An exhibition centre is a central focus of a city's economic life, and in many cases a unique expression of its image. For this reason, as well as offering adequate space and infrastructure, it must make a strong, clearly recognizable architectural statement. Over the past couple of decades, new technology and globalization have transformed trade fairs: today they are not so much markets as forums for the exchange of information and contacts. This new volume in the Construction and Design Manual series spotlights twenty-two exemplary European buildings that have overcome the resulting architectural challenges. It also includes an overview of the cultural history of European trade fairs, and an interview on successful exhibitioncentre design with Volkwin Marg of gmp Architekten, one of the world's leading specialists in this area of architecture.

Venice has developed into a Mecca for international architects in the last few decades. The elite of contemporary architecture gather to celebrate the most prestigious architecture exhibition of our time at the Biennale in the shadows of St. Mark's Place, the Rialto Bridge and the Doge's Palace. It is all the more amazing that there is no current guide which covers the modern architecture of the largest open-air-museum in the world. This Architectural Guide is a ticket to a journey of discovery off the beaten tourist path through Venice after 1950. The boat trips and walks in the guide lead to new residential complexes and converted harbour sheds, to works by Carlo Scarpa, Tadao Ando and David Chipperfield. This very practical travel guide also examines controversial new projects like the flood control barriers or spectacular conversions like that of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi by Rem Koolhaas. In addition to never realised designs by Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn, the authors present all the Biennale pavilions from the last six decades.

Despite the fact that he shaped Venice and its contemporary form, Eugenio Miozzi remains a little-known figure. Yet both locals and visitors experience his legacy every day, in particular when they cross his bridges: from the Ponte della Liberta, the Ponte dell'Accademia, the various bridges over the Rio Nuovo, to the exemplary Ponte degli Scalzi. Miozzi, chief engineer of the Commune of Venice from 1931 to 1954, carried out a large number of works and projects, including a vast modernist parking garage and the Casino on the Lido. The prolific engineer-architect played a role in the development of the Fenice, made plans for the restoration of the city and the extension of the Tronchetto, and designed a trans-lagoon road and a motorway from Venice to Monaco. These projects and the others presented in this illustrated volume represent Miozzi's efforts to combine the centuries-old traditions of Venice with a spirit of innovation as a guarantee for the city's survival.