This book is useful to students, architects, landscape architects, designers and artists in stimulating a dialogue about nature, design process, art and architecture. It applies an artistic methodology to architecture, works it through 3 examples, resulting in buildings connecting us to our natural landscapes and inspiring environmental awareness.
In architecture, as in food, local is an idea whose time has come. Of course, the idea of an architecture that responds to site; draws on local building traditions, materials, and crafts; and strives to create a sense of community is not recent. Yet, the way it has evolved in the past few years in the hands of some of the world's most accomplished architects is indeed defining a new movement. From the rammed-earth houses of Rick Joy and Pacific Northwest timber houses of Tom Kundig, to the community-built structures of Rural Studio and Francis Kéré, designers everywhere are championing an architecture that exists from, in, and for a specific place. The stunning projects, presented here in the first book to examine this global shift, were featured at the thirteenth and final Ghost conference held in 2011, organized by Nova Scotia architect, educator, and local practitioner Brian MacKay-Lyons. The result is the most complete collection of contemporary regionalist architecture available, with essays by early proponents of the movement, including Kenneth Frampton, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Pritzker Prize–winning architect Glenn Murcutt.
While it is widely recognized that architects and their architecture play a key role in constructing a sense of place, the inherent nexus between an architectural ideology and the production of national space and place has so far been neglected. Focusing on the Zionist ideology, this book brings together practising architects and academics to critically examine the role of architects, architecture and spatial practices as mediators between national ideology and the politicization of space. The book first of all sets out the wider context of theoretical debates concerning the role of architecture in the process of constructing a sense of place then divides into six main sections. The book not only provides an innovative new perspective on how the Israeli state had developed, but also sheds light on how architecture shapes national identity in any post-colonial and settler state.
The philosophy of CLB, Inspired by Place, permeates all the firm's design work, from public projects to bespoke homes. Their portfolio projects -- timeless, thoughtful, distinct, and beautiful -- are examples of how to tread softly on the land in some of the world's most iconic landscapes. They introduce a new approach to form and materiality in a region where the design world is often limited by a nostalgic view of the past. Inspired By Place showcases ten homes by CLB, many of which feature interiors by CLB's design team; these are always sophisticated yet comfortable and conceived as an extension of the architecture. From a streamlined modern masterpiece on the banks of the Snake River to architecture as connected barn-like structures to a private glass pavilion retreat perfectly oriented for wildlife viewing, CLB's work references local forms and vernaculars while speaking in a new architectural language for the Rocky Mountain West. The book's aesthetic is designed to match the work within and casebound in an ecologically friendly sourced, woven-linen cloth manufactured in the United States. Wrapped in a jacket with French Folds and metallic copper finishes, the book is an elegant addition to any table or shelf, while being conscious of its footprint.
The dynamic relationship between art and theology continues to fascinate and to challenge, especially when theology addresses art in all of its variety. In Architecture and Theology: The Art of Place, author Murray Rae turns to the spatial arts, especially architecture, to investigate how the art forms engaged in the construction of our built environment relate to Christian faith. Rae does not offer a theology of the spatial arts, but instead engages in a sustained theological conversation with the spatial arts. Because the spatial arts are public, visual, and communal, they wield an immense but easily overlooked influence. Architecture and Theology overcomes this inattention by offering new ways of thinking about the theological importance of space and place in our experience of God, the relation between freedom and law in Christian life, the transformation involved in God's promised new creation, biblical anticipation of the heavenly city, divine presence and absence, the architecture of repentance and remorse, and the relation between space and time. In doing so, Rae finds an ample place for theology amidst the architectural arts.
Cities have historically supported production, commerce, and consumption, all central to urban life. But in the contemporary Western city, production has been hidden or removed, and commerce and consumption have dominated. This book is about the importance of production in the life of the city, and the relationships between production, architecture, and urban form. It answers the question: What will cities be like when they become, once again, places of production and not only of consumption? Through theoretical arguments, historical analysis, and descriptions of new initiatives, Working Cities: Architecture, Place and Production argues that contemporary cities can regain their historic role as places of material production—places where food is processed and things are made. The book looks toward a future that builds on this revival, providing architectural and urban examples and current strategies within the framework of a strong set of historically-based arguments. The book is illustrated in full colour with archival and contemporary photographs, maps, and diagrams especially developed for the book. The diagrams help illustrate the different variables of architectural space, urban location, and production in different historical eras and in different kinds of industries, providing a compelling visual understanding for the reader.
Challenging mainstream architecture’s understandings of place, this book offers an illuminating clarification that allows the idea’s centrality, in all aspects of everyday design thinking, to be rediscovered or considered for the first time. Rigorous but not dense, practical but not trivialising, the book unfolds on three fronts. First, it clearly frames the pertinent aspects of topology—the philosophy of place—importantly differentiating two concepts that architecture regularly conflates: place and space. Second, it rejects the ubiquitous notion that architecture “makes place” and, instead, reasons that place is what makes architecture and the built environment possible; that place “calls” for and to architecture; and that architecture is thus invited to “listen” and respond. Finally, it turns to the matter of designing responses that result not just in more places of architecture (demanding little of design), nor merely in architecture with some “sense of place” (demanding little more), but, rising above those, responses that constitute an architecture of place (demanding the greatest vigilance but offering the utmost freedom). Opening up a term regarded as so common that its meaning is seldom considered, the author reveals the actual depth and richness of place, its innateness to architecture, and its essentiality to practitioners, clients, educators, and students—including those in all spatial disciplines.
"In addition to highlighting the human benefits of built environments which relate to particular place, time and being, many of the Japanese buildings examined illustrate practical strategies for revealing these universal parameters which are equally applicable beyond Japan. It is suggested that wider use of some of these approaches could not only help to sustain both environmental and cultural identities against the homogenising effects of globalisation, but also has the potential to heighten our appreciation of the peculiar condition of being here now."--Jacket.
An appealing approach to creating dwellings blending vernacular styles, fine craftsmanship, and indigenous materials. This volume features the recent projects of McAlpine, one of the country’s most highly respected architecture and interior design firms, renowned for its timeless houses exemplifying the charm and elegance of traditional and vernacular English, American, and European styles blended with a modern sensibility. Following from their first book, The Home Within Us, this book profiles twenty stunning projects, from a stone tower folly standing in the gardens of a Tudor-style house to a humble yet elegant wooden lakeside retreat. Through his poetic voice, Bobby McAlpine narrates the story of each residence, pointing out its unique qualities. Featured are an exotic Florida Panhandle beach house; a Tuscan-style horse farm; a rambling Colonial Revival compound; and a miniature European manor house, among others. These dwellings are classically understated and welcoming. With its gorgeous photography of inspiring interiors and exteriors, Poetry of Place will appeal to those interested in design romancing the past.