Architecture In Detail II ##HOT##
Following on from Graham Bizley's successful Architecture in Detail, Architecture in Detail II presents forty case studies of detailing on recent construction projects. Over 150 full colour drawings and photos provide a reference compendium for the professional architect seeking detailing inspiration.
Architecture in Detail II
Originally featured in Building Design's In Detail magazine, the included projects represent some of the most interesting and innovative techniques in recent architecture. Graham Bizley's beautifully presented detail drawings allow the architect to easily see how ideas and techniques can be applied to other projects. The book is organized by building type for quick and easy reference.
As an architect, you need to understand details, and one of the easiest ways to expose yourself is by referencing Architectural Detail books. There are a large number of books out there that focus on details. Some are better than others. I have a stronger interest in these types of books now that I am teaching than in my past. So today, I will list out a few of my favorites and the rationale behind my choices.
The best way to discover architectural detailing is, of course, to be on a job site and watch projects get built. The knowledge and experience from that effort cannot be beaten. But some aspiring architects do not always have the opportunity or project types to provide an abundance of exposure to construction details. So in that situation books are the best alternative. I have chosen the books on the list below as ones that I think you should consider adding to your detail reference library. For the record, they are not listed in any specific order or rank.
This book is broken into two parts. The first is about faced fundamentals and covers some basic concepts and information. The second part is broken into material case studies. Here the materials are stone, clay, concrete, timber, metal, glass, and plastics. It covers some construction level detailing in each of those material sections. It also has a photographic image of conditions along with the detail drawings. I do not think it is as well organized as the previous book set, but it still offers a great deal. Part A on façade fundamentals is a nice perspective on basic knowledge. It may not be as heavy on the pure construction details as a few others on this list, but it does still deliver.
This is a very robust series of books broken into sections based on building type. So chapters on cultural, residential, commercial, public, and educational projects are then provided as case studies for detailing. So in that respect, these are organized uniquely. The range of projects covered is admirable, and the drawing to page count ratio is extremely high. These books contain lots of details. They are all nicely presented and large enough to be very useful. She also has a few others that are solely residential details that I would assume are very similar. But as I do not own them, I cannot comment. But I would think they are just as great. Those are Detail in Contemporary Residential Architecture and Encyclopedia of Detail in Contemporary Residential Architecture.
This is in the same series as the above books but not by the same author. But the organization, building types, and everything are presented the same. So it is part of the series. I think this is a wonderful series of detailing books. I hope they create a few more.
This is, of course, an old trusted standard. But I will undoubtedly say that the older editions are better than the last two editions. So my recommendation here is to get one from the 10th edition or earlier. I think that the 8th, 9th, and 10th editions offer a good amount of actual details along with the more basic knowledge of the book. They changed the format of the book in the 11th edition, and it just lost a bit of its luster, in my opinion. Also, there is a bit less detail in them. But if you go back a few editions, they are still full of useful details and construction knowledge. In the 9th or 10th edition, even the Student versions are quite full of actual details. So if you want to save some money, those versions are still an acceptable reference point. The other good thing about the older editions is you are more likely to find a used copy and save some money in that manner also.
Since April 2004 working details from contemporary buildingprojects have been published in Building Design. This book collates35 of these studies as a continuation of the series begun byArchitecture In Detail . In 2006, The Concrete Centre also begancommissioning working detail features for their journal ConcreteQuarterly , which promotes innovative use of concrete inconstruction. Five of these are included in this volume. Inresponse to feedback received from the rst book, the projects havebeen classi ed according to the type of building. There is also anindex matrix at the back so the projects can be searched bycriteria such as structural system, budget or whether work to alisted building was involved.
The purpose of the details is not to provide ready-madesolutions but to add to the resource base and stimulate thought.There are aspects of them all that can be criticised. Although theprinciples applied in solving different problems may be similar,the nal details are always speci c to the conditions of theparticular situation. The projects are presented here in the beliefthat, by offering a tentative, analogous solution that can then becriticised, we gain insight into our own problem and nd freshstrands of thought to follow.
