The professions of architect and engineer, which had maintained very close links since the time of the Renaissance, became increasingly isolated from one another in France during the course of the eighteenth century, the 'Age of the Enlightenment'. This book analyses the meaning of this gradual mutual isolation, the consequences of which can still be felt at a variety of different levels, and offers a unique insight in English to the teaching and practice of architects such as Jacques-Francois Blondel and Pierre Patte, and engineers such as Jean-Rodolphe Perronet and Gaspard-Riche de Prony. The text of the book is clear and easily comprehensible, and presents a fully accessible account of this key period in the development of architectural achievement and debate.

Authorship critically examines emergent themes in contemporary architecture by revisiting the seemingly defunct notion of design authorship. As we revel in the death of the master architect, how do we come to terms with the shifting role of creativity in architecture's cultural production? In Authorship, a cross-disciplinary group of designers and scholars explores this topic through a myriad of lenses. Subjects include the impact of digital tools and computational scripts on the conception of buildings in the age of robotics, the current climate of appropriation and sampling as a counter-form of authorship, and the rise of reauthored materials in a postdigital age. These questions are cast against alternative ideas of authorship that, in turn, reposition the history of architecture. Featured essays investigate the separation between the personal and the authored while other contributions expose meaning, symbolism, and iconography as the subjects of authority-not authorship. Ultimately, this book dismantles, realigns, and reassembles disparate architectural conditions to form new ways of thinking. Discourse is a biannual publication series that presents timely themes on and around architecture. A selective compilation of essays, interviews, roundtable discussions, featured exhibitions, photo-essays, and collateral materials-such as architectural models, sketches, and built works-highlight architectural culture, practice, and theory.

"The truth is, decorative art is equipment, beautiful equipment," Le Corbusier, L'Art decoratif d'aujourd'hui This book traces the history of an encounter between a remarkable invention, half-industrial half-design object, and one of the most famous architects of the 20th century. Created in 1921, the Gras lamp holds a unique place in the history of lighting. A revolutionary design of marvelous simplicity, its original purpose was to meet the needs of the booming manufacturing and retail sectors. The young Le Corbusier, passionate about the challenges of interior lighting, adopted it as his own from the early 1920s on. Thanks to its remarkable functionality, this lamp also perfectly corresponded to his desire to break with decoration and ornament, and the architect went on to utilize it in his studio in the rue de Sevres in Paris as well as his home. He also placed it in many of the interiors of the houses he designed: the Villa Le Lac (Switzerland), the Villa La Roche (Paris), the Guiette House (Antwerp), the Villa Savoye (Poissy), and the villa belonging to his friend Eileen Gray in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. Relying on rich photographic documentation from the period, the book goes through the history of the Gras lamp, its patents and various models, but it also enables the reader to rediscover Le Corbusier's interior designs through the prism of this icon of design, as he was one of this lamp's main promoters in modern times. Text in English and French. Contents: Preface, Antoine Picon; Le Corbusier and "the law of light" Arthur Ruegg; The Lamp and the Architect; Le Corbusier: For daily use; The Studio in the rue de Sevres; Private homes; A Restoration story; Le Corbusier's Designs; Introduction; Villa Le Lac, "little house," Corseaux near Vevey (Switzerland), 1923; La Roche-Jeanneret house, Paris, 1925; Guiette House, Antwerp, 1926; Villa Savoye, "Clear Hours," Poissy, 1929-1931; Swiss Pavilion, Cite Universitaire, Paris, 1931-1933; Visiting Eileen Gray; Bibliography; Chronology."

A new paradigm combining architectural tradition with emerging technologies Digital tools have launched architecture into a dizzying new era, one in which wood, stone, metal, glass, and other traditional materials are augmented by pixels and code. In this ambitious exploration, an eminent thinker examines what, exactly, the building blocks of architecture have meant over the centuries and how technology may-or may not-be changing how we think about them. Antoine Picon argues that materiality is not only about matter and that the silence and inscrutability-the otherness-of raw materials work against humanity's need to live in a meaningful world. He describes how people define who they are, in part, through their specific physical experience of architectural materials and spaces. Indeed, Picon asserts, the entire paradox of the architectural discipline consists in its desire to render matter expressive to human beings. Through a retrospective review of canonical moments in Western European architecture, Picon offers an original perspective on the ways materiality has varied throughout centuries, demonstrating how experiences of the physical world have changed in relation to the evolution of human subjectivity. Ultimately, Picon concludes that computer-based design methods are not an abrupt departure from previous architectural traditions but rather a new way for architects to control material resources. The result reinforces the fundamentally humanistic nature of architectural endeavor with an increasing sense of design freedom and a release from material constraint in the digital era.

