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Books > Arts & Architecture > Architecture > Theory of architecture
In this book Egyptian Archeology and Mathematics meet. The author is an expert in theories and applications in Solid Mechanics and Inverse Problems, a former professor at Ecole Polytechnique and now works with Electricite de France on maintenance operations on nuclear power plants. In the Autumn of 1986, after the end of the operation on the King's chamber conducted under the Technological and Scientific Sponsorship of EDF, to locate a cavity, he was called to solve a mathematical inverse problem, to find the unknown tomb of the King and the density structure of the whole pyramid based on measurements of microgravity made inside and outside of the pyramid. This book recounts the various search operations on the pyramid of Cheops made at the request of the Egyptian and French authorities in 1986-1987. After the premature end of the Cheops operation in the Autumn of 1986, following the fiasco of unsuccessful drillings in the area suspected by both architects G. Dormion and J.P. Goidin and microgravity auscultation, EDF and CPGF (a geophysical company) teams continued their researches with measurements already made, trying this time an inversion of the Newton gravity equation for the entire pyramid and using another theoretical team led by the author. The inverse problem solution confirmed the results of auscultations, but found no cavity. However, the image of the average density at the surface of the entire pyramid forms a sort of square "spiral" probably related to the construction method. In 2000, Jean-Pierre Houdin considered the author's results of 1988 as a confirmation of his theory of the internal ramp tunnel. Since then the author has done additional research and found that classical theories of the construction based on degrees and the particular mode of stones filling can also report the same densitogram. The book is richly illustrated with color figures. It is dotted with information concerning Physics, Mechanics and the History of Egyptian Antiquities. The book ends with the greatest mystery of the pyramid about the unknown tomb of the King and a dream to see the tomb at an unexpected place.
Every age and every culture has relied on the incorporation of mathematics in their works of architecture to imbue the built environment with meaning and order. Mathematics is also central to the production of architecture, to its methods of measurement, fabrication and analysis. This two-volume edited collection presents a detailed portrait of the ways in which two seemingly different disciplines are interconnected. Over almost 100 chapters it illustrates and examines the relationship between architecture and mathematics. Contributors of these chapters come from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds: architects, mathematicians, historians, theoreticians, scientists and educators. Through this work, architecture may be seen and understood in a new light, by professionals as well as non-professionals. Volume II covers architecture from the Late Renaissance era, through Baroque, Ottoman, Enlightenment, Modern and contemporary styles and approaches. Key figures covered in this volume include Palladio, Michelangelo, Borromini, Sinan, Wren, Wright, Le Corbusier, Breuer, Niemeyer and Kahn. Mathematical themes which are considered include linear algebra, tiling and fractals and the geographic span of the volume s content includes works in the United States of America and Australia, in addition to those in Europe and Asia."
This book is the first overall and detailed discussion of contemporary Asia's architectural theorisations and phenomena based on its heteroglossic and decolonisation character. Lin presents a theoretical journey of transdisciplinary reflection upon contemporary Asia's pragmatic phenomena which is methodologically achieved by means of elaborations of how tangible Asian architecture can be philosophically theorised and how interchangeable architectural theory is practically 'Asianised'. Discussions in the book are critically integrated with comparative studies focused on Japan, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. These empirical examinations are highlights of phenomenal localities, architecture, cities and cultures which reference the historicity of the Asia Pacific, Asia's contemporary architectural situations, and their subtle relationship with the 'West'. The schematisation of intended 'fuzziness' for Asia and its architecture is framed as the notion polychronotypic jetztzeit to represent a present time-place context of contemporary Asian architecture and urbanism. This book will be of great interest to scholars of Asian Studies, Architectural Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Urban Studies and Cultural Studies.
With a bias for action, this book offers valuable insight into the origins of the much-celebrated Danish design tradition and how it can be employed to create design solutions to address today's environmental crisis using the planetary boundaries as positive creative constraints. Danish design has long been revered for its high-quality aesthetics, materials and craftmanship, encouraging sustainability without compromise. This book explores the lessons to be learnt from Scandinavian design ideals, introduces the philosophy and principles of circular economy, and showcases the potential power of combining circular economy and design in helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. It presents a range of case study examples across multiple sectors and includes interviews with Danish designers in architecture, furniture, fashion, digital design and industrial design, providing unique insights from some of the world's leading contemporary designers. Bridging theory and real-world insights and experiences, the book builds on the framework of the 4R’s The Circular Way: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Replace to encourage innovation through the replacement of environmentally damaging materials and business models. A must-read for product designers, industrial designers, consultants, business developers, sustainability professionals and students interested in learning how to design and implement circular, sustainable models into practice.
