Search results for ""birkhäuser""

Der Grundrissatlas Wohnungsbau gehört seit Jahrzehnten zu den Grundlagenwerken der Architektur. In seiner 5., überarbeiteten und erweiterten Auflage dokumentiert und analysiert er rund 160 internationale Wohnungsbauten seit 1945. Im Zentrum stehen Beispiele, die vorbildlich und übertragbar, und Konzepte, die innovativ und wegweisend sind. Die systematische Darstellung aller Projekte ermöglicht es dem Leser, die Grundrisse zu vergleichen und zu bewerten – um sich so durch die Ideen und Strategien bei der eigenen Arbeit am Grundriss anregen zu lassen. Die einleitenden theoretischen und historischen Essays sind neu verfasst beziehungsweise aktualisiert worden und bieten ein übersichtlich strukturiertes Bild der Wohnungsbautypologie und ihrer Entwicklung.

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Contemporary architecture in Switzerland is influenced by Peter Zumthor and Herzog & de Meuron, recipients of the Swiss Pritzker Prize, as well as a number of other prominent architects. The book presents 25 buildings in Switzerland designed by 16 influential Swiss architects: The range covers high-density urban developments through to rural sites in the alpine environment, with examples of traditional craftsmanship and materials, and modern construction technology and engineering. Large-format photographs illustrate the buildings’ proportions, materials, and details. Four authors analyze the Swiss building culture and its high architectural quality from an insider’s and an outsider’s point of view. In a detailed interview, Peter Zumthor explains his approach to architectural design.

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After the Second World War, a divided Europe was much affected by a period of reconstruction. This was influenced by the different political systems – in the socialist East and in the capitalist West, the focus was on cohesion in society and its cultural and architectural expression. In parallel to the rapidly progressing industrialization of the building industry, debates on the humanization of the built environment were led on both sides with great intensity. The volume shows how, on the back of existentialism, new monumentality, and socialist realism, quite similar concepts and strategies were developed in order to find answers to questions relating to adequate structures for new forms of community and identity.

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The Zacherlhaus is located in the heart of Vienna, just 180 meters from St. Stephen's Cathedral, and is one of the most important buildings created by the Otto Wagner School. It was built in the years from 1900 to 1913 and designed for its owner Johann Zacherl by Joesef Plecnik, who later taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and from 1925 worked on the urban renewal of Ljubljana. It was the first combined residential and commercial building of modern style in the historic inner city and is one of the best known buildings in Vienna. This generously illustrated, authentic publication documents the building and its thorough renovation, which will be completed in 2015; it includes contributions by experts on European architecture of the 20th century.

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Built to Grow investigates patterns of growth and dynamics in nature with the aim of creating a new “living architecture” that can be applied to architectonic designs. It examines biological processes to identify basic principles of growth and translate them into exemplary architectonic ideas and visions. The project brings together experts from the fields of architecture, biology, art, mechatronics, and robotics.

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Now as before, Japanese architecture is very popular in Europe and the western world. This publication provides an overview of its many design concepts and cross-references. Using design examples and interviews, the book presents thirteen current positions.The publication focuses on young architects who take up extremely independent positions within Japanese architecture, as well as on Pritzker Prize winners Toyo Ito and Fumihiko Maki. Six essays by European specialists on Japan provide supplementary insights into the aesthetics and space concepts of Japanese architecture, making cross-references to Japan’s architectural history, and explaining current lines of development. The book thus combines a self-reflective approach with an outsider’s analytical view.

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Addis Ababa is one of the fastest transforming environments on the globe and a prototype of an emerging territory. What can architecture and urban design as disciplines contribute to such transformation? According to which criteria can processes of the kind encountered in Addis Ababa be evaluated? And, how can all of this be steered? Aiming to identify sustainable strategies—rather than upholding an a priori vision of an ideal city—the publication acknowledges the heterogeneous conditions of urban territories. The book highlights questions of method and procedure that can be transferred to other ‘cities of change’. This revised edition covers recent developments, such as the increasing influence of China in African countries or the chances of high-density, low-rise developments.

