Architecture and Anarchism: Building without Authority

Architecture and Anarchism: Building without Authority

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A groundbreaking look at sixty works of anarchist architecture. This book documents and illustrates sixty projects, past and present, that key into a libertarian ethos and desire for diverse self-organized ways of building. They are what this book calls “anarchist” architecture, that is, forms of design and building that embrace the core values of traditional anarchist political theory since its divergence from the mainstream of socialist politics in the nineteenth century.  As Architecture and Anarchism shows, a vast range of architectural projects reflects some or all of these values, whether they are acknowledged as specifically anarchist or not. From junk playgrounds to Freetown Christiania, Slab City to the Calais Jungle, isolated cabins to intentional communities—all are motivated by core values of autonomy, voluntary association, mutual aid, and self-organization. Taken as a whole, they are meant as an inspiration to build less uniformly, more inclusively, and more freely. This book broadens existing ideas about what constitutes anarchism in architecture and argues for its nurturing in the built environment. Understood in this way, anarchism offers a powerful way of reconceptualizing architecture as an emancipatory, inclusive, ecological, and egalitarian practice.

 

Cabin Porn: Inside

Cabin Porn: Inside

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Learn to make your own quiet place somewhere with this inspiring journey inside tranquil cabins and handmade homes, from the creators of the wildly popular Cabin Porn phenomenon. Cabin Porn began as an online project created by a group of friends to inspire their own homebuilding. It has grown into a global phenomenon, attracting thousands of submissions from fellow cabin builders and a passionate audience of millions interested in simple, efficient homes and the beauty of nature.Cabin Porn: Inside invites readers into these handmade homes to discover rooms of warmth and simplicity, connected by the universal desire to bring a simple building to life in harmony with the land around it. Each of these tranquil getaways is a lesson in living simply and joyfully.Here you will find hundreds of examples of what makes a cabin: the small details that enable their dwellers to live pleasantly and sustainably, as well as the mistakes and adaptations that reveal what builders must learn while creating their own homes. Perhaps most touching is the evidence that these homes have hosted charming and memorable evenings for the people who worked together to build them. Full of spellbinding spaces of warmth and ingenious simplicity, Cabin Porn: Inside is an invitation to the cabin of your dreams and to the serenity of a simpler life.

 

The U.S. Supreme Court's Democratic Spaces (Volume 5) (Studies in American Constitutional Heritage)

The U.S. Supreme Court's Democratic Spaces (Volume 5) (Studies in American Constitutional Heritage)

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Atop broad stone stairs flanked by statues of ancient lawgivers, the U.S. Supreme Court building stands as a shining temple to the American idea of justice. As solidly as the building occupies a physical space in the nation’s capital, its architecture defines a cultural, social, and political space in the public imagination. Through these spaces, this book explores the home of the most revered institution of U.S. politics—its origin, history, and meaning as an expression of democratic principles. The U.S. Supreme Court building opened its doors in 1935. Although it is a latecomer to the capital, the Court shares the neoclassical style of the older executive mansion and capitol building, and thus provides a coherent architectural representation of governmental power in the capital city. More than the story of the construction of one building or its technical architectural elements, The U.S. Supreme Court’s Democratic Spaces is the story of the Court’s evolution and its succession of earlier homes in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York. This timely study of how the Supreme Court building shapes Washington as a space and a place for political action and meaning yields a multidimensional view and deeper appreciation of the ways that our physical surroundings manifest who we are as a people and what we value as a society.  

 

Valode & Pistre: Architecture

Valode & Pistre: Architecture

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- Covers more than 70 high-profile projects across commercial, retail, institutional, and mixed-use programs, including the Musee d Art Contemporain de Bordeaux the headquarters for Shell, Air France and Johnson & Johnson Leonardo de Vinci University Center L'Oreal Laboratories Shenzhen Hospital and many others - Includes an introduction written by renowned architectural writer Philip Jodidio - Includes full-color photography, detailed diagrams, plans and sketches Denis Valode and Jean Pistre seem atypical in the world of contemporary architecture. Neither flamboyant nor given to controversy, they are, on the contrary, soft-spoken and kind. Their bright, cheerful offices in the heart of Paris reflect this nature. It seems quite natural that artists who work with light, such as Yann Kersale and the late Francois Morellet have been pleased to create instalations specifically for these offices because, from their first completed work, the renovation of the Musee d'Art Contemporain de Bordeaux in 1990, the pair have been actively interested in the connections between art and architecture. The architects' senses of modesty and efficiency have proven to be far more durable and better adapted to the demands of contemporary architecture than the many flamboyant styles that have come and gone since they started working together. Rather than an isolated object, a building by Valode & Pistre is conceived as being part of a tissue of relationships and situations. Valode & Pistre have actively sought out links between their projects and science, ethnology, art, sociology, or history. They do not seek to proclaim a brave new world for architecture as much as they work patiently in a way that seems natural to them. In their modesty, efficiency, and affirmed modernity in the best sense of the word, Denis Valode and Jean Pistre together with their team have staked out a considerable place in contemporary architecture, not only in France, but on the international scene as well. This lavishly photographed and beautifully presented monograph celebrates the practice's 40th anniversary. It highlights how the architects' words are in perfect harmony with their ideas - they avoid excessive rhetoric but when they talk about buildings they do so with passion and with clear ideas and methods, often involving their esthetic sense developed through the world of art. - Adapted from the Introduction

