Book Description

Drawing on a wealth of images from across the UK, Europe and the USA, Malcom Miles questions the effectiveness of public art in achieving more convivial urban environments.Using a range of critical perspectives, Art, Space and the City assesses the issues relating to the public art and explains how these issues are just as relevant to architecture, urban design and urban planning. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

One of the Best Studies about Public Art
This book is one of the best studies carried through on the problematic of the public art in the internacional context. The author displays of a form notable the new conceptions of public art, collated with the classic conceptions that afect the monument. He analyzes some of the interventions more interesting of the public space, and explains the intentions of each creator. Richard Serra, Rachel Whiteread, Tone Otterness, Antony Gormley, Isamu Noguchi, Mierle Ukeles, Wodiczko, is some of the examples that the author appeals to show to the diversity of the proposals contemporaries. For beyond the artists, the author collates diverses teses defended by Rosalin Deutshe, Suzanne Lacy, Sara Selwood, Harriet F. Senie, among others. If it is interested in deepening its knowledge in the field of the public art, cannot leave to possess a unit of this book in your private library. ... Read more

Book Description

For almost two centuries Americans have been moving to the suburbs in search of affordable
family housing, unspoiled nature, and small-town sociability—only to find that their leafy
new neighborhoods are part of the growing metropolitan sprawl. It is to this contested cultural landscape, where most Americans now live, that Dolores Hayden draws our attention.

From nineteenth-century utopian communities and elite picturesque enclaves to early twentieth-century streetcar subdivisions and owner-built tracts to the vast postwar sitcom suburbs and the subsidized malls and office parks that followed (on a scale that earlier builders could never have imagined), Hayden reveals the cultural and economic patterns that have brought us to the present. She explores the interplay of natural and built environments, the complex antagonisms between real-estate developers and suburban residents, the hidden role of federal government, and the religious and ideological overtones of the “American dream” embedded in the suburbs. Hayden asks hard questions about who has benefited from the suburban building process and about “smart” growth and “green” building. And she makes a strong case for the revitalization of existing neighborhoods in place of unchecked new growth on rural fringes.
Few readers will see our ubiquitous suburbs in the same way again. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The American Suburb in History
Building Suburbia is a capable synthesis of historical and recent scholarship on the development of the suburbs in America. Hayden, a professor of architecture and urbanism and professor of American Studies at Yale, knows what she is talking about. It was clear to me that this book is written for a general, rather then specialized audience.

Hayden's writting style is easy to understand, and she provides multiple in text illustrations and photographs to illuminate the text. The book tracks the historical development of suburbs in time (the subtitle is "Green Fields and Urban Growth 1820-2000.) She starts with "Borderlands", then covers "Picturesque Enclaves", "Streetcar Buildouts", "Mail-Order and Self-Built Suburbs", "Sitcom Subrurbs", "Edge Nodes" and "Rural Fringes". This historical approach is book ended by an introduction with two chapters and a conclusion with two chapters.

Hayden includes excellent end notes and a selected bibliography that is worthwhile to have on your shelf. Since this book was written in 2003, the bibliography is chock full of RECENT books on urban studies that allow the student or casual reader to follow up in any number of directions.

Worth checking out. ... Read more

Book Description

This series of presentations and critiques, which took place at the Seaside Institute in Seaside, Florida, highlights the major issues of New Urbanism as they were discussed by the key players in the field, such as Andres Duany, Elizabeth PlaterZyberk, Stefanos Polyzoides, and Daniel Solomon, as well as such academic critics as Witold Rybczynski, Colin Rowe, Judith DiMaio, Alex Krieger, Alan Plattus, and others. Issues of growth management, promotion of civic life, land conservation, and rational transportation were discussed, focusing on eight U.S. and Canadian cities as examples. ... Read more