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Hans Scharoun is one of the most important architects of the 20th century; as a proponent of organic architecture, he created unconventional and imaginative buildings which adapt to users’ needs in a dynamic way. His oeuvre includes family residences and housing estates but also encompasses the German embassy in Brazil, and urban icons such as the Berlin Philharmonie. The book, a cooperation with Baukunstarchiv (the architecture archive) of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin, documents the entire range of known completed buildings by Scharoun, including, for the first time, early works in East Prussia. The specially taken photographs by Carsten Krohn, together with the historic photographs and plans from the Hans-Scharoun-Archive offer a new overview of this expressive organic architecture.

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Ebenezer Howard veröffentlicht 1902 sein Werk Garden Cities of Tomorrow, seine Ideen haben maßgeblich dazu beigetragen, der Bewegung für einen modernen Städtebau Richtung und Ziel zu geben. Sechs Jahrzehnte nach Erscheinen der ersten Ausgabe ergänzte Julius Posener diesen Klassiker der Stadtplanungstheorie um die erstmals 1945 erschienen Essays von Lewis Mumford und Frederic J. Osborn zu einem Streitgespräch der späten sechziger Jahre über die Gestalt der Stadt. Die vorliegende Neuauflage spannt den Bogen ins 21. Jahrhundert und erweitert die Ausgabe von 1968 um ein Vorwort von Carl Fingerhuth.

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The wilderness begins at our front door, but we rarely notice. City dwellers today rely more and more on modern technologies and numerous media channels and are increasingly losing the ability to navigate their own environment, let alone the wilderness, without the assistance of an app. Somehow isolated and without reference to other fellow living beings, we become more and more foreign to our basic, everyday lives… and lose contact with nature. Urban Wilderness is a guide to experiencing nature in the city, to creating an awareness of the fact that we share our urban space with other living beings. Scientific, philosophical, and artistic contributions provide a detailed explanation on the various aspects of urban wilderness and present a differentiated view of the urban environment. In addition, the book offers the interested reader an opportunity to increase his or her own perception of nature and experience the city as more vibrant.

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Lettering on buildings and in the public realm affects our environment. In this manual, the core is formed by archigraphy projects that represent a strategy of how architecture can be enriched by graphic elements. The structural, material or visual methods can thus be used as inspiration for the reader's own designs.

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The "2226" project was completed in 2013 and received an outstanding response from the media. The reason is the clever design of this office building - it manages completely without air conditioning, heating and ventilation systems. "If today we are installing a disproportionate amount of air- and water-based services in buildings in order to create comfortable conditions, we should ask ourselves whether there are not more effective methods", says Dietmar Eberle. His building demonstrates that low-tech is an alternative to the Passivhaus with its extensive services installations. However, ecological and economical building should also meet architectural criteria - proportion, spatial effect, surface texture and light are essential components affecting the comfort of users. The book documents this seminal model for a new architecture with a comprehensive range of photographs by Eduard Hueber, and uses drawings to explain the architectural and energy concepts. Knowledgeable essays by recognized experts on the perfectly balanced construction and function complete this unpretentious and yet sophisticated monograph of a building.

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From 1977 until his retirement in 1999, Wilhelm Holzbauer was Head of one of the three master classes for architecture at Vienna University of Applied Arts. His teaching activity was supported by a number of Assistant Lecturers and Assistants, amongst them Dimitris Manikas, Heiner Fürst, Ernst Mayr, Roman Delugan and others. Under the tuition of this fortuitous constellation of teachers, the students created fantasy projects and designs for actual construction projects current at the time, some of which were overtaken by events and some of which are still current today. Some of the students from that time are now recognized architects (e.g. Carlo Baumschlager, Roman Delugan, Hubert Hermann, Ernst Mayr, Francy Valentiny, Susanne Zottl and many others) and have numerous completed buildings to their name. This publication compares the student designs of these architects with those of their current work.