 

The Allure of Charleston: Houses, Rooms, and Gardens

The Allure of Charleston: Houses, Rooms, and Gardens

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The Allure of Charleston celebrates this historic city's eighteenth- and nineteenth-century styles and demonstrates how they continue to be employed and updated by design professionals today.Anyone who loves houses and interiors loves Charleston. The Allure of Charleston shows why by delving into the architecture and interiors of the past and present. Exploring the question of what makes Charleston so distinct, Sully demonstrates why the language of its architecture, interior design, and gardens is so versatile and enduring. Examples of Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival architecture and of rooms containing an array of English, European, and American decorative details convey the complex harmony that characterizes the city's houses. Featuring historic masterpieces including Drayton Hall, the Nathaniel Russell House, and Middleton Place, this volume also offers a look at present-day residences, among them a new house built faithfully to colonial style, a charming eighteenth-century dwelling with modern updates, a stunning Georgian town-house with a contemporary addition, and a sophisticated Federal home. The Allure of Charleston also includes a visual lexicon presenting the individual elements--wrought iron gates, garden statuary, pastel plaster walls, refined porcelain--that comprise the city's style, making this exquisite book both informative and inspiring.

 

Create Stunning Renders Using V-Ray in 3ds Max

Create Stunning Renders Using V-Ray in 3ds Max

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Create Stunning Renders using V-Ray in 3ds Max: Guiding the Next Generation of 3D Renderers is a step-by-step guide on how to create realistic renderings using V-Ray in 3ds Max. The potentials of V-Ray are detailed using a bedroom scene as an example. The book introduces the 3ds Max interface and the basic commands, allowing readers to familiarize themselves with the work environment from the very beginning.This book is intended for architects, interior designers, and anyone else wanting to create photorealistic renderings using V-Ray in 3ds Max. The reader does not need experience to follow this book, but any prior knowledge of working in 3ds Max will help the reader jump right in. Margarita Nikita is the co-founder of High Q Renders LLC, an award-winning creative company based in San Francisco, CA, with offices in Greece. Nikita has published several design books on 2D and 3D graphic design, some of which are used in university courses, actively contributing to the formation of the new generation of 3D modelers in her native country, Greece. She shares her knowledge, advice, and tips and tricks on her YouTube channel, Margarita Nikita. More of her work is available at her Instagram account, @margarita.nikita.

 

Sigurd Lewerentz Pure Aesthetics : St. Mark's Church 1960 /anglais

Sigurd Lewerentz Pure Aesthetics : St. Mark's Church 1960 /anglais

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An atmospheric masterpiece of modern religious architecture: Sigurd Lewerentz’s Markuskyrkan (St Mark’s Church) in Stockholm’s Björkhagen district. St Mark’s Church in Björkhagen, one of Stockholm’s southern districts, is one of Sigurd Lewerentz’s (1885–1975) key designs. But unlike Lewerentz’s other famous church, St Peter’s in Klippan, no book has been published to date that constitutes a fitting tribute to this masterpiece of brick brutalism. This opulent new building monograph now fills this gap. Some two hundred new color photographs and explanatory plans, alongside essays by distinguished authorities on Lewerentz’s architecture, turn this book into a visual feast. It demonstrates the exquisitely atmospheric St Mark’s Church both as a stand-alone object and in the context of its surrounding urban landscape. Moreover, it picks out many details, such as the floor coverings, furnishings, lamps, banisters, the altar, and other liturgical features. The essays explore aspects of materiality and topics such as the church’s special acoustics and atmosphere in an attempt to reveal the secret of Sigurd Lewerentz’s church designs.