Book Description

It may come as no surprise that only two percent of new homebuyers work directly with an architect to design the space in which they will live – indeed, architects are usually seen as a luxury most of us, the other ninety-eight percent, can’t afford. Yet, why shouldn’t more people call on the services of architects? With fierce competition for few commissions, why do architects not seek out other sources of work and income? Now, acting within larger institutions or on their own, many architects are taking local initiatives to address the underserved, particularly the poor. Good Deeds, Good Design presents the best new thoughts and practices in this emerging movement toward an architecture that serves a broader population. In this book, architecture firms, community design centers, design/build programs, and service-based organizations offer their plans for buildings for the other ninety-eight percent. Twenty-eight essays and case studies illustrate successes and failures and raise both design and social issues.The success of Rural Studio suggests that there is a large and growing number of people who would like to see good design for all. With its clear, direct, and inspiring message, and numerous illustrated examples, Good Deeds, Good Design follows this important story. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Architecture with a Heart
Good Deeds, Good Design challenges the reader to re-think, or at the very least further refine his perspective on architecture for those who cannot afford an architect. While all the essays promote the premise that the enhancement of life by good design should be made available for those who can least afford it, they approach the "how","what" and even the "why" questions from very different perspectives.

Bell has done an excellent job of compiling these very different points of view in order to make the reader think. I have thought about some point or other from the essays almost every day for the past two weeks, and may well mull many of them over for years.

The great stories told by the case studies, like the elderly native american woman who moved from living in a school bus to a home, or the village which was given a place to gather and to worship, inspire the reader to take up the cause and act. This book should be required reading for every student of architecture (and probably for every public policy wonk as well). ... Read more

Book Description

Growing Greener is an illustrated workbook that presents a new look at designing subdivisions while preserving green space and creating open space networks. Randall Arendt explains how to design residential developments that maximize land conservation without reducing overall building density, thus avoiding the political and legal problems often associated with "down-zoning.

The author offers a three-pronged strategy for shaping growth around a community's special natural and cultural features, demonstrating ways of establishing or modifying the municipal comprehensive plan, zoning ordinance, and subdivision ordinance to include a strong conservation focus. Open space protection becomes the central organizing principle for new residential development, and the open space that is protected is laid out to form an interconnected system of protected lands running across a community.

The book offers:

• detailed information on how to conduct a community resource inventory
• a four-step approach to designing conservation subdivisions
• extensive model language for comprehensive plans, subdivision ordinances, and zoning ordinances
• illustrated design principles for hamlets, villages, and traditional small town neighborhoods

In addition, Growing Greener includes eleven case studies of actual conservation developments in nine states, and two exercises suitable for group participation. Case studies include: Ringfield, Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania; The Fields of St. Croix, City of Lake Elmo, Minnesota; Prairie Crossing, Grayslake, Illinois; The Meadows at Dolly Gordon Brook, York, Maine; Farmcolony, Standsville, Virginia; The Ranch at Roaring Fork, Carbondale, Colorado; and others.

Growing Greener builds upon and expands the basic ideas presented in Arendt's earlier work Conservation Design for Subdivisions, broadening the scope to include more detailed sections on the comprehensive planning process and information on how zoning ordinances can be updated to incorporate the concept of conservation design. It is the first practical publication to explain in detail how resource-conserving development techniques can be put into practice by municipal officials, residential developers, and site designers, and it offers a simple and straightforward approach to balancing opportunities for developers and conservationists. ... Read more

Book Description

The Urban Task Force, headed by Lord Rogers, was established by the Department of Environment, Transport and Regions, (DETR) to stimulate debate about our urban environment and to identify ways of creating urban areas in direct response to people's needs and aspirations.Their findings, conclusions and recommendations are presented in a final report to Government Ministers in Summer 99 and form the basis of this important new illustrated book. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1999, an international competition was held to select an urban park design for a former military base in Toronto. This 320-acre federal park will provide natural and formal garden environments, offering both passive and active recreation while promoting such themes as environmental sustainability, new ecologies, and the rich heritage of the site.

Contributors to this volume analyze the entries of the competition finalists and consider a range of issues raised by the competition, including landscape architecture, geography, landscape ecology, and contemporary urbanism.