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The systematic development of building types is an important task in housing construction. A deeper understanding of the underlying building types is mandatory, both for individual designs and for the wider application and variation of tried-and-tested structures. The authors have developed an innovative, drawing-based approach for unfolding the potentials of several existing building types for the future of urban housing. The first part is dedicated to the courtyard house, in which the courtyard is used as a private outside living space. The second part deals with the popular form of the terraced house and discusses aspects of corner solutions or terraced developments as an urban design element. In the third part, the townhouse is discussed with view to variants such as single-story and apartment buildings, including aspects of privacy and public access, as well as living and working. Finally, the detached house type is considered in its potential to provide all-directional orientation of the living space. The array of solutions is presented consistently in floorplans and cross-sections drawn to scale. In a new introduction to this all-in-one compendium the authors discuss the implications of the typological approach for today's housing design.

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The Materiality of buildings and constructions is an important aspect of architectural design. The approach to and use of materials is a fundamental building block of architectural training. Themes: Subjective effect of materials Haptic influences Use of materials Creative use of classical construction materials

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Jenseits der dekorativen Keramikfliesen hat sich eine reiche Kultur von teils experimentellen, teils marktgängigen Anwendungen keramischer Baumaterialien entwickelt: Aktuelle Errungenschaften aus Materialforschung, Fertigungstechnologie und digitalen Entwurfsmethoden sind für dieses traditionelle Material verfügbar, dessen historische Bedeutung in seiner faszinierenden Ausstrahlung präsent ist.Multifunktionale, hoch performative Produkte werden hier als ganzheitliches “Ökosystem” von der Materialgewinnung und Produktgestaltung über den Entwurfsprozess und die konstruktive Umsetzung bis hin zur Wiederverwendung dargestellt. Besonderes Augenmerk liegt auf der individuellen Zurichtung der Einzelelemente unter gleichzeitiger Massenfertigung und computergesteuerter Montage, wie sie heute immer wichtiger wird.Zahlreiche Beispiele, darunter aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum das Museum Brandhorst, das Museum der Kulturen Basel, das Jüdische Gemeindezentrum in Mainz und die Hamburger Behörde für Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt, machen die führende europäische Rolle auf diesem Gebiet anschaulich. Im Anhang: ein kommentiertes Produktverzeichnis.

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From idea to product In the construction sector, demand is steadily increasing for innovative products. Product Development and Architecture presents selected examples that illustrate how the planning disciplines can contribute to such innovations in building. Introductory essays comprehensively explain the thematic and methodological framework. Case studies exemplify the transformation of ideas into prototypes or products.Creating dynamics, shifting boundaries, building and expanding networks, conserving resources, developing and optimizing planning tools, as well as implementing use-additive processes — all these processes are discussed in order to clarify the necessary collaboration between various actors in the construction industry. Groundbreaking solutions clearly explain the role applied sciences play in the active collaboration between university and industry, as well as the interdisciplinary integration of disciplines and experts.This publication presents interdisciplinary collaborative projects such as the “Seaweed Facade,” which resulted in the realization of a building with a bioreactor facade at the International Building Exhibition in Hamburg in 2012, or the "Printed Envelope,” the result of a collaborative research project in which free forms for the facade design were generated from 3D computer-generated processes.

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Textile architecture has been captivating humanity for many centuries. In recent years and decades, the emergence of innovative materials has created new opportunities to utilize this fascinating material in the fields of architecture, interior design, and design. Textiles derive their fascination from the special forms these fabric structures make possible and from their unusual character as soft materials. Together with their functional and structural properties, they possess a range of capabilities equally suitable for spectacular and everyday building tasks. This book deals with technical textiles in three sections: in the fi rst chapter, the material is introduced together with its specific properties; the second chapter deals with its uses in the areas of architecture, textile facades, solar protection, and interior design, with special attention to finishing techniques and construction principles. The third chapter illustrates the various fields of application with a selection of some twenty-four international built projects.

