In 2009, plans by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg to transform part of Broadway including Times Square into a pedestrian area caused a sensation, not just in the city but internationally. Urban areas where pedestrians have right of way over vehicles are becoming increasingly important in the modern city and have enjoyed growing popularity since the 1950s. Not only do they increase the quality of life of the residents, they also become an increasingly important locational factor. In general there are two types of pedestrian zones: the first serves primarily as an alternative transit route without cars, while the second is dedicated to shopping and entertainment in the form of traffic-free shopping streets and open pedestrian areas within shopping malls. Based on a careful selection of projects this volume presents the functional and design variety of these popular urban spaces.

Concrete is an all-around talent, already in use in ancient Rome and since the second half of the 20th century one of the most important building materials. After a period of excess and architectural faux pas a renaissance of exposed concrete began in the 1990s. Whether the design would expressive-opulent or minimalistic-clear, the constant advance of technological developments, especially sophisticated new types of concrete, made possible phenomenal, previously unattainable constructions in high design quality. This volume provides an overview of contemporary realized projects. Their selection presents the many faces of concrete and the breadth of design possibilities of this building material. Furthermore, excursuses are dedicated to the role of concrete in product design.

From the 1930s, Olivetti, the manufacturer of business products, was widely regarded as the pioneer of corporate architecture. During the 1990s, the concept became firmly established as a basic component of a corporate identity. Architecture and design are used to control the interior and exterior image of company headquarters and office buildings, to production sites and store interiors. Corporate architecture includes both individual projects ranging from high rises to trade fair booths, as well as company-wide design schemes such as that of the Apple stores around the world. The vitalizing and expressive power of architecture as a business card made of stone intends to reflect the self-image of a company and a brand s identity with the aim of expressing the corporate philosophy through architectural symbolism and constructional cultural qualities. Representing very different approaches, the examples from around the world gathered in this book present the whole scope of this extensive topic.

Individual life scripts are most clearly reflected in a persons home. The home s envelope and the arrangements within it represent its inhabitants character and identity; sometimes each component on its own, sometimes as a complementary or contradictory combination, and sometimes as a synthesis of both. The focus can be on the spaces created by the walls, the ceilings, the floors, to the distribution and partition of rooms, to the furnishings and details like sorting the spines of the books on the shelves by color. This volume presents single-family houses, apartments, villas, chalets, townhouses and lofts for singles or couples, for small or big families, or other forms of cohabitation. Featuring more than 100 projects, the most different kind of habitats from around the world are displayed. It shows that indeed every home and every living style is very special and unique.

During many eras of architectural history, builders and architects aimed to construct buildings with pure shapes and clear geometry, while foregoing decorative elements. With the advent of Classical Modernity, minimalism has become a seminal architectural style. However, the approach of architects cannot be limited to Mies van der Roh s dogma of Less is more, but corresponds rather to Less is all you need. Based on a select range of contemporary buildings, this book examines the question of how compelling esthetic impressions and expressions can be achieved with reduced shapes. Representing various types of structures, the chosen examples are mostly based on the concept of a simple comprehensive overall shape, focus on a few main materials as means of expression, and are comparatively simple to implement. Despite, or perhaps due to, the consistently applied limitations, the results are extremely remarkable.

Bamboo, one of the fastest-growing plants on earth, is best known to many people as the food of giant pandas more significant, however, is its long tradition as a construction material, especially in Asia and South America. Recently, it has also become increasingly popular among Western architects, designers, and engineers. Apart from a fantastic carbon-footprint, the material s amazing technical performance is responsible for this popularity. Because it is extremely light yet very hard at the same time it can compete with timber, concrete and steel. This volume presents contemporary projects that show the impressive versatility of its usage. It includes works that are entirely made of bamboo as well as projects that show how bamboo functions in combination with other construction materials.

Public urban spaces vary widely in type, form and size, encompassing plazas, squares and streetscapes. They serve pedestrians and flaneurs, accommodate street life in all its vibrant variations and represent the cities and towns themselves. On the one hand they are transit spaces or crossroads, while on the other hand they provide opportunities to linger or stage events. This volume features recent projects from all continents, showing the different approaches and solutions to this sophisticated design task at the intersection of architecture, landscape design and urban planning. Hardly any other area of spatial design offers so much freedom and such functional and formal diversity as does the design of urban spaces.

The apartment house is the most typical form of urban living space. Creating layered living spaces is therefore one of the most important and multifaceted tasks for contemporary architects worldwide. This concerns not only the provision of housing facilities for the urban and suburban population but equally important also the shaping of streets and cityscapes. The selection includes buildings characterized by contemporary adaptions of traditional floor plans as well as individual floor plans on every floor, space-efficient and functional single-bedroom units as well luxurious accommodations with six and more rooms plus several bathrooms. Furthermore, exterior building design is also covered: from different types of repetitive facades, to building-shells that reflect the specific urban context and exteriors with a design that work as an eye-catcher in the urban fabric.

