Alejandro Bahamón – författare

Nature has always furnished stimulating ideas for the design of architecture. This collection of buildings, both vernacular and by important architects, from houses to hotels, schools, and commercial and industrial projects, reveals conscious and unconscious visual analogies with the plant world and explains why natural forms make good models for structure.

Inspired by Nature: Minerals gathers together the work of two dozen architects who have looked for solutions in the world of geology, from the models of organization offered by crystals to the inspiration of the earth’s relief, mineral voids, volcanoes, and monoliths. Among the built examples are a movie complex (Coop Himmelb(l)au), museums (Daniel Libeskind and Tadao Ando), a theater (Antoine Predock), a residence (Will Bruder), a campus (Dominique Perrault), and more, beautifully illustrated in colorful photos supplemented by plans. The visual analogies underline how architects can find elegant solutions and create new, sustainable and efficient architectonic forms by the close and understanding observation of nature.

In the fiercely competitive corporate world, brands are obliged to search for sophisticated marketing strategies in order to outshine their competitors and rise above the rest. The implementation of architecture as a marketing tool in order to “build” a corporate image is a phenomenon that in the twenty-first century has produced exceptional buildings designed by world-famous architects to elevate the status of prestigious firms through their association with iconic structures. Corporate Architecture offers an in-depth analysis of this growing trend, exploring not only the buildings themselves but also the history of each firm and its relation to evolving design concepts.Drawn from around the world, the projects documented in these pages in brilliant color photographs and in architects’ sketches, plans, and sections, are:Fashion: Prada • Christian Dior • Tod’s • Chanel • Louis Vuitton • Uniqlo • Mikimoto • Herchcovitch • GucciBanking: Borkener Volksbank • Interbank • Caja de Granada • ING • Nord/LB • FIH • Sampension A/S • VP Bank • ABN Amro • MUFG • J. Van Breda • KfWTelecommunications: Telefónica • Nortel • T-Mobile • Dogan Media Group • KPN • Vodafone • GoogleAutomotive: Bugatti • Mercedes Benz • Renault • Toyota • Ferrari • Volkswagen • Citroën • BMW • Mini

Everyday, millions of tons of garbage are dumped into landfills and consigned to perpetual disuse. But when creativity meets resourcefulness, waste can become the material for building. Never before in history has the impact of man on this planet been so important. The construction industry is one of the most polluting in the world, so contemporary architects can play a fundamental role by using waste, and—what’s more, ingenuity—to convert it into structures that are useful, imaginative, and beautiful. In our society, garbage is considered filthy, and we want only to hide it from sight. Rematerial features projects that rescue discarded materials from paper cups to cargo containers and transform them into imaginative, attractive, efficient buildings and projects that are sustainable, innovative, even daring from a conventional perspective.Rematerial brings to light a movement of diverse professionals from around the world who address this fundamental theme: the reuse of materials with architectonic purpose. Though the results are as varied as the designers, all their proposals stem from the intention of giving new life to what had been thrown out.Complementing the built work shown here, the book presents a series of initiatives aimed at promoting the use of waste in architecture, and articles that illustrate a wide panorama of the contemporary recycling culture.

Of the vast variety of types of vernacular architecture, the igloo is probably the one which provokes the most curiosity and affection. In addition to offering a detailed analysis of the building tradition and cultural significance of igloos, this book gathers together the work of contemporary architects, designers, and artists from around the world who have turned their attention to this unique compacted dome when planning some of their work. Altogether, 14 modern designs are presented, ranging from an ice hotel to memorials to a forestry conservation center. Each of these works demonstrates a clear understanding of the characteristic traits that define the igloo, the process of its construction, and its relationship with the environment-ideas of great importance in architecture and contemporary design considering the existence of this millennia—old building tradition is threatened by globalization and climate change. This is an excellent reference for architects, designers, and students interested in vernacular design.