Solutions for a Modern City: Arup in Beijing explores the major projects undertaken for the 2008 Olympic Games by this influential firm of designers, engineers and planners. Founded in 1946 by Sir Ove Nyquist Arup and with offices in 37 countries worldwide, Arup has become one of the most progressive creative forces behind many of today's most innovative deisgns in the built environment, including the Sydney Opera House, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, London's 'Gherkin' and Millenium Bridge and the Manchester Aquatic Centre. Solutions for a Modern City: Arup in Beijing takes a close look at Arup's collaborative involvement in some of the key venues for the 2008 Olympics: the National Stadium known as the "Bird's Nest"; the National Aquatics Centre known as the "Water Cube" and the National Convention Centre/Fencing Hall. The book also features an in-depth look at other iconic projects including China Central Television (CCTV) Headquarters; China World Trade Centre Phase 3; Beijing South Station and the Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3. With texts by Steve Rose from The Guardian, Dan Hewitt and Vesna Petresin Robert, Solutions for a Modern City provides a beautiful and informative insight into the built and cultural transformations currently underway in China.

Krzysztof Wodiczko's artistic projects stage a dynamic and vivid encounter between aesthetics, ethics and technology. For almost 40 years, the artist's powerful and extensive body of work has deployed contemporary technologies to engage with the problematics of alterity, social responsibility and urban experience. Believing that 'public art' should perform an ethical interruption of existing social processes and their ideological underpinnings, Wodiczko's critical interventions in the urban environment have addressed issues of urban violence, homelessness, alienation and wartime trauma. Since the 1980s, he has produced large-scale slide and video projections, transforming the facades of official buildings and historical monuments into temporary spaces for critical reflection and public protest. The Public Projections series include: The Grand Army Plaza Memorial Arch, Brooklyn, NY (1983), The Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C. (1988), The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1989), Bunker Hill Monument, Boston (1998), A-Bomb Dome, Hiroshima (1999) and El Centro Cultural, Tijuana, Mexico (2001). By nature, Wodiczko's work is often controversial and the book looks at his development of a series of nomadic instruments for both homeless and immigrant operators that function as implements for survival, communication, empowerment, and healing. The Homeless Vehicle project in New York City, equips nomadic 'evicts' with tools for self-articulation, whilst the elaborate Xenology instruments are designed to empower the 'immigrant' by providing access to speech and figuration in the public realm. Like much of his work, his interrogative designs and portable instruments are animated by a desire to bring the socially opaque into the public sphere of appearances, to restore voice and visibility to those rendered mute within the parameters of the public domain. Krzysztof Wodiczko is the first full-scale study of the artist's work, its ethico-political imperatives, and the diverse interpretive lenses which accompany its theorization. Developed in close collaboration with the artist, and bringing together an array of essays by leading scholars from a variety of disciplines, the book represents the most significant and sustained engagement with the artist's practice to date.

Innovation in design, construction, planning and sustainability have established bptw's reputation within the residential, regeneration, special needs, education, health care and mixed-use sectors. Based in Greenwich, London, for the last 14 years, the projects undertaken by the practice are models of socially and environmentally conscious design. Renowned for its work with a range of clients, including private developers, housing associations, local authorities and community groups, bptw's "Celebrating Differences" presents the work of the practice in all its diversity.

"The building is designed to embody the dynamic character of a
contemporary Student Union. The complex geometries of the site
provided a starting point for an unconventional arrangement of
irregular floor plates, each one particular to its function and each
working into the next by an intricate system of trapezoidal spatial
configuration. Space flows freely in horizontal plan and vertical
section, with stairs gently twisting and slowly turning to create a
variety of diagonal break-out spaces at landings and crossings
throughout the building."
Saw Swee Hock provides an overview of the Saw Swee Hock
Students' Centre, the first new building constructed at the London
School of Economics (LSE) for over 40 years. It includes a reception,
offices, bars, a fitness centre and event and media facilities. The
book looks at the commissioning process on the part of LSE, through
the appointment of O'Donnell + T uomey Architects--who were
selected following a two-stage international design competition in
june 2009 -- to then focus on the way in which the architects have
responded to the complexities of the brief and in collaboration with
the bespoke manufacturers involved; particularly, the quality of the
bricks, each of which is hand-formed, resulting in a facade that is
both striking and very unusual for central London.
The commissioning of this type of building is the manifestation of
a larger and particularly interesting phenomenon that is happening
on a global scale: LSE, like a number of other academic institutions
around the world, has put up an aggressive programme of world
class architecture as a way of competing with other schools to
attract students internationally. The book includes contributions
by julian Robinson of LSE Estates, as well as interviews with the
designers and manufacturers who were involved in the process
of the building's realisation."