This competition was especially noteworthy because it encouraged submissions from teams comprised of designers from varying fields, including ecology, graphic design, and landscape architecture. The historically charged site, the competition's visionary parameters, and the resulting innovative collaborations of the five finalists-including the winning design by a diverse team led by Rem Koolhaas of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture-make the Downsview competition and its outcome a particularly significant case study for architecture, urbanism, and landscape design. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Easy read introduction into american urban landscapes
This is really a nice book. It reads very well and gives a good introduction over major landscape elements in urban and suburban. It also includes background information about the historical development of these landscape elements. That makes it quite easy to understand the urban and suburban landscape in the U.S.. It is one of these books that you read and think "aah, that's why...". A good and cheap present for landscape architects and students (nice paper, layout and format, too). ... Read more

Book Description

This book address key issues of understanding in contemporary economic geography and local economic policy making in cities and regions in the advanced economies. ... Read more

Book Description

Both epic and intimate, this is the story of the fight to save the world’s architectural and cultural heritage as it is embodied in the extraordinary buildings and urban spaces of the great cities of Asia, the Americas, and Europe.

Never before have the complexities and dramas of urban preservation been as keenly documented as in Preserving the World’s Great Cities. In researching this important work, Anthony Tung traveled throughout the world to visit remarkable buildings and districts in China, Italy, Greece, the U.S., Japan, and elsewhere. Everywhere he found both the devastating legacy of war, economics, and indifference and the accomplishments of people who have worked and sometimes risked their lives to preserve and renew the most meaningful urban expressions of the human spirit.

From Singapore’s blind rush to become the most modern city of the East to Warsaw’s poignant and heroic effort to resurrect itself from the Nazis’ systematic campaign of physical and cultural obliteration, from New York and Rome to Kyoto and Cairo, we see the city as an expression of the best and worst within us. This is essential reading for fans of Jane Jacobs and Witold Rybczynski and everyone who is concerned about urban preservation.
... Read more

Reviews (5)

a thoughtful work
this book is a wonderful read. it should be a mandatory read for all city planners/architects. there is so much we can learn from the successes and failure of other cities' efforts in preserving their heritage.

for most people, it's still a great treat coz' the stories of how these great evolves are just mesmerizing. the tale of the reconstruction of warsaw is a moving moment of human history. and the decaying of ancient cairo is tragic and upsetting. the author manages to tell these stories in a context relevant to all of us, as a city dweller or a visitor in a globalized world. he also makes us aware of the complex underlying forces behind the metamorphosis of these urban fabrics.

i am looking forward to visiting or revisiting these great cities after reading this book. and i am eagerly waiting for a sequel that uncovers the stories of other great cities like prague, kathmandu, bangkok, shanghai, new delhi, sydney, buenos aires, havana, istanbul, barcelona...

Great book! Great cities! Great Stories, and well told!
For close to three decades, I've tried to understand why some cities preserve their historic and architectural fabric, while others destroy theirs. I now have a much better understanding about the political, social, and economic dynamics underlying preservation, or the lack thereof. Moreover, the author articulated some basics that no previous book ever did. Like, what is holding up all those building in Venice? And why did Warsaw, almost alone among cities ravaged in WWII, rebuild its historic fabric? The author not only answered my Warsaw question, but moved me to near tears in the process. (Why isn't this heroic story being made into a movie?) In short, buy this fascinating, informative book!

Can We Save Our Great Cities?
What makes a city great? How do you preserve a great city? Why do you preserve a great city? Who can preserve a great city? As you finish this well crafted review by Anthony Tung of the evolving fate of 20 famous cities from around the earth, you feel the answers to these questions are within your grasp. A great city is a living manifestation of the society that built it over the centuries. It can be preserved by the dedicated and enlightened effort of those who live in it. Only they can develop it in a way that recognizes the changes of time without giving up their cultural heritage. Great cities are the architectural fabric of civilization, showing how it evolved in various parts of the world as societies developed within a particular regional environment. Its residents, if they can maintain their culture and heritage in the face of change can preserve it, supported by benevolent assistance from others when needed.

