Cruvellier Mark - Model perspectives : structure, architecture and culture

Structure, Architecture and Culture

This book contains a unique collection of various perspectives on the relationship between structures and the forms and spaces of architecture. As such it provides students and professionals alike with an essential sourcebook that can be mined for visual inspiration as well as for textually rich and authoritative insight into the links between structure, architecture and cultural context.

The chapters address fundamental structural elements and systems: columns, walls, beams, trusses, frames, tensile structures, arches, domes and shells. Each chapter is subdivided into two parts:

The essays introduce the chapters with the reprinting of a curated set of essays and excerpts by various authors that uniquely address how particular structural elements or systems relate in essential fashion to architectural design concepts.

The model studies physical models of the overall structural systems of several notable contemporary buildings from Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia are illustrated with large photographs, detail close-ups and views of their external forms and internal spaces that establish the exceptional qualities of these projects in connecting structural form to architectural design objectives. Mosaic layouts complete the chapters with a collection of photographs of yet more models whose particular details and unique features serve to extend the visual repertoire of the structural type being considered.

The combination, juxtaposition and mutual positive reinforcement of these two collections, one largely textual and the other image-based, provides the reader with unique and multifaceted insights into how structural forms and systems can be related to architectural design intentions. Conveyed by a strong and deliberate graphical design format, this assembly of materials gets to the very essence of structures within the context of architecture, and will inspire students and practitioners alike to make strategic design decisions for their own projects.

Mark R. Cruvellier is the Nathaniel and Margaret Owings Professor and Chair of the Department of Architecture at Cornell University, USA. He teaches and conducts research in the area of structural form and behavior considered within the context of architecture.

Bjrn N. Sandaker is Professor of Architectural Technology at The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO), Norway, and Adjunct Professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway. His particular academic interest focuses on the borderline between architecture and structural engineering.

Luben Dimcheff is the Richard Meier Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at Cornell University, USA, where he teaches studio as well as courses that are focused on the visualization and analysis of space. He leads a design and architectural practice based in New York City with projects built internationally.

Some books are treasure troves ensembles of deep human experiential research which need to be kept close to hand. This book is one such treasure. The combination of selected texts with the constructed models becomes the thoughtfully constructed intellectual structure within which to navigate these essential topics.

Yvonne Farrell & Shelley McNamara, Directors, Grafton Architects

During the past decades, architecture has been dominated by an interest in expressive singular forms, often facilitated by computerized design and methods of calculation, novel material technologies, and robotic methods of production. The book Model Perspectives: Structure, Architecture and Culture returns architectural thinking back to its tectonic principles and elementary syntax. It also emphasizes the essential cultural connectedness of the art of building; architectural meaning cannot be invented, as it is bound to reflect the human existential and mental reality. All true architectural meaning echoes tradition, and the most radical artistic innovations become part of this esteemed continuum of tradition.

Juhani Pallasmaa, architect, writer, professor emeritus, Helsinki University of Technology (Aalto University, School of Art, Design and Architecture), Finland

Structure, Architecture and Culture

Mark R. Cruvellier

Bjrn N. Sandaker

Luben Dimcheff

First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2017 Mark R. Cruvellier, Bjrn N. Sandaker and Luben Dimcheff

The right of Mark R. Cruvellier, Bjrn N. Sandaker and Luben Dimcheff to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Publishers Note:
This book has been prepared from camera-ready copy provided by the authors.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Cruvellier, Mark, author. | Sandaker, Bjrn Normann, 1954- author. |
Dimcheff, Luben, author.
Title: Model perspectives : structure, architecture and culture / Mark R. Cruvellier,
Bjrn N. Sandaker and Luben Dimcheff.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2016. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016003816| ISBN 9780415731935 (hb : alk. paper) | ISBN
9780415731942 (pb : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Architecture--Themes, motives.
Classification: LCC NA2540.C78 2016 | DDC 720--dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016003816

ISBN: 978-0-415-73193-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-73194-2 (pbk)

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