Building Happiness discusses the nature of happiness within our built environment. In association with Building Futures, the book includes ideas and debates informed by architects such as Herman Hertzberger and Aldo van Eyck, with these brought up to date through the work of contemporary architects and commentators. The nature of our environment and how we use it and how we are conditioned by it is considered in detail, particularly the ways this affects our sense of wellbeing or happiness. Is this a personal feeling or is it how space is used in our community that constructs happiness? Is it green eco-houses, traditional cottages or 1970s modernism that makes you happy? Building Happiness comprises both short commentaries and longer essays concerned with the impact of our built environment. The book also provides a visual representation of the themes addressed through evocative illustrations, sketches and photography. With an introduction contributions by architectural and social critics such as Jeremy Till, Shami Chakrabarti, and Kirsty Wark, as well as commentaries from Glenda Jackson and prestigious architects and artists such as Richard Rogers and Richard Wentworth, amongst others.

The book covers the entirety of Gowan's work, from his early employment with Powell and Moya and Lyons Israel Ellis through a selection of key projects from his partnership with James Stirling, such as the Leicester Engineering Faculty, 1963. Since then, Gowan has realised 40 years of work under his own name, including the Schreiber House, 1964, one of the most significant houses to be built in Britain in the past century. Following his designs for social housing in the 1960s and 70s the book profiles Gowan's work through to the present day, where at 83 he is completing the Humanitas Hospital in Milan.

RB Kitaj started painting The Architects in August of 1979 to celebrate the remodelling of his home by MJ Long. Painted largely without the models themselves present, this portrait of his friends against the backdrop of the stepped bookcase designed for him by MJ marks a transition in Kitaj's development as an artist.

"New Wave" is an illustrated adventure into the incredible world of flags, revealing that there is often more than meets the eye. From the infamous national flags through to signal flags, artistic flags, sporting flags and many more. "New Wave" presents useful general knowledge facts about flags as well as unveiling a surprising world of flags beyond our expectation.
Spanning geography, politics, history, culture, design and art, "New Wave" is a playfully entertaining exploration of the diversity of flags, as well as the rituals and visual aspects surrounding them. With it's fun design and handy format, this is an engaging visual treat which will draw you into its colorful world.

"Illustrated Children's Books" is a detailed look into the design and stories of children's books, focusing on the well-known illustrators and characters that have influenced readers of all ages.
"Illustrated Children's Books" goes back and visits the history of children's books, looking at the design and characters of these well loved tales. It takes us on a visual journey of the development of children's illustrations throughout the ages, the 'notion of childhood', historical facts and the design and illustration of these memorable books. Includes a foreword by the current Children's Laureate Anthony Browne.
From classics such as John Tenniel's Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh, to well-known illustrators such as Quentin Blake, this book explores the cover design, character illustration and interiors of these well-loved stories. With commentary from some of the most renowned illustrators of the day, the book examines the iconic design of children's illustrated storytelling and provides background information on the authors and illustrators.
"Illustrated Children's Books" features perennial favourites such as Dr Seuss, Miffy, Eric Carle's The Hungry Caterpillar, Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are as well as recent successes such as Oliver Jeffers' The Incredible Book Eating Boy.
With essays from Peter Hunt and Lisa Sainsbury. Peter Hunt is the Professor Emeritus in Children's Literature at Cardiff University and awarded the International Brothers Grimm Award for services to children's literature in 2003. Lisa Sainsbury is based at the National Centre for Research in Children's Literature at Roehampton University.

By the year 2025, the climate will have changed irrevocably, mainly as a result of greenhouse gas emissions. The temperature is predicted to be, on average, half a degree warmer and will fluctuate to a greater extent. Rainfall will have reduced but will also become more extreme. Resources such as energy, water and food imports will be in shorter supply and transport will be constrained; partly as a result of climate change but also due to regulations aimed at preventing global warming. In a series of important and timely books, The Edge Group explore the impact these changes will have on our lives in the future. Education and Creativity studies the future of the knowledge and creative economies in our changing world. The education sector will be key to the continued success of the UK economy, but will need to adapt to significant changes in its demographic mix coupled with higher social expectations. Transports and Networks is a thorough examination of the future of travel, both in terms of personal mobility and commerce. As the environment becomes more fragile, existing transportation networks are more and more strained. Working explores how climate change will affect the way we work and live. Proving value and competitive advantage may be a daily struggle for large parts of the UK workforce as the outsourcing of work to where it can be done most cheaply and efficiently gathers pace, in particular to the rapidly growing economies of China and India. Living and Community investigates shifts in the social fabric of our communities that will be necessitated by environmental change. The current period of conspicuous consumption will come to an end, requiring more locally-sufficient and resource-careful lifestyles. Globalism and Regionalism considers the impact that dwindling resources and restricted travel will have on global competitiveness and regional identity. Competition between countries is likely to increase. Health and Leisure contemplates the influence that our current lifestyle choices will have on our future health and well-being. The legacy of the diet of the early twenty-first century may create an obesity epidemic and the balance between those of working age and the elderly will have fundamentally shifted, forcing a crisis in the health system and forcing change. About The Edge Group - The Edge is an innovative and creative think-tank, sponsored by the building industry professions, that seeks to stimulate public interest in policy questions that affect the built environment and to inform and influence public opinion. The group also seeks to lobby parliament and industry through organisations such as the RIBA, the Institute of Civil Engineers and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, as well as the Office of the Mayor of London. The Edge was established with support from the Arup Foundation and is supported by The Carbon Trust.