Fleeing Europe in 1939 for the Australian state of Queensland, the architect Karl Langer (1903-1969) found himself positioned at the very edge of both European and Australian modernism. Confronted by tropical heat and glare, the economics of affordable housing, fiercely proud regional architectural practices, and a suspicion of the foreign, Langer moulded the European language of international modernism to the unique climatic and social conditions of tropical Australia. Published as part of the Bloomsbury Studies in Modern Architecture series, which brings to light the work of significant yet overlooked modernist architects, this book is both an examination of Langer's work and international legacy, and also a case study in tropical modernism and the trans-global dissemination of design ideas - revealing how Langer sought to reconcile his training in international modernism with a fascination for the formal and visual languages of a regional culture, context, and climate.

Despite a European training and an early career working with Peter Behrens, a migration from Vienna to the Australian state of Queensland positioned the architect Karl Langer (1903-1969) at the very edge of both European and Australian modernism. Confronted by tropical heat and glare, the economics of affordable housing, fiercely proud and regional architectural practices, and a suspicion of the foreign, Langer moulded the European language of international modernism to the unique climatic and social conditions of tropical Australia. This book will tell Langer’s story through a series of edited essays focused on key themes and projects. Published as part of the Bloomsbury Studies in Modern Architecture series, which brings to light the work of significant yet overlooked modernist architects, it is both an examination of an architect’s work and international legacy, and also a case study in the trans-global dissemination of design ideas. Studying the architect’s built and proposed work, both regional and metropolitan, the scale and reach of Langer’s practice will be considered for the first time, showing how, given his continued influence on the contemporary culture of tropical design, Langer has been unjustly ignored by the historiography of both Australian and Modernist architecture to date.

Architecture's leading thinkers and practitioners examine both the global phenomenon of the tall building and its adaptation to the Asian-Pacific context in this detailed case study. The evershifting profile of modern cities, coupled with a lack of comprehensive city planning, pose important architectural and aesthetic questions about towers' effects on culture and historic city centers. Pressing concerns about environmental sustainability and building economics are also addressed in this strikingly designed book, which draws on a diverse array of examples, including the Dong Towers of Southern China, high-rise housing in Hong Kong and Australia, and the iconic towers of Seidler, PTW, Foster, Koolhaas, Mayne and Ingenhoven & Architectus.