Search results for ""Merrell Publishers Ltd""

A window provides access to two of life's essentials, light and air, but it is more than just a means to an end. Windows also have symbolic, expressive and architectural qualities that have for centuries inspired some of the world's greatest artists. In this engaging new study, Christopher Masters celebrates the multiple roles of the window in art through five key themes, from the window as a status symbol to its use as a provider of physical and spiritual illumination; from its employment as a literal window on the world outside the confines of a room to its function as a mirror, reflecting the emotions of the artist or the individuals depicted; and finally to the immense architectural variety of windows that animate interior and exterior scenes throughout Western painting. With superb reproductions of 90 works by major artists from Giotto to Banksy, and spirited analysis of the paintings' meanings, this is a remarkable exploration of an important but hitherto neglected subject in art history.

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The window is one of the most essential components of architecture, yet it rarely receives the detailed examination that it deserves. This new study explores the development of the window, showing how it transformed human experience by increasing access to light and air, and simultaneously changed our perception of architectural space. Christopher Masters celebrates the multiple roles of the window in architecture through thematic chapters that allow for spectacular visual comparisons, juxtaposing images from different cultures and historical periods. He provides engaging commentaries on over 80 exceptional buildings of all types, both ancient and modern, ranging from the Pantheon in Rome, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto to Walter Gropius's Bauhaus in Dessau, Eero Saarinen's TWA Terminal in New York, Jean Nouvel's Louvre Abu Dhabi and Dorte Mandrup's Icefjord Centre in Greenland. Featuring more than 150 superb photographs, this is an intriguing and accessible survey of a formerly neglected subject in architectural history. AUTHOR: Christopher Masters is a London-based author specialising in art and architecture. SELLING POINTS: . A new survey of an integral but little-studied aspect of architecture across the centuries . With more than 80 buildings worldwide by architects from Palladio and Christopher Wren to Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Santiago Calatrava, Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid . A wide-ranging, informative text analyses the window as a central aesthetic and functional feature of architecture, and also considers key social and technological factors 150 colour illustrations

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The garden design firm of SMI Landscape Architecture is known for its estate masterplanning, its public gardens and streetscapes, and its thoughtful private gardens for clients across the United States, particularly in Florida, and in the Bahamas. The firm's philosophy incorporates a `botanic garden' approach with exotic planting and elements of classical European design to create beautiful, usable spaces, and it is also known for its preservation and restoration of old landscapes. This book presents 15 new gardens, never before published in any book, that show the range of the firm's work. Each client has different requirements, and so each garden turns out differently - but each shows the firm's hallmarks of lush planting, luxurious garden `rooms' and immaculate hardscaping. As Jorge Sánchez puts it in the Preface, `This book shows how not one individual but many make a firm successful.' For each garden, practical information about the design approach and details of the planting are combined with an account of the process, the firm's relationship with the client and the reasons for the design decisions. Through the narrative - often personal, always descriptive, always detailed - a picture builds up of the approach to each set of circumstances. Many of the projects are in Palm Beach, where a boom in the building of new houses and their attached estates in the early twentieth century has left a legacy of stunning - if sometimes neglected - homes and landscapes ripe for restoration. Local architects such as Addison Mizner and Maurice Fatio designed houses that are now being rejuvenated and sympathetically modernized to fit the requirements of twenty-first-century families, and firms such as SMI are at the forefront of the re-creation of their gardens. The Weisfisch Garden in Palm Beach, for example, was carefully restored and given the surroundings its architecture and its owners deserved, and the whole project was recognized with a prestigious award from the Palm Beach Preservation Foundation. The firm of SMI also works in temperate planting zones, and projects in more northerly states provide an opportunity to work with an entirely different palette of plants. For the Plumb Garden in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, for example, the firm was commissioned to remodel a small estate attached to an old pleasure house. The landscape here is much wilder and more temperate than in Florida, and the firm's job was to work with the natural flora and contours of the land while quietly intervening to personalize the areas nearest the house. Simple manipulations of form and slope along with water features and some much more intimate spaces have created a garden that fits impeccably into its wider context and yet is capable of being used and enjoyed by the family. Throughout the book there is a strong sense of participation - with the climate, with the local flora, with the clients and with other designers, whether architects, artisans or interior designers. To be part of such collaborative efforts is hugely satisfying for Sánchez and the members of his team, Claudia Visconti, John Lubischer and Brian Vertesch, as well as producing the best possible result for each set of clients. This beautiful book will appeal to garden lovers everywhere, as well as to design aficionados seeking a deeper understanding of the creative process behind making a garden. It will also appeal to garden designers and horticultural students.

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Some of the most stunning architectural structures in India are to be found below ground: these are its stepwells, ancient water stores. Stepwells are unique to India and from around the 3rd century CE were built throughout the country, particularly in the arid western regions. Excavated several stories underground in order to reach the water table, these cavernous spaces not only provided water all year long but also fulfilled other functions; they offered pilgrims and other travelers a respite from the heat, and became places in which villagers could socialize. Stepwell construction evolved so that, by the 11th century, the wells were amazingly complex feats of architecture and engineering.The journalist Victoria Lautman first encountered stepwells three decades ago and now, a seasoned traveller to India, she has devoted several years to documenting these fascinating but largely unknown edifices before they disappear. Of the thousands of stepwells that proliferated across India, most were abandoned as a result of modernization and the depletion of water tables. Often commissioned by royal or wealthy patrons, the wells vary greatly in scale, layout, materials and shape. Those in what is now Gujarat state also served as subterranean Hindu temples that featured columned pavilions and elaborate stone carvings of deities. Islamic wells were generally less flamboyant, but incorporated arched side niches. Today, few stepwells are in use. The majority have been left to silt up, fill with rubbish and crumble into disrepair. Gradually, however, the Indian government and heritage organizations have come to recognize the need to preserve these architectural wonders. In 2014 India's best-known stepwell, the Rani ki Vav in Patan, northern Gujarat, became a UNESCO World Heritage site.In her introduction, Lautman discusses why and where the stepwells were built. She reflects on the reasons they became derelict and considers how the appreciation of stepwells is changing with the work of organizations and individuals who aim to protect and restore them. The main part of the book is arranged in a broadly chronological order, with up to six pages devoted to each of c. 80 stepwells, every one unique in design and engineering. The name, location (including GPS coordinates) and approximate date of each well accompany color photographs and a concise commentary by Lautman on the history and architecture of the well and her experience of visiting it. While many of the stepwells are rather decrepit, their magnificent engineering and great beauty cannot fail to impress.

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Once upon a time, only typesetters needed to know about kerning, leading, ligatures, and hanging punctuation. Today, however, most of us work on computers, with access to hundreds of fonts, and we'd all like our letters, reports and other documents to look as good - and as readable - as possible. But what does all the confusing terminology about ink traps, letter spacing, and visual centring mean, and what are the rules for good typography? Type Matters! is a book of tips for everyday use, for all users of typography, from students and professionals to anyone who does any layout design on a computer. The book is arranged into three chapters: an introduction to the basics of typography; headline and display type; and setting text. Within each chapter there are sections devoted to particular principles or problems, such as selecting the right typeface, leading, and the treatment of numbers. Examples throughout show precisely what makes good typography - and, crucially, what doesn't. Authoritatively written and designed by a practitioner and teacher of typography, Type Matters! has a beautifully clear layout that reinforces the principles discussed throughout.

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