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Designing interior spaces is a task that is equally relevant as architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design for those working professionally in the built environment. In this comprehensive work, an international and interdisciplinary team of authors presents the essential aspects of the various fields of contemporary interior architecture and design. The project examples are illustrated with brilliant photographs and plans. They have been selected according to consistent criteria for all chapters of the book and represent the essential building types, including exhibition stand design, as well as a broad range of today’s design approaches. The authors place the collaboration between the various design disciplines at the center of focus. The appendix contains information for further research. All in all, Designing Interior Architecture is a fundamental reference work for all those professionally engaged with the design.

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High-quality residential structures are much more than merely a series of different floor plans. First and foremost, the urban apartment house mediates between the private refuge and the public space of the city. In the process, boundaries between inside and outside are negotiated on a wide variety of scales. Housing+ focuses on investigating spatial and architectural as well as social and communicative interfaces in residential construction. The publication is divided into four chapters – “Urban Planning,” “The Ground Floor,” “Building Structure,” and “Façade” – to which sixty-seven international projects are assigned. These four thematic focuses are discussed comprehensively in the essays that introduce the chapters, and the individual projects are analyzed in brief under these same aspects. Comparable plans—drawn especially for this book—supplement the typological descriptions. The broad spectrum of projects selected covers urban apartment block construction from towers, block structures, row houses, and gaps between buildings, to housing complexes in outlying urban areas.

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The Hawkins\Brown architectural firm in London, founded in 1988 by Roger Hawkins and Russell Brown, is one of the up-and-coming offices on the international architecture scene. The spectrum of the firm’s works ranges from residences and interior design by way of office buildings and various public buildings such as theaters and university buildings all the way to urban planning, such as designs for squares and subway stations. Hawkins\Brown strives to come to an optimal result in a process that integrates all of the players. Hawkins\Brown has received numerous awards for various projects, such as the RIBA Award for its Wysing Arts Centre (2008), the New Chemistry Building of the University of Oxford (2009), and the New Art Exchange art center in Nottingham (2009) and the BREEAM Award for Eltham Hill Technology College (2008). This book documents some twenty-five buildings from the past five years. The projects presented include the Tottenham Court Road Underground Station, one of the busiest Tube stations in London with a hundred thousand passengers daily (to be completed in 2011); the Stratford Regional Station in London, an access platform for one of the major sites for the Olympic Games (to be completed in 2010); Park Hill, the master plan for a neighborhood in Sheffield (to be completed in 2011), and the Dubai Arts Pavilion in the United Arab Emirates.

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Designers and architects have to make decisions regarding color every day. But how does one find the necessary inspiration? The appropriate color? How do other designers and artists deal with the issue? With Chroma, the Greek word for color, as its title, this illustrated book provides answers to these questions and makes it clear that color is much more than mere decoration – it is one of the central problems of creative work. In the process, Chroma embraces the sensuous experience of color, inspiring and seducing the reader with unusual projects, from industrial products to color field painting. The book presents works by younger designers like Stefan Diez and Arik Levy as well as famous artists like Ellsworth Kelly. All of the works are presented in large-scale reproductions and also in a kind of color gradient, in which they are assigned to the chapters "monochromatic," "multichromatic," and "achromatic." The spectrum encompasses all conceivable shades and combinations, from brilliant and colorful through tasteful and subdued all the way to black-and-white contrasts. An additional chapter analyzes the work of outstanding artists, architects, and designers like Gerhard Richter, Konstantin Grcic, and Sauerbruch Hutton, who grapple with color to an unusual degree and have formulated characteristic chromatic worlds. An alphabetical index provides background information on the artists and studios selected.

