Why We Build

In an era of brash, expensive, provocative new buildings, a prominent critic argues that emotions—such as hope, power, sex, and our changing relationship to the idea of home—are the most powerful force behind architecture, yesterday and (especially) today. We are living in the most dramatic period in architectural history in more than half a century: a time when cityscapes are being redrawn on a yearly basis, architects are testing the very idea of what a building is, and whole cities are being invented overnight in exotic locales or here in the United States. Now, in a bold and wide-ranging new work, Rowan Moore—former director of the Architecture Foundation, now the architecture critic for The Observer—explores the reasons behind these changes in our built environment, and how they in turn are changing the way we live in the world. Taking as his starting point dramatic examples such as the High Line in New York City and the outrageous island experiment of Dubai, Moore then reaches far and wide: back in time to explore the Covent Garden brothels of eighteenth-century London and the fetishistic minimalism of Adolf Loos; across the world to assess a software magnate’s grandiose mansion in Atlanta and Daniel Libeskind’s failed design for the World Trade Center site; and finally to the deeply naturalistic work of Lina Bo Bardi, whom he celebrates as the most underrated architect of the modern era.

Hubsch's argument that the technical progress and changed living habits of the nineteenth century rendered neoclassical principles antiquated is presented here along with responses to his essay by architects, historians, and critics over two decades.

A spectacular new title from world-renowned artist Oliver Jeffers, creator of the global phenomenon Here We Are! What shall we build, you and I? I'll build your future and you'll build mine. We'll build a watch to keep our time. A father and daughter set about laying the foundations for their life together. Using their own special tools, they get to work; building memories to cherish, a home to keep them safe and love to keep them warm. From renowned, internationally bestselling picture-book creator and visual artist, Oliver Jeffers, comes this rare and enduring story about a parent's boundless love, life's endless opportunities and all we need to build a together future.

It's not only humans who can build incredible structures: around the world, mammals, birds, and insects can be found building incredible things. From biggest beaver dams to tinniest caddisfly cases, this beautifully illustrated picture book explores each animal's incredible home and uncover the reasons why they build. Featuring bower birds and weaver birds, gophers and beavers, termites, honey bees, and many more, each amazing animal architect from around the world tells its own 'micro story' about its incredible architectural skills in this delightfully unique wildlife book.

Learn how humans have built dwellings to suit all kinds of habitats. Adapting themselves to all kinds of landscapes and climates, over the centuries humans have used their architectural ingeniousness to build amazing dwellings: find them here, from houses on stilts and igloos to tree houses and skyscrapers. Fully illustrated with clear, engaging artwork and intelligent, simple and original text presented in a clean, appealing design.

A collection of sketches and watercolours by Mikkel Frost, co-founder of Danish architecture firm CEBRA, champions drawing as a communication tool. ‘Architects do not actually build buildings,’ says Frost. ‘What we build is an idea. To visualize it, we build drawings.’ The evolutionary process of how aphorisms develop into precise architectural concepts is illustrated through a collection of Frost’s sketches and watercolours. Over 200 drawings are organized into 20 sections, each relating to one of CEBRA’s projects. An index containing colour photographs and renders of their works further illuminates how the drawings are translated into reality. Introducing the book, a written version of Frost’s TEDx talk Let your fingers do the talking elaborates on the book’s impetus: to bring a spotlight to the craft of drawing as a powerful tool for creation and communication. Features • A collection of 200+ sketches and watercolours by Danish architect Mikkel Frost. • A curated selection of drawings is organized into 20 sections, each referring to one of the projects by internationally recognized architecture firm CEBRA. • The book provides insight into the architect’s creative process, illustrating how an idea develops into a well-defined concept. • In a compact and handy format, the book champions drawing as a powerful and important communication tool for everyone.

This book examines the structural and construction design of buildings. The first part presents an overview of materials and structural forms taking the point of view of the designer, architect and engineer. The second part is an extensive examination of over 70 case studies. They have been carefully selected and tightly structured to present a summary of established modern methods of building construction. It contains copious ready-reference charts of design information, numerous photographs and meticulous axonometric drawings. The book is international in scope. Dual units are used throughout (SI and Imperial) and nearly half the case studies are taken from the USA. Cases are also drawn from Canada, Europe, Africa, Malaysia, Hong Kong as well as 25 from the UK.

"Working On A Song is one of the best books about lyric writing for the theater I've read."—Lin-Manuel Miranda Anaïs Mitchell named to TIME's List of the 100 Most Influential People in the World of 2020 An illuminating book of lyrics and stories from Hadestown—the winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical—from its author, songwriter Anaïs Mitchell with a foreword by Steve Earle On Broadway, this fresh take on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice has become a modern classic. Heralded as “The best new musical of the season,” by The Wall Street Journal, and “Sumptuous. Gorgeous. As good as it gets,” by The New York Times, the show was a breakout hit, with its poignant social commentary, and spellbinding music and lyrics. In this book, Anaïs Mitchell takes readers inside her more than decade’s-long process of building the musical from the ground up—detailing her inspiration, breaking down the lyrics, and opening up the process of creation that gave birth to Hadestown. Fans and newcomers alike will love this deeply thoughtful, revealing look at how the songs from “the underground” evolved, and became the songs we sing again and again.