ABSTRACT

Conversant in contemporary theory and architectural history, Stan Allen argues that concepts in architecture are not imported from other disciplines, but emerge through the materials and procedures of architectural practice itself. Drawing on his own experience as a working architect, he examines the ways in which the tools available to the architect affect the design and production of buildings.

This second edition includes revised essays together with previously unpublished work. Allen’s seminal piece on Field Conditions is included in this reworked, revised and redesigned volume. A compelling read for student and practitioner alike.

part |93 pages

Drawings

chapter I|37 pages

Constructing with Lines

On Projection

chapter II|30 pages

Notations + Diagrams

Mapping the Intangible

chapter III|24 pages

Terminal Velocities

The Computer in the Design Studio

part |61 pages

Buildings

chapter IV|20 pages

Mies' Theater of Effects

The New National Gallery, Berlin

chapter V|18 pages

The Guggenheim Refigured

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum New York, New York

chapter VI|22 pages

Le Corbusier + Modernist Movement

The Carpenter Center for Visual Arts Cambridge, Massachusetts

part |87 pages

Cities

chapter VII|34 pages

Urbanisms in the Plural

chapter VIII|24 pages

The Thick 2-D

Mat-Building in the Contemporary City

chapter IX|28 pages

From Object to Field

Field Conditions in Architecture + Urbanism