Mark C. Childs – författare

In the mid-twentieth century Eddie’s Inferno Cocktail Lounge, Bunny Bread, Paris Shoe Shop, and many other businesses throughout New Mexico and the Southwest displayed eye-catching roadside signs created by the Zeon Corporation. These works of commercial art featured unique designs, irregular shapes, dynamic compositions, and neon light. The legendary fiesta dancer at the Albuquerque Terrace drive-in theater, for example, was well-known for the grace of its lines, its enormous size, and its flashing neon skirt. Created during a time before the simplified icons of major chains, many of these culturally significant artworks no longer exist. The Zeon Files rescues these historic artifacts from obscurity, presenting a collection of the working drawings of historic Route 66–era signs. In addition to presenting a visually rich archive, the authors discuss the working methods of design and construction and the craft of drafting techniques during this innovative era of American sign making.

Imagine a City That Remembers grew out of a series of articles and photographs published in the Albuquerque Tribune in 1998 and 1999. This expanded and updated collection revisits Albuquerque nearly twenty years after the original articles were written. It juxtaposes historic and contemporary photographs of Albuquerque to show diverse moments in the city’s history and development. The authors, ardent defenders of the vitality of Albuquerque’s past, contend that the city is still small enough to be in touch with its history and argue that what makes Albuquerque a great place is the continued presence of its strong traditions. They further believe that preserving Albuquerque’s natural and cultural heritage is critical to the city’s future. Throughout, both express a deep understanding for this complicated, beautiful, and often misunderstood place.

Every plan, pro-forma, design, building contract, and construction schedule is a proposal about future places. To help improve such proposals, Foresight and Design: Composing Future Places presents conceptual tools to inform design and outline the need for designers to rigorously think about potential futures.

Our built compositions are constantly transforming due to continuing urbanization, demographic shifts, climate change, the evolution of virtual worlds, economic and health disparities, and other unforeseen trends. If we envision and plan for alternative futures, we are better able to purposefully respond. This book presents emerging practices of foresight, including signals of change, thick descriptions, pace layers, (re)framing, prototyping, scenarios, maps of change, storytelling, and world-building, to indicate how robust contemplation of multiple potential futures can help us compose places that are durable, resilient, and adaptable. Five brief case studies interspersed between the chapters serve as examples of practitioners exercising foresight through these practices. Contributions include a description of a regional design process in Afghanistan by Anthony Fettes of Sasaki Architects, and an exploration into the Indigenous Futurism model-making competition by Anjelica Gallegos.

Written for architects, designers, planners, developers, city councilmembers, and engineers, this book encourages all composers of the built environment to envision alternative futures and purposefully respond.

Every plan, pro-forma, design, building contract, and construction schedule is a proposal about future places. To help improve such proposals, Foresight and Design: Composing Future Places presents conceptual tools to inform design and outline the need for designers to rigorously think about potential futures.

Our built compositions are constantly transforming due to continuing urbanization, demographic shifts, climate change, the evolution of virtual worlds, economic and health disparities, and other unforeseen trends. If we envision and plan for alternative futures, we are better able to purposefully respond. This book presents emerging practices of foresight, including signals of change, thick descriptions, pace layers, (re)framing, prototyping, scenarios, maps of change, storytelling, and world-building, to indicate how robust contemplation of multiple potential futures can help us compose places that are durable, resilient, and adaptable. Five brief case studies interspersed between the chapters serve as examples of practitioners exercising foresight through these practices. Contributions include a description of a regional design process in Afghanistan by Anthony Fettes of Sasaki Architects, and an exploration into the Indigenous Futurism model-making competition by Anjelica Gallegos.

Written for architects, designers, planners, developers, city councilmembers, and engineers, this book encourages all composers of the built environment to envision alternative futures and purposefully respond.