Protection has always been the most genuine function of architecture. In the context of global warming one of the most needed type of protection is from and against the sun. This necessity has led to an impressive creative outburst of amazing technological developments for all kinds of roofs without walls. These come in all forms and sizes, in a wide variety of materials concrete, fabrics, fiberglass, wood or plants, to name a few. This volume features serial productions as well as individual designs. These shadow-providing devices range from elegant sun blinds and canopies, to fancy pergolas and luxury tents as well as small pavilions in public parks, wide covered piazzas, and even entire buildings shielded by independent overlapping roofs. With texts, facts, drawings and photos the presentation of the projects focusses on the design as well as on the constructive aspects and technical features.

Green areas of all kinds have gained significance for contemporary urban planning. In addition to the importance for the structure and appearance of urban spaces, these areas have a wide range social, ecological and economic functions. For instance, they can serve as relaxation and communication rooms, or as habitats for flora and fauna they can have an extremely positive influence on the micro-climate, not to mention the increasing attention they receive from the real estate business as a factor in site evaluation. This volume presents a broad spectrum of green areas in cities like urban parks, public roof gardens greened facades, and city squares. The interplay of international trends, regional characteristics and local traditions is especially interesting. The selection of projects shows the various tendencies of this discipline at the junction of landscape architecture and urban planning.

After the success of Architectural Visions, with its focus on German speaking countries, this follow-up volume is devoted to the individual handwriting of architects and designers from around the world. As computer aided design becomes ever more prevalent, the handmade drawing is going through a Renaissance. In its characteristic touch it often shows much more clearly which aesthetic impression the planned building finally leaves behind than any number of computer aided visualisation techniques. What is striking here is the concentration on the main characteristics of the buildings, which in turn mark the appearance. In contrast, in the rendering, the love of detail and alleged approximation of reality often overshadows those characteristics. This volume unifies the most varied painting and drawing techniques, counterposing realized drafts to photos of the execution, so that the viewers can recreate for themselves the connection between architectural will and effect.

Architecture for rescue services has come a long way in the past decade. Buildings for the police, fire brigades and ambulance stations have lost their often purely functional and shed-like appearance and have begun to strive for recognition as an equitable architectural typology since Zaha Hadids trailblazing Vitra fire station in Weil am Rhein. This building type certainly is a challenge as there are numerous conditions to be taken into account in terms of functionality and especially security. The examples chosen for this title show an amazing diversity of emergency architecture. The buildings presented frequently house more than one institution, using the latest technology and communication techniques to successfully combine different functions under one roof. The projects included range from the rural two-bay ambulance depot to police headquarters and airport fire departments.

Although convention and conference centers are in high demand, the competition is tough, so new concepts are constantly being developed. They come in a range of forms, shapes, sizes and contexts. They can form part of a hotel, an airport, a skyscraper, a mountain-chalet or stand completely on their own. This wide range allows for an exciting variety of stunning architectural and design possibilities that in combination with state-of-the-art technology make a convention center a successful enterprise. The criterion for the project selection for this volume is to cover the entire spectrum and provide a well-founded overview of the current trends. The buildings selected are by acknowledged specialists for convention centers as well as architects, who approach the attractive planning task from different perspectives.

Like once the main towers of the cathedrals, skyscrapers are the dominant landmarks in the cityscape of today and thereby one of the most prestigious building assignments of creative architects. The design freedom of the contour and the plastic volume of the blob have long since superseded the purely orthogonal towers of the past. A global view to the most significant projects of recent years and the most spectacular towers still under construction as well as path breaking experimental sketches are presented by means of texts, planning material and illustrations. Comprehensive tables give the most important performance markers and provide information about the central subjects specific to this type of building, such as vertical development, safety and energy concepts.

The greening of facades with plants gives a piece of nature back to the city. But a green facade is much more than a charming view: Thanks to its insulating effect, it evens out extreme swings in temperature, protects against UV radiation and improves sound insulation. In that regard one does not have to always rely on the usual ivy. Other evergreen or fruit bearing plants and even exotic flowers can be used as facade decoration. In that way varied and creative greening can be created which lend a colorful aesthetic tone to the cityscape. The 50 projects presented here give an overview of this current trend in landscape architecture.

Works of art make a substantial contribution to cultural identification. When they are placed in a public place this function is enhanced. However the artworks also acknowledge other tasks: they figuratively announce content in their traditional role, standing as the image of a ruler or at least serve as decoration, while in the Modern period they become increasingly space defining or shaping. In this volume around 150 works present the history of this species of art. By referring to important contemporary works, the development of contemporary art in public places during the last decades, which dominates the volume with about 350 examples, can be traced. Succinct texts locating the work, the artist and the style, concentrate on what is special about the works and explain the effect they have every day on passers-by according to Paul Watzlawick's axiom that One can not not communicate.