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The approach of "Informing Architecture by Materiality" opens the way to an innovative use of materials in the design professions. Taking material qualities and properties such as texture, elasticity, transparency and fluidity as a point of departure, the concept described and employed here transcends the conventional definitions of building materials. Instead, the focus is on a multitude of material operations, like folding and bending, carving and cutting, weaving and knitting, mirroring and screening. The featured design strategies and methods address established and "new" materials alike. They are applied both to the scale of the detail and the entire building. The examples comprise prototype structures as well as large building projects. Eight chapters deal with surfaces and layers, joints and juctions, weaving and texturing, nanoscale transformations, responsiveness, the integration of ephemeral factors like wind and light as well as material collections providing professional resources. Written by renowned experts in this field, the book features many examples from international contemporary architecture. The introductory part provides the conceptual background, while a final chapter describes consequences for pressing issues of today, like sustainability or life cycle assessment.

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In Unfolded—Paper in Design, Art, Architecture and Industry paper conquers the third dimension and demonstrates the undreamed-of possibilities it holds today for lightweight construction, product design, fashion and art. From "Paper", the collection of bags by Stefan Diez, to Konstantin Grcic’s paper models and the scented paper garments of Issey Miyake, this book presents paper as a high-quality contemporary and ecological material. An enormous selection of projects, the lavish design and numerous illustrations provide designers with invaluable inspiration for their work. The content core of the book is a comprehensive list of state-of-the-art paper products and innovative paper technologies, supporting designers in their everyday work with detailed information on the "high-tech" material paper. From Japanese washi paper and paper foam, to ceramic paper and carbon fiber paper, Unfolded presents the latest in research and development, as well as the most important methods and technologies in handcrafts and industry.

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Mirei Shigemori had a major impact on the development of Japanese landscape architecture in the twentieth century. Active from the 1920s, he founded the Kyoto Garden Society in 1932. In 1939 he designed his own first masterpiece, the garden at the main hall of the Tôfuku-ji temple. From then on he designed 240 gardens all over Japan until his death in 1975; amongst the most famous are the Tenrai-an tea garden (1969) and the Matsuo Taisha garden (1975). The main characteristic of his gardens is that they respect tradition and, at the same time, depart from conventional paradigms by opening up to the influence of Western modernism with its own language. The first part of the book covers Shigemori’s life and factors that influenced his work. The second part contains a detailed illustration of 17 gardens. The book is published as a new and revised edition.

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The book is a guide for students and teachers to understand the need for, the role of and the methods and techniques of freehand analytical sketching in architecture. The presentation focuses on drawing as an approach to and phase of architectural design. The conceptual goal of this approach is to use drawing not as illustration or depiction, but as exploration. The first part of the book discusses underlying concepts of freehand sketching in design education and practice as a complement to digital technologies. The main component is a series of chapters that constitute a typology of fundamental issues in architecture and urban design; for instance, issues of "façade" are illustrated with sketch diagrams that show how façades can be explored and sketched through a series of specific questions and step-by-step procedures. In the expanded and updated edition, a new part explores the questions and experiences of large architectural offices in applying freehand drawing in the practice of architectural design. This book is especially timely in an age in which the false conflict between "traditional vs. digital" gives way to multiple design tools, including sketching. It fosters understanding of the essential human ability to investigate the designed and the natural world through freehand drawing.

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Some time ago, Walter Benjamin and Asja Lacis used the term "porosity" with reference to Naples’ urban characteristics – spaces merging into each other and providing the backdrop for the unforeseen – improvisation as a way of life. Today, the term "porosity" in this context is increasingly used conceptually. Well-known authors from the worlds of architecture, town planning, and landscape design embark on a search for new concepts for a life-enhancing, user-friendly city – with reference to this enigmatic term. The term refers to the overlaying and interweaving of spaces and structures, to urban textures and their architectural properties and qualities – to cities with radically mixed urban functions.