This book makes clear that there are also common threats of destruction each of these amazing cities must face. Beyond the ravages of time, which can clearly be overcome in a stable situation, three become apparent in reading the stories of these great cities. They are destruction from war or by conquering invaders; deterioration as the original builders move out and are replaced by those who are poorer, less educated and ironically often subjugated by the original builders; and destruction to make way for more modern and impersonal buildings and infrastructure based on the influence of modern global society.

I wish to thank the author for the journey he shared with me. When he was writing about those cities I have visited, such as Paris, London, New York or Mexico City, he captured the essence of their heritage in a way that rang true to my experience. When discussing the state of those I would like to see; Beijing, Kyoto, Cairo or Athens for example, his descriptions were again lucid and highly credible. They made me want to visit the city and try to comprehend its past and its fate for myself. Written in a style that makes you feel you are in these great cities vicariously, this book not only makes you want to visit them, but also to do your part to help preserve the heritage of the city that you call home.

More than just buildings..
I picked up this book because I love Venice--no intention of buying it, just browsing, but the introduction inspired me to know and read more. What a treat this book has been! It is not at all pedantic, and encompasses far more than discussions of buildings; it is about history, lifestyles, politics, beauty, and cruelty. The book calls attention to the dire poverty so many people endure, and the deep danger that so many of the world's greatest, most historic and exotic cities face because of lack of money, corrupt politicians, gigantic bureaucracies, uncontrolled population growth, shortsightedness, and the weather. Yet the book is uplifting, too. The most amazing chapter deals with the total destruction of Warsaw during WWII, and the strength and ingenuity the Polish people used to rebuild it. I was surprised and delighted by the depth of Mr. Tung's historical knowledge, his fairness, his compassion, and his prose. A wonderful book in every way.

A Seminal Work
This is a remarkably profound and informative work. The author, Anthony Tung, has somehow successfully and exquisitly managed to comprehend the city as a living organism - uniting the social, psychological, and cultural features of the population of the city with its physical, material, and institutional environment. The physical aspect of the city is the externalization of the ethos of its people. In turn it also daily reinforces and recreates that ethos. The city is also one of the major "secondary ties", i.e. substitutes for our "primary tie", our family, that we necessarily create as we move from infancy into the chaos of the external world. As such it is one of our most important communities, and helps to provide us with a sense of identity, meaning, and stability in the face of the meaninglessness and anxiety provoking nature of the world. As the family does, it succors us and protects us. In return we give it our loyalty. As long as this relationship between the city and its people is harmonious, the quality of life ranges from the tolerable to the the exhilirating. But when that organic unity is seriously ruptured, the consequences are devastating. Thus the "preservation" of the city is too serious a matter to be left to chance.

In his scholarly review of the history of the great world cities he takes up here Tung has, together with the orientation noted above, also found exceptionally fruitful Freud's great model, from his Civilization and Its Discontents, that views history, made by human beings, as the dynamic resultant of eros and thanatos, life and death forces, of destructive and preservative impulses. Thus, all in all, he has given us a unique work, indeed a seminal work on the subject, and one which will, and should, set the tone for future scholarship and practice.

Leo Kaplan
(...) ... Read more

Book Description

The last forty years have seen an outburst of theories and manifestoes which explore the possibilities of architecture: its language, evolution and social relevance. With the many ‘crises in architecture and the obvious urban and ecological problems., Modernism has been criticised, questioned, overthrown, extended, subverted and revivified — not a peaceful time for architectural thought and production. The result has been a cascade of new theories, justifications and recipes for building. This anthology, edited by the well-known historian and critic Charles Jencks, and the urbanist and theorist Karl Kropf, collects the main texts which define these changes. Essential for the student and practitioner alike, it presents over 120 of the key arguments of todays major architectural philosophers and gurus. These show that the Modern architecture of the early part of this century has mutated into three main traditions: a critical and ecological Post-Modernism; a High-Tech and sculptural Late Modernism; and a deconstructive, subversive New Modernism. Here are the seminal texts of James Stirling, Robert Venturi, Colin Rowe, Christopher Alexander, Frank Gehry, Reyner Banham, Bernard Tschumi, Rem Koolhaas and many others who have changed the discourse of architecture. Here also are the anti-Modern texts of the traditionalists — Leon Krier, Demetri Porphyrios, Quinlan Terry, Prince Charles and others. Many of these texts are concise, edited varsions of influential books. Highly informative and richly illustrated with over forty drawings and photographs, this volume is a vital learning and teaching tool for all those interested in the philosophies of contemporary architecture. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

