Domesticity at War
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In the years immediately following World War II, America embraced modern architecture--not as something imported from Europe, but as an entirely new mode of operation, with original and captivating designs made in the USA. Beatriz Colomina shows how postwar American architecture adapted the techniques and materials that were developed for military applications to domestic(...)
Domesticity at War
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In the years immediately following World War II, America embraced modern architecture--not as something imported from Europe, but as an entirely new mode of operation, with original and captivating designs made in the USA. Beatriz Colomina shows how postwar American architecture adapted the techniques and materials that were developed for military applications to domestic use. Just as manufacturers were turning wartime industry to peacetime productivity--going from missiles to washing machines--American architects and cultural institutions were, in Buckminster Fuller’s words, turning "weaponry into livingry." This new form of domesticity itself turned out to be a powerful weapon. Images of American domestic bliss--suburban homes, manicured lawns, kitchen accessories--went around the world as an effective propaganda campaign. Cold War anxieties were masked by endlessly repeated images of a picture-perfect domestic environment. Even the popular conception of the architect became domesticated, changing from that of an austere modernist to a plaid-shirt wearing homebody. Domesticity at War itself has a distinctive architecture. Housed within the case are two units: one book of text, and one book of illustrations--most of them in color, including advertisements, newspaper and magazine articles, architectural photographs, and more.
Architectural Theory
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Over the last decade, 'parametricism' has been heralded as a new avant-garde in the industries of architecture, urban design, and industrial design, regarded by many as the next grand style in the history of architecture, heir to postmodernism and deconstruction. From buildings to cities, the built environment is increasingly addressed, designed and constructed using(...)
The politics of parametricism digital technologies in architecture
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Over the last decade, 'parametricism' has been heralded as a new avant-garde in the industries of architecture, urban design, and industrial design, regarded by many as the next grand style in the history of architecture, heir to postmodernism and deconstruction. From buildings to cities, the built environment is increasingly addressed, designed and constructed using digital software based on parametric scripting platforms which claim to be able to process complex physical and social modelling alike. As more and more digital tools are developed into an apparently infinite repertoire of socio-technical functions, critical questions concerning these cultural and technological shifts are often eclipsed by the seductive aesthetic and the alluring futuristic imaginary that parametric design tools and their architectural products and discourses represent. The Politics of Parametricism addresses these issues, offering a collection of new essays written by leading international thinkers in the fields of digital design, architecture, theory and technology. Exploring the social, political, ethical and philosophical issues at stake in the history, practice and processes of parametric architecture and urbanism, each chapter provides different vantage points to interrogate the challenges and opportunities presented by this latest mode of technological production.
Digital Architecture
Taking to the streets: crowds, politics, and the urban experience in mid-nineteenth-Century Montreal
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The 1840s were a period of rapid growth and social conflict in Montreal. The city''s public life was marked by a series of labour conflicts and bloody sectarian riots; at the same time, the ways that elites wielded power and ordinary people engaged in the political process were changing, particularly in public space. In Taking to the Streets Dan Horner examines how the(...)
Taking to the streets: crowds, politics, and the urban experience in mid-nineteenth-Century Montreal
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The 1840s were a period of rapid growth and social conflict in Montreal. The city''s public life was marked by a series of labour conflicts and bloody sectarian riots; at the same time, the ways that elites wielded power and ordinary people engaged in the political process were changing, particularly in public space. In Taking to the Streets Dan Horner examines how the urban environment became a vital and contentious political site during the tumultuous period from the end of the 1837-38 rebellions to the burning of Parliament in 1849. Employing a close reading of newspaper and judicial archives, he looks at a broad range of collective crowd experiences, including riots, labour demonstrations, religious processions, and parades. By examining how crowd events were used both to assert claims of political authority and to challenge their legitimacy, Horner charts the development of a contentious democratic political culture in British North America. Taking to the Streets is an important contribution to the political and urban history of pre-Confederation Canada and a timely reminder of how Montrealers from all walks of life have always used the streets to build community and make their voices heard.
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From its origins in the Midwest in the early nineteenth century, the technique of light timber framing—also known at the time as "Chicago construction"—quickly came to underwrite the territorial and ideological expansion of the United States. Softwood construction was inherently practical, as its materials were readily available and required little skill to assemble. The(...)