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During the first five years of a new architectural practice, typical problems arise that have to be managed. Based on the reports of young architectural practices, which were gathered in workshops throughout Europe, this manual analyzes commonly observed and frequent issues, and offers approaches to resolving them. What is special: the approaches were developed from daily working experience, and can be realistically implemented, not least because they are aimed at the different phases of a developing practice – "Getting started", "Making mistakes", "Going public", "Choosing a specialization", and "Doing competitions". For the second edition the texts were extended and corrected; statistics and charts were brought up to date. The cool presentation remains as appealing as in the first issue.

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Prof. Kerstin Schultz and Hedwig Wiedemann-Tokarz, Department of Architecture, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences

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A Landscape Architecture Lexicon with definitions of terms and critical essays Abstraction and hedge, interaction and landmark, labyrinth and synthesis, pond and utopia — the reader is confronted with a tremendous variety of terms, from the description of the various elements of a garden all the way to theoretical, historical, symbolic, and iconographic aspects of landscape design. Meto J. Vroom, a former professor of landscape architecture at Universität Wageningen, defines and analyzes more than 250 terms, concepts, and objects. While the definitions convey the universally recognized meaning of the headwords, each essay briefly outlines a subject with a critical commentary and numerous commendations for further reading. Thus the lexicon serves to clarify important terms and expressions that designers use on a daily basis. More than that, however, it also constitutes a general introduction to the major themes of landscape design.

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The fundamental idea is the starting point of every design. The idea is formulated into the concept; the concept is expressed in the formal language; the form requires a particular material; the space is given shape. Architecture is created.Described in this manner, the design process seems simple and straightforward. But for students of architecture, it is in most cases a difficult learning process. But designing can be learned!What are the conceptual possibilities for finding the first step towards a design idea? What methods can be used to develop the idea and to arrive at an architectural concept? Furthermore, architecture is first and foremost the designing of (indoor) spaces. But how are rooms structured, rather than merely decorated? What role does the use of materials and materiality play?This compilation of the volumes Design Ideas, Design Methods, Materials and Spatial Design in the successful student series BASICS now gathers the fundamental topics of architectural design together in one book and thus in one context answers crucial questions concerning the hows and whys of the design process.

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For the Aalto Moment in Your Projects This carefully curated catalog celebrates the rich detail in the work of Aino, Elissa, and Alvar Aalto. Every support, railing, and handle is the result of intensive formal and functional research. The authors document 50 Aalto buildings – some well-known and others less so – and arrange their photographs by component into 20 chapters. The result is a rich photographic record that will serve as a source of inspiration for every architect. From door handles to skylights: Aalto's infinite wealth of components Inspiring documentation with 400 systematically arranged photos Unconventionally detailed solutions with special attention paid to technical feasibility Also available in German (ISBN 978-3-0356-2331-4)

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"Why is it really that architects wear black?" was a question put to Cordula Rau by an automotive industry manager during an architectural competition. Even though she herself is an architect, and wears black, she did not have an answer on the spot. So she decided to ask other architects, as well as artists and designers. She has been collecting their handwritten replies in a notebook since 2001. In 2008, this collection of autographs appeared as a small publication – obviously bound in black. For the purpose of the new edition, this legendary collection was expanded by new notable, amusing, pragmatic, and quirky reasons: "Please read – and don’t ask me why architects wear black!". (Cordula Rau)

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Each type of construction has its special characteristics which cannot be compared with those of other building materials. The first building construction designs in the architectural curriculum are planned as masonry or timber buildings. On the basis of these two traditional and elementary building materials, students familiarize themselves with construction details and structural principles, which are also the basis of construction with "modern" materials such as steel, concrete and glass. Basics Building Construction is clearly structured and focused, and explains the characteristics of these important construction materials. The book familiarizes the reader with the most common construction systems, their rules and applications, and enables architectural students to contemplate creative solutions that may also be outside the standardized solutions offered by the construction industry.This compendium combines the successful individual volumes Timber Construction, Masonry Construction and Glass Construction of the BASICS series in one book, which has been expanded by the two new, hitherto unpublished, Steel Construction and Concrete Construction volumes.