important writings at a glance
This little green book is like an encylopedia of contemporary famous architects' writings and is a good source for students or layman with not much architectural theory background.

surpermarket effect
This collection of texts by Mr. Jencks and Mr. Kropf is a post-modern peace of work: joining different ideas as they were equivalent. At the same time it looks like a way to inform about the theories and manifestoes, in fact, it is a redutive and destructive thing because the peaces of writing dont show the real ideas of the architects. The book gives the same importance to entire complex books, short comments about buildings, magazine inteviews, etc. They are not equivalent, people should be more respectfull with the work of the other ones, mainly when their work is to teach and to help understanding. ... Read more

Book Description

Reyner Banham examined the built environment of Los Angeles in a way no architectural historian before him had done, looking with fresh eyes at its manifestations of popular taste and industrial ingenuity, as well as its more traditional modes of residential and commercial building. His construct of "four ecologies" examined the ways Angelenos relate to the beach, the freeways, the flatlands, and the foothills. Banham delighted in this mobile city and identified it as an exemplar of the posturban future. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Getting to know LA from the ground up
Reyner Banham's writing is intelligent and entertaining. He has taken LA to heart and reveals how its "four ecologies" have affected its contemporary appearance and character. You'll not only learn how LA's architecture came to be as it is, but learn a great deal about the history and personality of the city as well. I read this book to get to know LA better. I couldn't have picked a better one. ... Read more

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absolute joy
I just finished reading WWD Illustrated by Michele Wesen Bryant, and found it an absolute joy. The book is exquisitely set out from typeset to illustrations and a pleasure to read. There is a wonderful range and diversity to the illustrations with extremely insightful connections made between fine art and fashion illustration throughout. With fashion illustration being so popular currently in many designers advertising campaigns it is invaluable to be able to put it into a historical context. I whole heartedly recommend this book from a visual as well as an intellectual and historical perspective. ... Read more

Book Description

Can architecture help us find our place and way in today's complex world? Can it return individuals to a whole, to a world, to a community? Developing Giedion's claim that contemporary architecture's main task is to interpret a way of life valid for our time, philosopher Karsten Harries answers that architecture should serve a common ethos. But if architecture is to meet that task, it first has to free itself from the dominant formalist approach, and get beyond the notion that its purpose is to produce endless variations of the decorated shed.

In a series of cogent and balanced arguments, Harries questions the premises on which architects and theorists have long relied--premises which have contributed to architecture's current identity crisis and marginalization. He first criticizes the aesthetic approach, focusing on the problems of decoration and ornament. He then turns to the language of architecture. If the main task of architecture is indeed interpretation, in just what sense can it be said to speak, and what should it be speaking about? Expanding upon suggestions made by Martin Heidegger, Harries also considers the relationship of building to the idea and meaning of dwelling. Architecture, Harries observes, has a responsibility to community; but its ethical function is inevitably also political. He concludes by examining these seemingly paradoxical functions. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A clear and profoundly illuminating meditation on art
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This is simply one of the best books I have ever read.

On one level it is a critique of contemporary thinking about architecture. In the first part of the book Harries argues that the aesthetic approach to art doesn't do justice to the meaning and power of architecture. In the second part he argues that the semiotic approach to architecture is based on a model of language that cannot fully grasp and illuminate the symbolic dimension of architecture. In the third and fourth parts Harries tries to show that questions of architecture are ultimately questions of dwelling (broadly conceived), that questions of dwelling are irreducibly ethical and political, and that architecture thus has an irreducible ethical and political function.