Once condemned by Modernism and compared to a 'crime' by Adolf Loos, ornament has made a spectacular return in contemporary architecture. This is typified by the works of well-known architects such as Herzog & de Meuron, Sauerbruch Hutton, Farshid Moussavi Architecture and OMA. There is no doubt that these new ornamental tendencies are inseparable from innovations in computer technology. The proliferation of developments in design software has enabled architects to experiment afresh with texture, colour, pattern and topology.Though inextricably linked with digital tools and culture, Antoine Picon argues that some significant traits in ornament persist from earlier Western architectural traditions. These he defines as the 'subjective' - the human interaction that ornament requires in both its production and its reception - and the political. Contrary to the message conveyed by the founding fathers of modern architecture, traditional ornament was not meant only for pleasure. It conveyed vital information about the designation of buildings as well as about the rank of their owners. As such, it participated in the expression of social values, hierarchies and order. By bringing previous traditions in ornament under scrutiny, Picon makes us question the political issues at stake in today's ornamental revival. What does it tell us about present-day culture? Why are we presently so fearful of meaning in architecture? Could it be that by steering so vehemently away from symbolism, contemporary architecture is evading any explicit contribution to collective values?

A new paradigm combining architectural tradition with emerging technologies Digital tools have launched architecture into a dizzying new era, one in which wood, stone, metal, glass, and other traditional materials are augmented by pixels and code. In this ambitious exploration, an eminent thinker examines what, exactly, the building blocks of architecture have meant over the centuries and how technology may-or may not-be changing how we think about them. Antoine Picon argues that materiality is not only about matter and that the silence and inscrutability-the otherness-of raw materials work against humanity's need to live in a meaningful world. He describes how people define who they are, in part, through their specific physical experience of architectural materials and spaces. Indeed, Picon asserts, the entire paradox of the architectural discipline consists in its desire to render matter expressive to human beings. Through a retrospective review of canonical moments in Western European architecture, Picon offers an original perspective on the ways materiality has varied throughout centuries, demonstrating how experiences of the physical world have changed in relation to the evolution of human subjectivity. Ultimately, Picon concludes that computer-based design methods are not an abrupt departure from previous architectural traditions but rather a new way for architects to control material resources. The result reinforces the fundamentally humanistic nature of architectural endeavor with an increasing sense of design freedom and a release from material constraint in the digital era.

A fascinating exploration of how the growth of digital mapping, spurred by sensing technologies, is affecting cities and daily lives   What have smart technologies taught us about cities? What lessons can we learn from today’s urbanites to make better places to live? Antoine Picon and Carlo Ratti argue that the answers are in the maps we make. For centuries, we have relied on maps to navigate the enormity of the city. Now, as the physical world combines with the digital world, we need a new generation of maps to navigate the city of tomorrow. Pervasive sensors allow anyone to visualize cities in entirely new ways—ebbs and flows of pollution, traffic, and internet connectivity.   This book explores how the growth of digital mapping, spurred by sensing technologies, is affecting cities and daily lives. It examines how new cartographic possibilities aid urban planners, technicians, politicians, and administrators; how digitally mapped cities could reveal ways to make cities smarter and more efficient; how monitoring urbanites has political and social repercussions; and how the proliferation of open-source maps and collaborative platforms can aid activists and vulnerable populations. With its beautiful, accessible presentation of cutting-edge research, this book makes it easy for readers to understand the stakes of the new information age—and appreciate the timeless power of the city.

In 1996, Francois Jolliet, Antoine Hahne et Guy Nicollier founded their office Pont12. In 2013, Christiane von Roten, Cyril Michod and Norbert Seara, associate partners, joined the management. A large proportion of their contracts are the result of competition successes. Their architecture is inspired by the needs of the users and is characterised by a careful choice of materials and sophisticated details. Text in English, German and French.

This book offers a unique insight to the teaching and practice of architects and engineers."