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Architecture that is meant to have a sensuous connection to life calls forthinking that goes far beyond form and construction. In his texts, Peter Zumthor articulates what motivates him to design his buildings, which appeal to the visitor's heart and mind in so many different ways and possess a compelling and unmistakable presence and aura. Now in its third edition, this book has been expanded to include two new essays: „Architecture and Lanscape” deals with the relationship between the structure and its surroundings, with the secret of the successful placement and topographical integration of architecture. In „The Leis Houses”, Peter Zumthor describes the genesis of two wooden houses in the town of Leis in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, thus thematizing the special challenge of integrating contemporary architecture into a traditional architectural context.

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This text might be rendered on a screen. It could appear on paper as well. I have written it using a computer. As you are reading this text, some thing is functioning as an interface. Although I do not know exactly what this thing is, I know for certain that there is some thing here, slipping your mind as you read this text. This knowledge and this slipping away is the subject of this book. This research project questioned the sustaining support of digital objects: it aimed to challenge the habitualisation towards digital devices, the forgetting of the physical interface that leads to the supposition of digital immateriality. By handling computers as absurd things that escape language, the author sought to position himself among these strange and aloof digital entities and their effects.

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How do we make building sustainable and fit for the future? The book presents a strategy for tackling the construction industry’s future challenges from the perspective of the organizing architect, and with a view to the interdisciplinary knowledge, capable of integration, of related disciplines. With a profound insight into the operative processes, the author analyses the complex mechanisms of the system that affect the whole of society and often follow very traditional process structures. He investigates the interaction between the stakeholders’ actions in the construction process and the framework conditions and, on that basis, develops a strategy which—itself a process—computes the elements of the intended target state.

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The purpose of this monograph is to provide a systematic account of the theory of noncommutative integration in semi-finite von Neumann algebras. It is designed to serve as an introductory graduate level text as well as a basic reference for more established mathematicians with interests in the continually expanding areas of noncommutative analysis and probability. Its origins lie in two apparently distinct areas of mathematical analysis: the theory of operator ideals going back to von Neumann and Schatten and the general theory of rearrangement invariant Banach lattices of measurable functions which has its roots in many areas of classical analysis related to the well-known Lp-spaces. A principal aim, therefore, is to present a general theory which contains each of these motivating areas as special cases.

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In this thesis, we study the regularity of optimal transport maps and its applications to the semi-geostrophic system. The first two chapters survey the known theory, in particular there is a self-contained proof of Brenier’ theorem on existence of optimal transport maps and of Caffarelli’s Theorem on Holder continuity of optimal maps. In the third and fourth chapter we start investigating Sobolev regularity of optimal transport maps, while in Chapter 5 we show how the above mentioned results allows to prove the existence of Eulerian solution to the semi-geostrophic equation. In Chapter 6 we prove partial regularity of optimal maps with respect to a generic cost functions (it is well known that in this case global regularity can not be expected). More precisely we show that if the target and source measure have smooth densities the optimal map is always smooth outside a closed set of measure zero.

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This book introduces some methods for the determination of the three-dimensional geometry of molecules in solution and the occurrence of dynamical processes (interaction with the solvent, rearrangements in the molecular geometry, interactions with other molecules) in several ytterbium complexes. An especial attention has been deserved to the study of some important catalysts that were recently developed in the scientific research. The determination of molecular geometry and dynamics in solution, even if it is generally a hard task, is often a crucial step to understand and rationalize the catalytic mechanism, as well to design new catalysts. The proposed methods are applied here to several systems, even chiral, and are founded on a detailed analysis of the paramagnetic and optical properties of the ytterbium ion, and combining several instrumental techniques (mainly Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Circular Dichroism).