Graham Bizley studied architecture at Bath University and ESTABin Barcelona. He has worked for various architects in the UK, Indiaand Zimbabwe. In 2005, he set up Prewett Bizley Architects withRobert Prewett. He is a regular contributor to Building Design andsince 2004 has prepared a regular working detail feature under thetitle In Detail . A rst volume of Architecture In Detail waspublished by the Architectural Press in 2007.
Architecture s basic functions of providing shelter from theelements, an ergonomic environment and emotional stimulation havenot changed. The ways in which they can be accomplished however areconstantly evolving and the balance between the different aimsshifts in response to technological, cultural, political andeconomic trends. An analysis of construction or detailinginevitably becomes a wider discussion because choices of materialsand techniques are bound up with more complex issues.
In many elds, not least in politics, the latter half of the 20thCentury saw a gradual retreat from dogmatic positions towards moreinclusive viewpoints that take in the nuanced, often contradictorynature of situations. Grand philosophical ideas no longer seemcredible as all-encompassing solutions. We no longer believe thattechnology alone will solve our problems or that one lifestyle orbelief is objectively superior to another. In architecture a trucehas been drawn in the tedious con ict over style that dominateddebate in the 1970s and 1980s. The city is appreciated as a dynamicpatchwork of diverse, interrelated communities where a variety ofarchitectural expression is desirable to express individuality orcollective identity. Meanwhile we nd ourselves drawn together bythe ever more urgent need to use resources more carefully andreduce the energy demand of our buildings.
Public interest in architecture has never been so high. TheSterling Prize is shown on prime-time TV and architects no longerstruggle to persuade unwilling clients to choose modern overtraditional design. Public buildings such as Tate Modern, WalsallArt Gallery or the Scottish Parliament have demonstrated thecapability of innovative design to make awe-inspiring andaccessible civic spaces. In the process materials such as concreteand steel, for so long associated in the public perception withdrab post-war housing estates or industrial sheds have beenrehabilitated as symbols of urban sophistication. Grand Designs andnumerous makeover shows have empowered ordinary home owners to usemodern design as a way of improving their quality of life, turningthe natural tendency to project individuality and aspirationthrough the home into a consumer leisure activity.
While public interest in design must be a good thing, the mediasobsession with novelty encourages the view that architecture has tobe new or radical to be interesting. The day-to-day work of mostarchitects who struggle with limited means to create a well plannedenvironment, appropriate for its use and speci c to its users isdevalued by the emphasis on visual appearance. Rather than thetraditional role as a team leader with a strategic overview of aproject the architect is increasingly pushed to one of twoextremes,
Globalisation is often blamed for a loss of local variation.Images of new buildings are published simultaneously around theglobe and the dominance of multi-national companies in theconstruction industry allows the same products to be used in vastlydiffering situations. Such concerns are not new. John Summerson forexample, writing in 1941, pointed out the same phenomenon inrelation to the spread of the International style. He wasdismissive of the notion that wide dissemination of ideasencourages a ubiquitous response because design is produced byindividuals who, despite the effects of globalisation still havevastly different in uences making up their view of the world.According to Summerson, Architectural change occurs as the resultof the irregular and incalculable incidence of men [sic] of geniusinnovators . 1 The schools that form around them through theirteaching and former employees inevitably tend to evolve on aregional basis. In one sense the emphasis on the individual neatlyside-steps the issue of a national or international style. It alsoavoids the suggestion that regionalism is inherently conservativeor parochial. Valerio Olgiati, working from the small Alpine townof Flims concurs that Looking at the world in an individual way isthe only way to make an architecture that has character. At thesame time we also have to nd something general in the individual sothat it is understandable in a globalised world it has to becontradictory . 2 041b061a72