About this book
The complex art of architecture embraces all of the concerns of the world's cultures. It meets the fundamental needs for shelter from the elements, but, almost from its origins, has acquired other purposes and meanings. The Selective Environment is an approach to environmentally responsive architectural design that seeks to make connections between the technical preoccupations of architectural science, and the necessity, never more urgent than today, to sustain cultural identity at a time of rapid global, technological change. The underlying proposition is that environmental design strategy should rest upon the function of the building as a selective filter between the extremes of ambient climate and the conditions that determine human comfort. In developing this idea, the discussion ranges across themes of nature and architecture, architectural regionalism, the interpretation of comfort and climate and typology in environmental design. A range of case study buildings, including designs by Glenn Murcutt, Patkau Architects, Renzo Piano and Herzog and de Meuron, serve to relate theory to practice.
Contents
Preface. List of Illustrations. 1. Introduction. 2. Nature, Architecture and Environmental Inquiry. 3. Context: the Regional Dimension. 4. Comfort and Climate in the Selective Environment. 5. Typology in Environmental Design. 6. Generic Models for Selective Design. 7. Case Studies for Selective Design. Case Study One: Apicorp Building, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, Architect DEGW. Case Study Two: The Berrill Building, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, Architect Feilden Clegg. Case Study Three: Local History Museum and Tourist Office, Kempsey, NSW, Australia, Architect: Glenn Murcutt. Case Study Four: Strawberry Vale School, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Architect: Patkau Architects. Case Study Five: Yapi Kredi Operations Centre, Gebze, Turkey, Architect: John McAslan. Case Study Six: Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Noumea, New Caledonia, Architect Renzo Piano. Case Study Seven: Eastgate Office Building, Harare, Zimbabwe, Architect: Pearce Partnership. Case Study Eight: Winery, Napanook Vineyard, Yountville, California, USA, Architect: Herzog and de Meuron. Case Study Nine: Torrent Pharmaceutical Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India, Architect: Abhikram Architects and Brian Ford & Associates. 8. An Environmental Design Check List. 9. A Selective Bibliography. Index.
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