na broad sense Design Science is the grammar of a language of images Irather than of words. Modern communication techniques enable us to transmit and reconstitute images without needing to know a specific verbal sequence language such as the Morse code or Hungarian. International traffic signs use international image symbols which are not specific to any particular verbal language. An image language differs from a verbal one in that the latter uses a linear string of symbols, whereas the former is multi dimensional. Architectural renderings commonly show projections onto three mutual ly perpendicular planes, or consist of cross sections at different altitudes capa ble of being stacked and representing different floor plans. Such renderings make it difficult to imagine buildings comprising ramps and other features which disguise the separation between floors, and consequently limit the cre ative process of the architect. Analogously, we tend to analyze natural struc tures as if nature had used similar stacked renderings, rather than, for instance, a system of packed spheres, with the result that we fail to perceive the system of organization determining the form of such structures. Perception is a complex process. Our senses record; they are analogous to audio or video devices. We cannot, however, claim that such devices perceive."
Since the early 1800s, African Americans have designed signature buildings; however, in the mainstream marketplace, African American architects, especially women, have remained invisible in architecture history, theory and practice. Traditional architecture design studio education has been based on the historical models of the Beaux-Arts and the Bauhaus, with a split between design and production teaching. As the result of current teaching models, African American architects tend to work on the production or technical side of building rather than in the design studio. It is essential to understand the centrality of culture, gender, space and knowledge in design studios. Space Unveiled is a significant contribution to the study of architecture education, and the extent to which it has been sensitive to an inclusive cultural perspective. The research shows that this has not been the case in American education because part of the culture remains hidden.
In Natural Communication, the author criticizes the current paradigm of specific goal orientation in the complexity sciences and proposes an alternative that envisions a fundamental architectonics of communication. His model of "natural communication" encapsulates modern theoretical concepts from mathematics and physics, in particular category theory and quantum theory. From these fields it abstracts precise concepts such as to constitute a terminological basis for this theory which offers the opportunity to open up novel ways of thinking about complexity. The author is convinced that it is only possible to establish a continuity and coherence with contemporary thinking, especially with respect to complexity, through looking into the past.
Introducing Architectural Tectonics is an exploration of the poetics of construction. Tectonic theory is an integrative philosophy examining the relationships formed between design, construction, and space while creating or experiencing a work of architecture. In this text, author Chad Schwartz presents an introductory investigation into tectonic theory, subdividing it into distinct concepts in order to make it accessible to beginning and advanced students alike. The book centers on the tectonic analysis of twenty contemporary works of architecture located in eleven countries including Germany, Italy, United States, Chile, Japan, Bangladesh, Spain, and Australia and designed by such notable architects as Tadao Ando, Herzog & de Meuron, Kengo Kuma, Olson Kundig, and Peter Zumthor. Although similarities do exist between the projects, their distinctly different characteristics - location and climate, context, size, program, construction methods - and range of interpretations of tectonic expression provide the most significant lessons of the book, helping you to understand tectonic theory. Written in clear, accessible language, these investigations examine the poetic creation of architecture, showing you lessons and concepts that you can integrate into your own work, whether studying in a university classroom or practicing in a professional office.
In the 1680s Isaac Newton wrote the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. At the same time he was also working on a recreation of the plan of Solomon s Temple. In an unpublished manuscript entitled Introduction to the Lexicon of the Prophets, Part two: About the appearance of the Jewish Temple, or more commonly known by its call name Babson MS 0424, he described the architecture of the Temple. His main source for his recreation was the Book of Ezekiel, but he also used and compared it with a wide selection of Jewish, Classical, and contemporary sources, and he demonstrated a good knowledge and understanding of Vitruvius in his search for the truth of Solomon s Temple. The aim of this book is three-fold. First it contains a translation of Babson MS; this is the first translation of this manuscript into English. This manuscript contains two reconstructions of the Temple. Both are working documents that attempt to reconstruct the plan of the Temple using the text of Ezekiel which is supported with a mixture of classical and contemporary sources. The first reconstruction is illustrated. One particular image is of the Temple precinct and it is annotated with letters to match the description in the first reconstruction. This is a well known image and is often reproduced as the plan of Newton s Temple. Although the first description lays out the ground plan it only gives a few details of the uprights and cannot be fully reconstructed. However the second reconstruction is a great deal more detailed in its description and it reveals changes to the first reconstruction in its ground plan it also gives enough description to be full reconstruction. Second, the book provides a commentary to accompany the translation which puts Babson Ms 0434 into context with Newton s other works on science, chronology, prophecy and theology. Although Babson Ms 0434 is a architecture work, Newton also discusses the Temple and its rituals in many of his unpublished papers in its religious context. He conceived the Principia as the exoteric knowledge of nature while the prophets held the esoteric knowledge of nature. The prophets could only be interpreted through hieroglyphs understood through the framework of the architecture and rituals of Solomon s Temple. The Temple was also important to his works on chronology After his death Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended was published in 1728; this contains a small description of Solomon s Temple of barely 3000 words with detailed three drawings, this detail is not reflected in his description. These topics are discussed in detail. Third, the book contains a reconstruction of Newton s plan of the Temple. The three reconstructions, the two in Babson Ms 0434 and the one in Chronology are discussed and compared. The first reconstruction in Babson Ms 0434 and in Chronology are only ground plans and cannot be reconstructed in a three-dimensional model. However, the second reconstruction is a full description of the ground plan and the uprights. The book creates a reconstruct of Newton s verbal description of the Temple using ArchiCad. This reconstruction brings Newton s plan of the Temple alive. This reconstruction is contained within the sample chapter at the end of this proposal.
