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Air-Conditioning in Modern American Architecture, 1890–1970, documents how architects made environmental technologies into resources that helped shape their spatial and formal aesthetic. In doing so, it sheds important new light on the ways in which mechanical engineering has been assimilated into the culture of architecture as one facet of its broader modernist project. Tracing the development and architectural integration of air-conditioning from its origins in the late nineteenth century to the advent of the environmental movement in the early 1970s, Joseph M. Siry shows how the incorporation of mechanical systems into modernism’s discourse of functionality profoundly shaped the work of some of the movement’s leading architects, such as Dankmar Adler, Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Gordon Bunshaft, and Louis Kahn. For them, the modernist ideal of functionality was incompletely realized if it did not wholly assimilate heating, cooling, ventilating, and artificial lighting. Bridging the history of technology and the history of architecture, Siry discusses air-conditioning’s technical and social history and provides case studies of buildings by the master architects who brought this technology into the conceptual and formal project of modernism. A monumental work by a renowned expert in American modernist architecture, this book asks us to see canonical modernist buildings through a mechanical engineering–oriented lens. It will be especially valuable to scholars and students of architecture, modernism, the history of technology, and American history.
Latin America has been an important place for architecture for many decades. Recently, architecture on the continent has continued to evolve, and an extremely creative scene has developed. Within this context, the book considers outstanding projects that have prompted discussion and provided fresh impetus all across Latin America.
The essential walking companion to more than two hundred cutting-edge buildings constructed since the new millennium. The first decade of the 21st century has been a time of lively architectural production in New York City. A veritable building boom gripped the city, giving rise to a host of new—and architecturally cutting-edge—residential, corporate, institutional, academic, and commercial structures. With the boom now waning, this guidebook is perfectly timed to take stock of the city’s new skyline and map them all out, literally. This essential walking companion and guide features 200 of the most notable buildings and spaces constructed in New York’s five boroughs since the new millennium—The High Line, by James Corner Field Operations/Diller Scofidio + Renfro; 100 Eleventh Avenue, by Ateliers Jean Nouvel; Brooklyn Children’s Museum, by Rafael Vinoly Architects; 41 Cooper Square, by Morphosis; Poe Park Visitors Center, by Toshiko Mori Architect; and One Bryant Park, by Cook + Fox, to name just a few. Projects are grouped by neighborhood, allowing for easy, self-guided tours, with photos, maps, directions, and descriptions that highlight the most important aspects of each entry.
This heavily illustrated volume showcases some of the most extraordinary examples of American houses completed within the last ten years, examining in particular the meanings of the abstract forms prevalent in architecture today. Extended captions and an introduction to each house accompany spectacular drawings, photos, and floor plans. 200 color illustrations.
In Making Dystopia, distinguished architectural historian James Stevens Curl tells the story of the advent of architectural Modernism in the aftermath of the First World War, its protagonists, and its astonishing, almost global acceptance after 1945. He argues forcefully that the triumph of architectural Modernism in the second half of the twentieth century led to massive destruction, the creation of alien urban landscapes, and a huge waste of resources. Moreover, the coming of Modernism was not an inevitable, seamless evolution, as many have insisted, but a massive, unparalled disruption that demanded a clean slate and the elimination of all ornament, decoration, and choice. Tracing the effects of the Modernist revolution in architecture to the present, Stevens Curl argues that, with each passing year, so-called 'iconic' architecture by supposed 'star' architects has become more and more bizarre, unsettling, and expensive, ignoring established contexts and proving to be stratospherically remote from the aspirations and needs of humanity. In the elite world of contemporary architecture, form increasingly follows finance, and in a society in which the 'haves' have more and more, and the 'have-nots' are ever more marginalized, he warns that contemporary architecture continues to stack up huge potential problems for the future, as housing costs spiral out of control, resources are squandered on architectural bling, and society fractures. This courageous, passionate, deeply researched, and profoundly argued book should be read by everyone concerned with what is around us. Its combative critique of the entire Modernist architectural project and its apologists will be highly controversial to many. But it contains salutary warnings that we ignore at our peril. And it asks awkward questions to which answers are long overdue.
A must-have guide to one of the most fertile regions for the development of Mid-Century Modern architecture This handbook - the first ever to focus on the architectural wonders of the West Coast of the USA - provides visitors with an expertly curated list of 250 must-see destinations. Discover the most celebrated Modernist buildings, as well as hidden gems and virtually unknown examples - from the iconic Case Study houses to the glamour of Palm Springs' spectacular Modern desert structures. Much more than a travel guide, this book is a compelling record of one of the USA's most important architectural movements at a time when Mid-Century style has never been more popular. First-hand descriptions and colour photography transport readers into an era of unparalleled style, glamour, and optimism.
"Timeless reveals how Patrick Ahearn's historically motivated, human-scaled designs have advanced the art of place-making in some of America's most affluent and storied destinations. Whether carefully restoring century-old landmarked townhouses in Boston's Back Bay or creating new homes that reimagine the local vernacular of Martha's Vineyard, Ahearn demonstrates an unparalleled ability to combine the romance of traditional architecture with the ideals of modernism. With his work, he sensitively balances preservation with innovation to make buildings that feel truly timeless."--Jacket.