Timber Construction
September 2023
American framing: the architecture of a specific anonymity
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From its origins in the Midwest in the early nineteenth century, the technique of light timber framing—also known at the time as "Chicago construction"—quickly came to underwrite the territorial and ideological expansion of the United States. Softwood construction was inherently practical, as its materials were readily available and required little skill to assemble. The result was a built environment that erased typological and class distinctions: no amount of money can buy you a better 2 x 4. This fundamental sameness paradoxically underlies the American culture of individuality, unifying all superficial differences. It has been both a cause and effect of the country’s high regard for novelty, in contrast with the stability that is often assumed to be essential to architecture. "American framing" is a visual and textual exploration of the social, environmental, and architectural conditions and consequences of this ubiquitous form of construction. For architecture, it offers a story of an American project that is bored with tradition, eager to choose economy over technical skill, and accepting of a relaxed idea of craft in the pursuit of something useful and new—the forming of an architecture that enables architecture.
Timber Construction
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Cornelia Hahn Oberlander (1921-2021) ws among the most eminent landscape architects in the world, known for many projects in Canada and abroad. ''Genius Loci,'' meaning the protective spirit of a place, is embodied in the seven decade span of her work. Her landscape designs demonstrate her desire to create terrains that are less an interruption and more an amplification(...)
MODIFIE Cooking sections: Salmon A Red Herring
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Cornelia Hahn Oberlander (1921-2021) ws among the most eminent landscape architects in the world, known for many projects in Canada and abroad. ''Genius Loci,'' meaning the protective spirit of a place, is embodied in the seven decade span of her work. Her landscape designs demonstrate her desire to create terrains that are less an interruption and more an amplification of what already exists on a site. Her training in modernist design and a desire to connect people with nature is immediately apparent in her landscapes. At a time when our relationship to the earth is of paramount importance, Oberlander’s projects reveal consistent and significant stewardship of the natural environment. Many of her designs—even those from 50 years ago—remain largely unchanged, testaments to her technical skill, research techniques, and judicious selection of flora. This bilingual book derives from an exhibition at the West Vancouver Art Museum, introduing projects by Oberlander, and presented in four sections devoted to playgrounds, social housing, public projects, and residential projects, showing photography of the places alongside her sketches, plans, and research proposals. The book includes contributions by Oberlander and the exhibition curators, Susan Herrington and Eva Matsuzaki.
Landscape Architecture, Monographs
Ant architecture
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Walter Tschinkel has spent much of his career investigating the hidden subterranean realm of ant nests. This wonderfully illustrated book takes you inside an unseen world where thousands of ants build intricate homes in the soil beneath our feet. Tschinkel describes the ingenious methods he has devised to study ant nests, showing how he fills a nest with plaster,(...)
Ant architecture
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Walter Tschinkel has spent much of his career investigating the hidden subterranean realm of ant nests. This wonderfully illustrated book takes you inside an unseen world where thousands of ants build intricate homes in the soil beneath our feet. Tschinkel describes the ingenious methods he has devised to study ant nests, showing how he fills a nest with plaster, molten metal, or wax and painstakingly excavates the cast. He guides you through living ant nests chamber by chamber, revealing how nests are created and how colonies function. How does nest architecture vary across species? Do ants have "architectural plans"? How do nests affect our environment? As he delves into these and other questions, Tschinkel provides a one-of-a-kind natural history of the planet's most successful creatures and a compelling firsthand account of a life of scientific discovery. Offering a unique look at how simple methods can lead to pioneering science, "Ant architecture" addresses the unsolved mysteries of underground ant nests while charting new directions for tomorrow’s research, and reflects on the role of beauty in nature and the joys of shoestring science.
Landscape Theory
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“A terrible mechanism [is] on the march, its gears multiplying.” So begins the 48th issue of Harvard Design Magazine, guest edited by Mark Lee, chair of the department of architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Florencia Rodriguez, editorial director of -Ness Magazine. The issue takes as its theme the slippery and ambiguous figure of “America,” seen(...)
