Detail in Process

Christine Killory and Rene Davids turn round the motto of Cecil Balmonds von Arup "to release the world of engineering and feel free to enter architecture" and, on the basis of 25 buildings erected in the USA, examine the influence on architecture of high-tech engineering from the design and energy points of view while at the same time taking into account advanced software such as CNC systems, 3-D printers and rapid prototyping. The selected architects include Behnisch, Chipperfield, Eisenman, Herzog & de Meuron, Foster and Sanaa and their projects cover institutional buildings, tower blocks, shops, museums, bridges and residential buildings – in other words a rich and varied mixture.

Accordingly the spectrum includes buildings like Chipperfield's public library for Des Moines in Iowa with its extensive facade made of Okatech panels, i.e. panels with triple glazing and inserts of copper/expanded metal which combine heat insulation and glare protection with visual excitement as day changes to night and night to day. Another project which is looked at is the flagship store for Longchamp in New York designed by Heatherwick Studio and the Atmosphere Design Group, which has its stairs, stands and goods displays created out of a cascade of steel bands in a complex geometry. Simply seeing the complexity of the dimensions of the individual steel bands is fascinating and should make anyone who is tempted to copy the design think twice.

The projects themselves are presented in a readable way with ground plans, views, cross sections and details, as well as excellent photos, some of them even showing the original building sites. The only surprising thing is that the names of the engineers whose cooperation is, according to the stated aims of this publication, regarded as so important, only appear in the appendix.

Christine Killory and Rene Davids (editors)
208 pages, 300 illustrations,
30.7 x 23.1 cm, bound
Princeton Architectural Press, New York 2008 via Birkhäuser Verlag
Recommended price: 52.- EUR
English text
ISBN 978-1-56898-718-7