Architecture and Adaptation discusses architectural projects that use computational technology to adapt to changing conditions and human needs. Topics include kinetic and transformable structures, digitally driven building parts, interactive installations, intelligent environments, early precedents and their historical context, socio-cultural aspects of adaptive architecture, the history and theory of artificial life, the theory of human-computer interaction, tangible computing, and the social studies of technology. Author Socrates Yiannoudes proposes tools and frameworks for researchers to evaluate examples and tendencies in adaptive architecture. Illustrated with more than 50 black and white images.
This book focuses on Luis Frois, a 16th-century Portuguese Jesuit and chronicler, who recorded his impressions of Japanese gardens, cities and building practices, tea-drinking rituals, Japan's unification efforts, cultural traditions, and the many differences between Europe and Japan in remarkable manuscripts almost lost to time. This research also draws on other Portuguese descriptions from contemporary sources spanning the years 1543 - 1597, later validated by Japanese history and iconography. Importantly, explorer Jorge Alvares recorded his experiences of discovery, prompting St. Francis Xavier to visit Japan in 1549, thus ushering in the "Christian Century" in Japan. During this long period of accord and reciprocal curiosity, the Portuguese wrote in excess of 1500 pages of letters to European Jesuits that detail their impressions of the island nation-not to mention their observations of powerful public figures such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Sen no Rikyu. In addition to examining these letters, the authors translated and researched early descriptions of 23 gardens in Kyoto and Nara and 9 important cities-later visited by the authors, sketched, photographed and compared with the imagery painted on 16th-century Japanese screens. However, the data gathered for this project was found mainly within five large volumes of Frois' Historia do Japao (2500 pages) and his Treaty on Contradictions-two incomparable anthropological works that were unpublished until the mid-20th century for reasons detailed herein. His volumes continue to be explored for their insightful observations of places, cultural practices, and the formidable historical figures with whom he interacted. Thus, this book examines the world's first globalization efforts that resulted in profitable commerce, the introduction of Portuguese firearms that changed Japan's history, scientific advances, religious expansion, and many artistic exchanges that have endured the centuries.
The history of modern architecture has been well covered in the classical surveys of Sigfried Giedion, Kenneth Frampton, William Curtis, Alan Colquhoun, and others who traced the developments of this major movement that dominated the architectural landscape of the 20th century until the beginning of the 1970s, when a major contesting movement appeared on the scene, labelled as Post-Modernism. Taking a similar approach, this book explores the different tendencies that affected the developments of the past six decades, beginning around the 1960s, when a new wind started to blow from within Modernism, leading to different reactions and counter-reactions, the effects of which are still felt today. This book provides a survey of contemporary developments, starting with an introductory chapter on the transitional period of the 1960s and then examining the different movements that followed, charting a middle course between the 'aesthetic' histories that examine architecture solely in terms of its formal aspects, and the 'ideological' histories that subject it to a critique that often skirts the discussion of its formal aspects. Global in scope, each chapter begins with a theoretical overview of the 'paradigm' in question, leading to an examination of its main actors and projects. The survey concludes with a section on more recent trends, including environmental concerns that placed sustainability as one of the main objectives in architecture in parallel to an aesthetic direction that blurs the boundaries between architecture and art, relying on technological innovations to develop ever more complex forms.
Design Intervention: Toward a More Humane Architecture, first published in 1991, intends to demonstrate that interest in social issues is alive and well in architecture, that there is a small but effective cadre of dedicated professionals who continue to commit themselves to solving social problems, and that architecture is being applied to the alleviation of the social ills of our time. The editors and contributors in this book have all grappled with their own definitions of design innovation, and express in practical and useful ways their ideas for contributing to a better and less needy world through the architecture they describe. This book will be of interest to students of architecture.