Harvard Design Magazine 48 : America
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“A terrible mechanism [is] on the march, its gears multiplying.” So begins the 48th issue of Harvard Design Magazine, guest edited by Mark Lee, chair of the department of architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Florencia Rodriguez, editorial director of -Ness Magazine. The issue takes as its theme the slippery and ambiguous figure of “America,” seen through the lens of the built and unbuilt environment. Americanization—once the “terrible mechanism” bent on pressing capitalist values on emerging economies everywhere—is now in retreat, eclipsed by the more urgent domestic concerns of pandemic and climate change, racial injustice and domestic radicalization. The very notion of what constitutes America is ripe for redefinition. The America Issue of Harvard Design Magazine, featuring a new design and art direction by Alexis Mark, invites historians, architects, landscape architects, urban designers, theorists, curators, artists, and planners to reflect on the country’s past and present, and to imagine sustainable futures. Projects, taxonomies, dialogues, essays, and spatial interpretations explore possible Americas. They allow us to delve into issues relevant to small cities, towns, and rural areas—as well as major urban centers—and to study barriers and opportunities facing communities across the country.
Magazines
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How do the most diverse and relevant voices of contemporary photography respond to the urgent issues of today? In this series of small, insightful, and beautifully presented books, Henry Carroll, the bestselling photography writer of the last decade, unpacks the ideas behind images to reflect on race, gender, faith, inequality, beauty, politics, and our shifting(...)
LAND: Photographs that make you think
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How do the most diverse and relevant voices of contemporary photography respond to the urgent issues of today? In this series of small, insightful, and beautifully presented books, Henry Carroll, the bestselling photography writer of the last decade, unpacks the ideas behind images to reflect on race, gender, faith, inequality, beauty, politics, and our shifting relationship to animals, nature, and the environment. ''LAND: Photographs that make you think'' considers humanity’s changing relationship with the natural world, a relationship that has seen us edge further away from real encounters. The photographs explore how the sublime can be commodified, packaged, and distributed, leading to an alarming emotional distancing. With images from a diverse group of photographers, Carroll explores the impermanence of borders, the human reaction to scenes of devastation on Instagram feeds, and the many variables that inform one’s relationship to land. He considers how a photographer’s response to landscape is subjective, full of meaning that’s coloured by their own psyches, foibles, fears, and hopes. With captivating and striking photography, Carroll invites the reader to contemplate how their inner world influences their interactions with the natural world.
Theory of Photography
The ideal Communist city
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In 1968, lauded American architect Mary Otis Stevens (born 1928) and her partner, fellow architect Thomas McNulty (1919–84), initiated i Press, the influential imprint that focuses on the social context of architecture. Over the next five years, the duo released five books under the thematic umbrella of ''Human environment'' with the publisher George Braziller. The first(...)
Humans and cities
November 2022
The ideal Communist city
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In 1968, lauded American architect Mary Otis Stevens (born 1928) and her partner, fellow architect Thomas McNulty (1919–84), initiated i Press, the influential imprint that focuses on the social context of architecture. Over the next five years, the duo released five books under the thematic umbrella of ''Human environment'' with the publisher George Braziller. The first of this series, ''The ideal Communist city'' (1969) is an English translation of urban concepts advanced by architects and planners from the University of Moscow. The book was first published in a Soviet journal of a communist youth organization in 1960 and was then republished in Italy in 1968. Offering a new way of thinking about mobility, equity and social interaction in neighborhood planning, ''The ideal Communist city'' was a direct response to suburban development and its focus on private spaces for family life: ''the new city is a world belonging to all and each'' where life is ''structured by freely chosen relationships representing the fullest, most well-rounded aspects of each human personality.'' This publication is a facsimile of ''The ideal Communist city'', with additional texts by architectural historians and the editors.
Humans and cities
Barrier-free design
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Building for everyone -- that is the best definition of what lies behind the unwieldy concept of ""barrier-free design"": the complete and total usability of buildings, including for those with disabilities, for the integration of all of society's members can only succeed when their environment is made accessible to them. Demographic changes demand new qualities of(...)
November 2010
Barrier-free design
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Building for everyone -- that is the best definition of what lies behind the unwieldy concept of ""barrier-free design"": the complete and total usability of buildings, including for those with disabilities, for the integration of all of society's members can only succeed when their environment is made accessible to them. Demographic changes demand new qualities of private and public space, qualities that are also required by new legislation. The Detail Practice volume Barrier-Free Design provides all planners and architects, but also interested building sponsors, with basic practical information and a range of possible planning implementations in the domain of barrier freedom. It shows how corresponding requirements can be turned into aesthetically distinguished architecture. And it demonstrates that taking barrier freedom into account in the early planning stages of a project need not lead to additional costs compared to ""classical"" construction and design. In addition to an overview of planning fundamentals, the book also includes the associated body of rules and regulations as well as examples of how they are embodied in actual projects and perspectives on their development in the larger European context.