be mastered without prior knowledge, plus a section with solutions and explanatory texts by experts from theory and practice by M. Berkowitz, D. Dietz, B. Emo, A. Gerber, Chr. Hoelscher, P. Holgate, St. Kurath, C. Leopold, D. Schulz, Th. & N. Shipley, E. Stern, D. Uttal.

Since the first edition of this book, geometrical methods in the theory of ordinary differential equations have become very popular and some progress has been made partly with the help of computers. Much of this progress is represented in this revised, expanded edition, including such topics as the Feigenbaum universality of period doubling, the Zoladec solution, the Iljashenko proof, the Ecalle and Voronin theory, the Varchenko and Hovanski theorems, and the Neistadt theory. In the selection of material for this book, the author explains basic ideas and methods applicable to the study of differential equations. Special efforts were made to keep the basic ideas free from excessive technicalities. Thus the most fundamental questions are considered in great detail, while of the more special and difficult parts of the theory have the character of a survey. Consequently, the reader needs only a general mathematical knowledge to easily follow this text. It is directed to mathematicians, as well as all users of the theory of differential equations.

The Fragile Monument is a study of the discourse of conservation and its effect on the notion and role of the monument in contemporary western society. Through a revisionist account of the history of conservation, the book explores how the monument has been transformed from an object that originally communicated permanence to an object that is perceived as fragile and in need of protection. The argument put forward is that the expansion and popularisation of conservation is bound to a narrative of loss and danger that reveals a paradoxical relationship between destruction and preservation. In a series of case-studies the book shows how spatial devices have been used to negotiate this paradox and how this use of space has contributed to the defining of the monument as an object of conservation. Throughout its history, conservation has been surrounded by a polemic dominated by concepts of authenticity, origin and authorship. By studying that debate in relation to the case-studies, The Fragile Monument adumbrates the implications these concepts carry with them, both for the discipline of conservation and for the discourse of architecture as a whole. Identifying and examining particular 'sites of conflicts' where critical uncertainty, ambivalence, and heated debates have surrounded the 'object' of restoration, The Fragile Monument contributes significantly to expanding and shifting architectural discourse into a direction of crucial relevance today.

The problem of creating affordable, adequate housing for a growing population is not a new one. This book, aimed at anyone with a professional or personal interest in improving housing provision everywhere, aims to inspire by offering in-depth studies of London's housing past and seeks to provide sustainable solutions for the future by linking to wider contemporary historical and social contexts. This book will influence today's housing debates through showcasing lessons from the past and highlights examples that inform the present. The buildings assessed in these case studies will be measured in terms of their longevity, sustained popularity, livability, average densities and productivity. The research and case studies from the book provide an invaluable resource for academics of architecture, urban design, sociology, history and geography as well as professionals, policy makers and journalists.

This collection of essays by architect Mario Gooden investigates the construction of African American identity and representation through the medium of architecture. These five texts move between history, theory, and criticism to explore a discourse of critical spatial practice engaged in the constant reshaping of the African Diaspora. African American cultural institutions designed and constructed in recent years often rely on cultural stereotypes, metaphors, and cliches to communicate significance, demonstrating "Africanisms" through form and symbolism-but there is a far richer and more complex heritage to be explored. Presented here is a series of questions that interrogate and illuminate other narratives of "African American architecture," and reveal compelling ways of translating the philosophical idea of the African Diaspora's experience into space.

In recent years we have seen a number of dramatic discoveries within the biological and related sciences. Traditional arguments such as "nature versus nurture" are rapidly disappearing because of the realization that just as we are affecting our environments, so too do these altered environments restructure our cognitive abilities and outlooks. If the biological and technological breakthroughs are promising benefits such as extended life expectancies, these same discoveries also have the potential to improve in significant ways the quality of our built environments. This poses a compelling challenge to conventional architectural theory... This is the first book to consider these new scientific and humanistic models in architectural terms. Constructed as a series of five essays around the themes of beauty, culture, emotion, the experience of architecture, and artistic play, this book draws upon a broad range of discussions taking place in philosophy, psychology, biology, neuroscience, and anthropology, and in doing so questions what implications these discussions hold for architectural design. Drawing upon a wealth of research, Mallgrave argues that we should turn our focus away from the objectification of architecture (treating design as the creation of objects) and redirect it back to those for whom we design: the people inhabiting our built environments.