On a deeper level the book is a critique of modern philosophies of art. Harries follows thinkers such as Heidegger, Gadamer, and Agamben in criticizing the aesthetic approach to art (which regards artworks simply as beautiful or interesting objects) and theoretical approaches to art (which regard artworks as the expression or illustration of ideas that can best be grasped and articulated with philosophical concepts). Harries argues that artworks have the power to illuminate the world and to call us back to what really matters, and that art is a (nontheoretical) way of responding to basic questions of human existence (How should we live? What does it mean to be human?)

Unlike Heidegger, Gadamer, and Agamben, however, Harries develops his arguments with a great number of specific, concrete examples drawn from the whole history of Western architecture and art. So while the book is philosophically ambitious, it is also exceptionally clear, sober, and down to earth.

Finally, I should note that the writing itself is beautiful--it is simple, precise, and conveys a sense of deep concentration and wonder.

The Ethical Function of Architecture won the American Institute of Architects 8th Annual International Architecture Book Award for Criticism. But it is about more than architecture. I recommend it very, very highly to anyone interested in Heidegger, phenomenology, aesthetics, ethics, poetry, literary theory, modernity and modernism, and the history and philosophy of art. ... Read more

Book Description

An important look at 140 prominent landscape architects and their work, full of new and archival photographs--the first reference book of its kind. An absolute must for landscape architects, students, and anyone interested in the design and evolution of the American landscape. Each entry includes biographical information, a discussion of the architects' approach and methodology, and representative plans and photographs of major projects. Emphasizes vital issues in landscape preservation and ecologically sound design.

Excerpts from a review from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Patricia Lowry on 9/30/00:

"Pioneers" will quickly become an indispensable resource for anyone working in the field. Attractively designed and packed with more than 450 plans and photographs (including 100 in color), it's also just fun to look at and read ...

For each entry, "Pioneers" also includes a brief bibliography. The book also can serve as a travel guide; at the end is a list of sites open to the public. ...

At least 14 of the pioneers have surviving gardens, landscapes or parks here -- a reminder that this region has nationally significant landscapes that should be cherished and protected. ...

The book strives to capture not only achievements but also personality ...Birnbaum's hope is that the book will inspire academics, students and other researchers ... ... Read more

Book Description

This vast panorama spans more than two millennia of Western attempts to invent the perfect city, cradle of the ideal society. Embracing not only architecture and town planning but also art, literature, philosophy, and politics, the book takes us through the imaginary environments of a wide variety of fascinating and often controversial movements and figures, including Plato, Filarete, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas More, Thomas Jefferson, Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, Charles Fourier, Etienne Cabet, Robert Owen, William Morris, Ebenezer Howard, Bruno Taut, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, the European Situationalists, the Japanese Metabolists, Archigram, Superstudio, and many more.

The ideal cities in this richly illustrated book exist for the most part in the domain of ideas. Ruth Eaton explores the ability of ideal cities to stimulate reflection and change, and she suggests under what conditions they might continue to exercise their vital function in relation to the urban environment of the future. While it is true that notorious attempts to cross the border into reality have greatly discredited utopianism, it is good to recall—with the famous historian of cities, Lewis Mumford—that "a map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at." 300 illustrations, 250 in color. ... Read more

Book Description

Telecommunications and the City provides the first critical, state-of-the-art review of the impact of telecommunications on city development and management. Drawing on a range of theoretical approaches and a wide body of research, this book addresses key academic and policy ... Read more

Reviews (1)

What a book!
This book is like a bronseal advert, it does what it says on the tin. the authours have given a indepth look at life in a city in terms of communications. the reason i have now bought this book is that i have read the social and cultural impacts of communications within a city, and now want to read the rest. the authors which for me gives the book real zeal is that their writings are de-viod of utopian or distopian views and keep to real facts. im sorry my review is not of a professional nature, but i recommend this book to anyone in studies at degree level or anyone interested in the way a whole city operates purley by communications albeit internet, phone or any ohter communication. a must buy. ... Read more