"Contemporary design often looks away from direct connections to the physical forces of nature. Structure is often hidden, decorated beyond recognition or, as is popular today, blended into
smooth, edgeless planes of distortion. With this book we are given an authentic understanding of how the forces of nature may be interpreted sublimely and with a powerful essence. I can see
this book as a valuable resource for creating meaningful buildings, allowing a return to substance and value in structural design." Craig Dykers, Architect and Director, SNOHETTA
"The Structural Basis of Architecture uses a myriad of historical and contemporary case studies to provide a concise and thorough explanation of the relationship between engineering and
architecture. This book is an indispensable source for anyone interested in the logic of structures and their role not just in supporting but in imagining architecture." Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean,
and Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
This is a book about structures; it is about beams and columns, arches and cables, frames and trusses, and much more besides. Beyond this, though, it is a book concerned with how to "see"
structural forms as an integral part of architecture, and with exploring the link between mechanical forms and conceptual ideas inherent to the art of building.
Analyzing the structural principles behind many of the best known works of architecture from past and present, this book nonetheless firmly situates the subject within a contemporary context.
Projects by Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Charles and Ray Eames, and Frank Lloyd Wright are discussed right alongside those by Rem Koolhaas/OMA, Sir Norman Foster, SANAA, Zaha Hadid, Snohetta, and
Santiago Calatrava, to name but a few.
The subject matter is primarily approached in a qualitative and discursive manner, illustrated by many photographs of architectural projects and structural behaviour diagrams, but it does not
shy away from the relatively accessible mathematical equations and calculations that can be used to reinforce and extend an emerging understanding of the topic.
This new edition is completely updated and rewritten, covers an expanded range of topics, and includes many worked-out examples inspired by built projects. The approach throughout is to present
structures as a fundamental basis for architecture.