Faced with the sale of the century-old family summer house on Cape Cod where he had spent forty-two summers, George Howe Colt recounts returning for one last stay with his wife and children in this stunning memoir that was a National Book Award Finalist and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.This poignant tribute to the eleven-bedroom jumble of gables, bays, and dormers that watched over weddings, divorces, deaths, anniversaries, birthdays, breakdowns, and love affairs for five generations interweaves Colt's final visit with memories of a lifetime of summers. Run-down yet romantic, The Big House stands not only as a cherished reminder of summer's ephemeral pleasures but also as a powerful symbol of a vanishing way of life.
How do buildings act with people and among people in the performances of life? This collection of essays reveals a deep alliance between architecture and the performing arts, uncovering its roots in ancient stories, and tracing a continuous tradition of thought that emerges in contemporary practice. With fresh insight, the authors ask how buildings perform with people as partners, rather than how they look as formal compositions. They focus on actions: the door that offers the possibility of making a dramatic entrance, the window that frames a scene, and the city street that is transformed in carnival. The essays also consider the design process as a performance improvised among many players and offer examples of recent practice that integrates theater and dance. This collection advances architectural theory, history, and criticism by proposing the lens of performance as a way to engage the multiple roles that buildings can play, without reducing them to functional categories. By casting architecture as spatial action rather than as static form, these essays open a promising avenue for future investigation. For architects, the essays propose integrating performance into design through playful explorations that can reveal intense relationships between people and place, and among people in place. Such practices develop an architectural imagination that intuitively asks, 'How might people play out their stories in this place?' and 'How might this place spark new stories?' Questions such as these reside in the heart of all of the essays presented here. Together, they open a position in the intersection between everyday life and staged performance to rethink the role of architectural design.
Bringing together leading scholars in the fields of criminology, international law, philosophy and architectural history and theory, this book examines the interrelationships between architecture and justice, highlighting the provocative and curiously ambiguous juncture between the two. Illustrated by a range of disparate and diverse case studies, it draws out the formal language of justice, and extends the effects that architecture has on both the place of, and the individuals subject to, justice. With its multi-disciplinary perspective, the study serves as a platform on which to debate the relationships between the ceremonial, legalistic, administrative and penal aspects of justice, and the spaces that constitute their settings. The structure of the book develops from the particular to the universal, from local situations to the larger city, and thereby examines the role that architecture and urban space play in the deliberations of justice. At the same time, contributors to the volume remind us of the potential impact the built environment can have in undermining the proper juridical processes of a socio-political system. Hence, the book provides both wise counsel and warnings of the role of public/civic space in affirming our sense of a just or unjust society.
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.
Ordnance: War + Architecture & Space investigates how strategies of warfare occupy and alter built and other landscapes. Ranging across the modern period from the eighteenth century to the present day, the book presents a series of case-studies which operate in and between a number of settings and scales, from the infrastructures of the battlefield to the logistics of the domestic realm. The book explores the patterns, forms and systems that articulate militarised spaces, excavates how these become re-circulated and reconfigured within other domains and discusses the often ephemeral legacies and residues of these architectures. The complexities of unpicking the spaces of the 'fog of war' are addressed by an inter-disciplinary approach which deploys graphic and textual analyses and techniques to provide new and unique perspectives on a hitherto underexplored aspect of architectural and spatial discourse: the tactics and programmes through which the built environment has historically been made to respond to the imperatives and threats of conflict and, in the context of the 'war on terror', continues to be so in ever more pervasive ways.
This book investigates the interconnections between textile and architecture via a variety of case studies from the Middle Ages through the twentieth century and from diverse geographic contexts. Among the oldest human technologies, building and weaving have intertwined histories. Textile structures go back to Palaeolithic times and are still in use today and textile furnishings have long been used in interiors. Beyond its use as a material, textile has offered a captivating model and metaphor for architecture through its ability to enclose, tie together, weave, communicate, and adorn. Recently, architects have shown a renewed interest in the textile medium due to the use of computer-aided design, digital fabrication, and innovative materials and engineering. The essays edited and compiled here, work across disciplines to provide new insights into the enduring relationship between textiles and architecture. The contributors critically explore the spatial and material qualities of textiles as well as cultural and political significance of textile artifacts, patterns, and metaphors in architecture. Textile in Architecture is organized into three sections: "Ritual Spaces," which examines the role of textiles in the formation and performance of socio-political, religious, and civic rituals; "Public and Private Interiors" explores how textiles transformed interiors corresponding to changing aesthetics, cultural values, and material practices; and "Materiality and Material Translations," which considers textile as metaphor and model in the materiality of built environment. Including cases from Morocco, Samoa, France, India, UK, Spain, the Ancient Andes and the Ottoman Empire, this is essential reading for any student or researcher interested in textiles in architecture through the ages. |
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