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Since 2001 the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa has organized the "Colloquio De Giorgi", a series of colloquium talks named after Ennio De Giorgi. The Colloquio is addressed to a general mathematical audience, and especially meant to attract graduate students and advanced undergraduate students. The lectures are intended to be not too technical, in fields of wide interest. They must provide an overview of the general topic, possibly in a historical perspective, together with a description of more recent progress. The idea of collecting the materials from these lectures and publishing them in annual volumes came out recently, as a recognition of their intrinsic mathematical interest, and also with the aim of preserving memory of these events.

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The experimental achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation (1995) and of Fermi degeneracy (1999) in ultra-cold, dilute gases has opened a new field in atomic physics and condensed matter physics. This thesis presents an overview of theoretical and experimental facts on ultra-cold atomic gases. A Green's function scheme is examined, and the book also applies a novel spin-density-functional approach to the study of Fermi gases inside one-dimensional optical lattices.

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These notes contain my lectures on light scattering by matter presented at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa during May and June 1995. I have deleted some of the topics discussed then and added a few related to my recent work. The notes are not to be regarded as exhaustive but rather as a selection of topics. In particular I have discussed, as examples, the theoretical basis for the interpretation of experiment on light scattering by photons in alpha-quartz and by electronic excitations in boron-doped diamond.

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The study of shape optimization problems is a very wide field, both classical, as the isoperimetric problem and Newton problem of the best aerodynamical shape show, and modern, for all the recent results obtained in the last two, three decades. The fascinating feature is that the competing objects are shapes, i.e. domains of Rn, instead of functions, as usually occurs in problems of calculus of variations. This constraint often produces additional difficulties that lead to a lack of existence of a solution and the introduction of suitable relaxed formulations of the problem. However, in a few cases an optimal solution exists, due to the special form of the cost functional and to the geometrical restriction on the class of competing domains. This volume collects the lecture notes of two courses given in the academic year 2000/01 by the authors at the University of Pisa and at the Scuola Normale Superiore respectively. The courses were mainly addressed to Ph. D. students and required a background in the topics in functional analysis that are usually taught in undergraduate courses.

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Sensory experience can dynamically modify both the anatomy and function of the brain. In particular, neurons can modify their connections in response to enviromental stimuli. This process, generally referred to as “neuronal plasticity”, is the basis of learning and memory processes in the brain. Which are the bases of neuronal plasticity? That is, how can environmental factors and sensory experience modify the connections between neurons? Neurotrophic factors of the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) family are known to finely regulate the development and maintenance of synaptic connections in the PNS. The results obtained by the group of Maffei firstly suggested the hypothesis that neurotrophic factors could play a key role in the plasticity of the mammalian visual system. The purpose of this thesis is to give a general overview about the recent advances in the field of neurotrophine-regulated plasticity of the mammalian visual system.

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Cp20 is a neuronal protein involved in the molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity. Cp20 was first identified in the CNS of the marine snail Hermissenda, which can be trained to learn an association between visual and vestibular stimuli in a Pavlovian conditioning procedure. Upon learning, cp20 is phosphorylated in a few defined neurons of Hermissenda, and inhibits the Ca2+-dependent K+ channels. This results in an increase in membrane resistence and therefore a hyperexcitability of the neuronal pathway. Similar biochemical mechanisms have been proposed to underlie memory in higher species, such as rabbit and rat. Cp20 was isolated from squid optic lobes by a 5-step purification. The protein was cloned, fused with an oligohistidine tail, and expressed in Esterichia coli. The activation of PKC, the enzyme responsible for cp20 phosphorylation, was also studied by an in vivo imaging system.

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These volumes collect the lecture notes of the course “An introduction to computational physics” held in the academic year 2000/01 for students of the University of Pisa and Scuola Normale Superiore at the level of the last two-year undergraduates in physics and chemistry. The second part deals with various types of particle methods, both deterministic and stochastic, used in modern applications of computer simulations in physics and related disciplines.

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