Against those who consider architecture to be a wholly optimistic activity, this book shows how the history of modern architecture is inextricably tied to ideas of failure and ruin. By means of an original reading of the earliest origins of modernism, the Architecture of Failure exposes the ways in which failure has been suppressed, ignored and denied in the way we design our cities. It examines the 19th century fantasy architecture of the iron and glass exhibition palaces, strange, unprecedented, dream-like structures, almost all now lost, existing only as melancholy archive fragments; it traces the cultural legacy of these buildings through the heroics of the early 20th century, post-war radicals and recent developments, discussing related themes in art, literature, politics and philosophy. Critiquing the capitalist symbolism of the self-styled contemporary avant-garde, the book outlines a new history of contemporary architecture, and attempts to recover a radical approach to understanding what we build. Douglas Murphy blogs at http://www.youyouidiot.blogspot.com/

With the improved efficiency of heating, cooling and lighting in buildings crucial to the low carbon targets of all current governments, "Building Science: Concepts and Applications" provides a timely and much-needed addition to the existing literature on architectural and environmental design education. Taking a logical and didactic approach, the author introduces the reader to the underlying concepts and principles of the thermal, lighting, and acoustic determinants of building design in four integrated sections.

The first section explores the thermal building environment and the principles of thermal comfort, translating these principles into conceptual building design solutions. The author examines the heat flow characteristics of the building envelope and explains steady state design methods that form the basis of most building codes. He discusses the sun as a natural heat source and describes the principles of active and passive solar building design solutions.

The second section introduces the scientific principles of light, color, and vision, stressing the importance of daylight in building design, presenting the Daylight Factor design concept and methodology, and discussing glare conditions and their avoidance. It also addresses artificial lighting, delving into the prominent role that electricity plays in the production of light by artificial means and comparing the efficacy and characteristics of the various commercially available light sources in terms of the energy to light conversion ratio, life span, available intensity range, color rendition properties, and cost.

The third section deals with the various aspects of sound that impact the design of the built environment, discussing the nature of sound as a physical force that sets any medium through which it travels into vibration and laying the foundations for the treatment of sound as an important means of communication as well as a disruptive disturbance.

The final section discusses the foundational concepts of ecological design as a basis for addressing sustainability issues in building design solutions. These issues include the embedded energy of construction materials, waste management, preservation of freshwater and management of graywater, adoption of passive solar principles, energy saving measures applicable to mechanical building services, and the end-of-lifecycle deconstruction and recycling of building materials and components.Covers the fundamental building science topics of heat, energy, light and soundTakes a logical and didactic approach, tracing the historical roots of building scienceIncludes summaries of new technologies in solar energy and photovoltaic systemsFeatures a section on the principles of sustainable architectureWebsite with answers to MC questions testing students' learning

This book calls attention to the public space of cities. It proposes that the environmental performance of public space is underdeveloped and is primed to play a more integrated role in combatting the urgency of climate change, while also creating a more meaningful experience of the city. The approach is influenced by recent insights from neuroscience that are generating a growing body of evidence for the underlying bodily basis of mind and meaning imply a reformulation of urban design theory. Minding the City is an effort to refocus the subject of urban design on the tangible and visceral experience of public space, to remind urban designers that our concept of the city is grounded in bodily experience. It discusses emerging insights from neuroscience and their potential impact on urban design in detail, not as a formula for design, but to bring awareness, a new sensibility to the design process. It uses a set of case studies to illustrate how the insights from neuroscience are operative in how we experience and value the built environment. It finishes with an exploration of the sensory and aesthetic potential of sustainable systems and then illustrates, through a series of urban design studies, how they might be used to create better environmental performance while creating more meaningful, even poetic urban spaces.

The Gensler Research Catalogue, Volume 3 profiles the work of 35+ research projects conducted by Gensler professionals around the world, spanning topics from the future of autonomous vehicles to how workplace design drives great customer and workplace experiences. Graphic designers from across the firm collaborated to design the Catalogue, giving each entry a unique design language tailored to the expression of each projects' methods and findings. The diverse set of projects are unified by a human-centric approach to design research, focused on ways to improve the human experience through great design. The research is organised into chapters focused on broad topics of interest, each with an introduction focused on broad trends and implications for the future of design. In addition to profiling Gensler's myriad research investigations, the publication also highlights the history and ethos of the Gensler Research Institute. The Catalogue offers not only thought-provoking descriptions of individual research, but an overall evidence-based approach to thinking about the approach to and design of space with the human experience at its heart.

In recent years, perspective views have swept into the foreground in the field of landscape architecture. They have become the showpiece of any new design project, frequently overshadowing the plan as the principal graphic mediator of ideas. Perspectives communicate planned spaces unlike any other orthographic architectural projections, easily connecting with human modes of vision and perception. Yet we have become so accustomed to seeing them that we no longer examine their underlying messages. This manual examines the history of these multifaceted images and their power to shape our expectations and thinking. Moving chronologically from the Renaissance to the present day, the book charts their evolution and dissects the motives behind their construction. It also provides clear practical guidance on how to compose persuasive images for diverse audiences. Presented in this book are numerous historical and contemporary examples, underscoring the perspective's continuing importance in professional practice. Key thematic areas include: Introduction to terminology: Basics and principles Constructing and composing perspectives Transmitting messages: The landscape as a medium for ideas Enduring themes of beauty, the sublime, and awe The future of perspective views