The first volume of the series chronicling the work of architects gmp * Von Gerkan, Marg and Partner was published in 1978, while 2008 saw the publication of the eleventh and most recent volume in the series. More than a decade later, the series is at last picking up where it left off: volume twelve of the monograph documents the projects built between 2007 and 2011, including numerous sports facilities around the world, from the three stadiums erected for the soccer world championships in 2010 in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and Durban, South Africa; to the buildings for the World University Games in 2011 in Shenzhen, China; to the Olympic stadium in Kiev. Those, however, are just a few of the sixty-five projects found in this richly illustrated volume: transportation facilities such as the Hamburg Airport and the West Train Station in Tianjin, China, as well as iconic cultural buildings such as the Chinese National Museum, the Hanoi Museum, the China Maritime Museum in Lingang, and the grand theatres in Chongqing and Qingdao are also detailed. Languages: German and English

Architecture shapes our lives to a greater extent than almost any other art form. This also applies to the buildings planned by the firm gmp * Architekten von Gerkan, Marg und Partner. With tremendous openness to building on any scale and typology under a wide variety of cultural as well as contextual conditions, the long-established firm has realized airports, soccer stadiums, and cultural buildings all over the world. Since its founding in 1965, the firm has undertaken more than 500 projects in twenty-three countries and has been honored with numerous awards for its buildings. Its extensive oeuvre is reflected in numerous publications, including this profusely illustrated 13th volume of the well-known series of monographs. The fifty buildings and projects from 2011 to 2015 discussed here range from the seat of the Vietnamese National Assembly to the Tianjin Cultural Center, Bund SOHO in Shanghai, Baku Crystal Hall, the stadiums built or converted for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the New Hans Sachs House in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and Pier A-West at Frankfurt Airport.

Focus on the detail of the design of the Qingdao Grand Theater in China. The Grand Theater Qingdao lies in the Laoshan district of the harbour city at a newly created park that stretches from the sea to the foot of the Laoshan mountains. The objective of the design was to translate the landscape and the elements into the language of architecture, creating a unique ensemble in harmony with the genius loci, or spirit, of the place. The building rises up out of the landscape like a mountain massif, while a 'floating' cloud-like roof surrounds it. This publication shows the significance of this 'stage of urban life' in the historical context of China's opera and concert houses. Texts by the architecture critic Christian Brensing and photos by the architecture photographer Christian Gahl present the building in detail. Text in English and German.

"The Shanghai Oriental Sports Center (SOSC) has emerged as a model project of German architecture and engineering skill" is the verdict of the renowned architecture journalist Dirk Meyhoefer in his architectural critique of the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. Inaugurated in 2011 on the occasion of the FINA World Swimming Championships, the site brings together the SOSC swimming facilities, a multipurpose venue, and a press centre, whose forms and materials harmonise as an ensemble. From an urban development perspective, its park grounds merge with their surroundings. In this volume, the SOSC is presented by the responsible architects and illuminated by means of images and plans. Dirk Meyhoefer comments on the ensemble in an extensive accompanying critique. Text in English and German.

The architects behind the new cultural park, Tianjin Grand Theater, offer an insight into their design process. A new culture park has been created in recent years in the Chinese harbour city of Tianjin. The Tianjin Grand Theater occupies a key position on this site, entering into a dialogue with its architectural surroundings. The circular form of the roof construction relates to that of the Natural History Museum there in such a way that it creates a connection between the earthbound museum and the seemingly floating theatre building. In this volume, the architects responsible illuminate the Grand Theater by means of texts and images, and show how syntheses can be created between western and eastern traditions in a highly modern building. The architecture critic Jurgen Tietz discusses the building in a detailed critique. Text in English and German.