Soumyen Bandyopadhyay – författare

Site and Composition examines design strategies and tactics in site making. It is concerned with the need for a renewed understanding of the site in the twenty-first century and the need for a critical position regarding the continued tendency to view the site as an isolated ‘fragment’ severed from its wider context. The book argues revisiting the traditional instruments or means of both siting and composition in Architecture to explore their true potential in achieving connections between site and context. Through the various examples studied here it is suggested that such instrumental means have the potential for achieving greater poetic outcomes. The book focuses on the works of twentieth century architects of wide-ranging persuasion – Peter Eisenman, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvaro Siza, Herzog and de Meuron, and Charles Correa, for example – who have strived in quite different ways to achieve deeper engagement with the physical qualities of place and context. Departing from a reconsideration of the fragment, Site and Composition emphasises the role of the ‘positive fragment’ in achieving both historical continuity and renewed wholeness. The potential of both planimetric and sectional compositional methods are explored, emphasising the importance of reciprocity between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ – between fragment and the whole, as well as materiality. Written in a clear and accessible manner, this book makes vital reading for both researchers and students of architecture and urbanism.

Site and Composition examines design strategies and tactics in site making. It is concerned with the need for a renewed understanding of the site in the twenty-first century and the need for a critical position regarding the continued tendency to view the site as an isolated ‘fragment’ severed from its wider context. The book argues revisiting the traditional instruments or means of both siting and composition in Architecture to explore their true potential in achieving connections between site and context. Through the various examples studied here it is suggested that such instrumental means have the potential for achieving greater poetic outcomes. The book focuses on the works of twentieth century architects of wide-ranging persuasion – Peter Eisenman, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvaro Siza, Herzog and de Meuron, and Charles Correa, for example – who have strived in quite different ways to achieve deeper engagement with the physical qualities of place and context. Departing from a reconsideration of the fragment, Site and Composition emphasises the role of the ‘positive fragment’ in achieving both historical continuity and renewed wholeness. The potential of both planimetric and sectional compositional methods are explored, emphasising the importance of reciprocity between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ – between fragment and the whole, as well as materiality. Written in a clear and accessible manner, this book makes vital reading for both researchers and students of architecture and urbanism.

Offering an in-depth consideration of the impact which humanities have had on the processes of architecture and design, this book asks how we can restore the traditional dialogue between intellectual enquiry in the humanities and design creativity.Written by leading academics in the fields of history, theory and philosophy of design, these essays draw profound meanings from cultural practices and beliefs. These are as diverse as the designs they inspire and include religious, mythic, poetic, political, and philosophical references. This timely and important book is not a benign reflection on humanities' role in architectural design but a direct response to the increased marginalization of humanities in a technology driven world. The prioritization of technology leaves critical questions unanswered about the relationships between information and knowledge, transcription and translation, and how emerging technologies can usefully contribute to a deeper understanding of our design culture.

Offering an in-depth consideration of the impact which humanities have had on the processes of architecture and design, this book asks how we can restore the traditional dialogue between intellectual enquiry in the humanities and design creativity.Written by leading academics in the fields of history, theory and philosophy of design, these essays draw profound meanings from cultural practices and beliefs. These are as diverse as the designs they inspire and include religious, mythic, poetic, political, and philosophical references. This timely and important book is not a benign reflection on humanities' role in architectural design but a direct response to the increased marginalization of humanities in a technology driven world. The prioritization of technology leaves critical questions unanswered about the relationships between information and knowledge, transcription and translation, and how emerging technologies can usefully contribute to a deeper understanding of our design culture.

The expedited globalised process of exchange and new forms of cultural production have transformed old established notions of identity, calling into question their conceptual foundations. This book explores the spatial and representational dimension of this phenomenon, by addressing how the reshaping of the key themes of place, architecture and memory are altering the nature, as well as, our understanding of identity.Cutting across boundaries, the book drives discussion of identity beyond the well-worn concern for its loss within a globalised context, and importantly provides links between identity, place, memory and representation in architecture. Examining a range of case studies from Australia, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Puerto Rico, Turkey and Singapore, as well as with contributions cutting across geographical and temporal boundaries, this volume addresses such issues as architecture technology, place and memory – critical issues in the monitoring and mapping of identity shift within a rapidly globalising context.With contributions from renowned authors in the field including Nicholas Temple, Patsy Hely, Robert Brown, Liane Lefaivre, John Hendrix, Ana Souto, Fiona MacLaren, Stephen Walker, Nezar AlSayyad, Andrzej Piotrowski, Catherine Ettinger, Luz Marie Rodríguez, and Raymond Quek this book presents fresh insights and diverse perspectives on the evolving question of identity and globalisation.