Great Leap Forward: Contemporary Architecture in China

The past five years have seen a revolution in Chinese architecture - the emergence of independent designers, and a number of new stars - and above all new and interesting buildings that are not the product of direct Western influence. These developments have laid the groundwork for indigenous modernity that differentiates itself from outside schools as well as eschewing the temptation to put a "Chinese-style" roof on ordinary office blocks. The fact that Beijing has been chosen to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games has been more than a catalyst for the development of high-quality contemporary architecture in China. Major foreign firms like OMA/Rem Koolhaas or Herzog & de Meuron are participating in the design of buildings that will have functions during the Games, but Chinese architects, too, have been mobilized in this massive effort to prepare the country for an unprecedented level of worldwide attention.

Architects featured: Atelier Deshaus, FCJZ Atelier Feichang Jianzhu, AZL Atelier Zhanglei, EDGE Design Institute, Fake Design, Herzog & de Meuron, HHF Architects, Arata Isozaki, Jiakun Architects, Kengo Kuma, Li Xiaodong Atelier, MAD, MADA s.p.a.m., Michael Maltzan, Toshiko Mori, NODE – Architecture, OMA/Rem Koolhaas, Pei Zhu, URBANUS Architecture & Design, Wang Hui, Zhu Xiaofeng/Scenic Architecture

TASCHEN's new architecture series brings a unique perspective to world architecture, highlighting architectural trends by country.

Each book features 15 to 20 architects - from the firmly established to the up-and-coming - with the focus on how they have contributed to very recent architecture in the chosen nation. Entries include contact information and short biographies in addition to copiously illustrated descriptions of the architects' or firms' most significant recent projects. Crossing the globe from country to country, this new series celebrates the richly hued architectural personality of each nation featured.

Tadao Ando is the most revered Japanese architect at work today. Beloved and admired for his powerful, meditative spaces and his sensual and yet refined use of the materials of the modern trade-wood, steel, concrete, glass-Ando's work resonates with profound intelligence, unpretentious elegance, and an almost palpable sense of harmony. Tadao Ando at Naoshima: Art, Architecture, Nature showcases the latest work in an on going process of building by Tadao Ando at the acclaimed Naoshima Island Art Complex. Featured here is Ando's recently completed Chichu Art Museum, an underground facility built on the small island in the Inland Sea of Japan. With respect for the landscape and the traditional use of the land as terraced salt fields, Ando adapted the architecture to the topography, by burying much of the complex volume below the ground. Ando's Naoshima is a stunning demonstration of architectural virtuosity.

Continuing the theme of the previous two Small Spaces books, Minimum Spaces Maximum Living M2 by Philip Jodidio, is a new look at a variety of small spaces from around the world that includes not only intriguing small residential projects, but retail, commercial, and other spaces as well. Ingenuity is the common trait that makes all these spaces work, despite their physical constraints. Floor plans, drawings and detailed photographs throw light on the architect's clever and carefully considered responses to the many challenges posed by restricted spaces.

TASCHEN’s new architecture series brings a unique perspective to world architecture, highlighting architectural trends by country. Each book features 15 to 20 architects—from the firmly established to the up-and-coming—with the focus on how they have contributed to very recent architecture in the chosen nation. Entries include contact information and short biographies in addition to copiously illustrated descriptions of the architects’ or firms’ most significant recent projects. Crossing the globe from country to country, this new series celebrates the richly hued architectural personality of each nation featured.

TASCHEN’s new architecture series brings a unique perspective to world architecture, highlighting architectural trends by country. Each book features 15 to 20 architects—from the firmly established to the up-and-coming—with the focus on how they have contributed to very recent architecture in the chosen nation. Entries include contact information and short biographies in addition to copiously illustrated descriptions of the architects’ or firms’ most significant recent projects. Crossing the globe from country to country, this new series celebrates the richly hued architectural personality of each nation featured.

«Architecture Now 3» была признана лучшей книгой по архитектуре и дизайну 2004 года. «Architecture Now 4» продолжает традицию и включает новые имена и уникальные проекты более 70 лучших архитекторов всего мира. Среди множества проектов: “Nomadic Museum” Шигеру Бан; New Museums Франка О. Генри; BMW Central Building в Лейпциге Заха Хадид; Wedding Chapel в Японии и многое другое. Работы сопровождаются кратким техническим описанием, представлены биографии архитекторов и дизайнеров. Architecture Now! Volume 3 was the winner of the prestigious Saint-Etienne Prize for the Best Architecture and Design Book of 2004.

Volume 4 proves that the best keeps getting better, with new names from all over the world and the most exciting and unique buildings and designs. As always, easy-to-navigate illustrated A-Z entries include current and recent projects, biographies, contact information, and website addresses. Here are just a few of the projects that are featured in the new book: • A shelter for the needy made out of sandbags • Nomadic Museum made by Shigeru Ban out of shipping containers • A tree house in Germany • New Museums that have been built by Gehry, Mansilla and Tuñón, Richard Meier or Herzog & de Meuron • The BMW Central Building in Leipzig by Zaha Hadid • Klein Dytham's amazing Wedding Chapel in Japan • Design hotels in Berlin, São Paulo, and Cerro Paranal, Chile • The new masterpiece by Rem Koolhaas/OMA - the Central Library in Seattle • Private houses in Mexico City, São Paulo, Corsica, and Great Mackerel Beach, Australia • Mix Las Vegas by Patrick Jouin • A tower that will grow like a tree in New York • With-it architects like David Adjaye, Caramel, Graftlab, Jakob +MacFarlane, Asymptote or Lewis Tsurumaki Lewis • Artists who take on architectural space like Anselm Kiefer, Frank Stella and Bill Viola, or architects who are interested in art, like Peter Eisenman.

"The array of buildings by Renzo Piano is staggering in scope and comprehensive in the diversity of scale, material, and form. He is truly an architect whose sensibilities represent the widest range of this and earlier centuries." Such was the description of Renzo Piano given by the Pritzker Prize jury citation as they bestowed the prestigious award on him in 1998.

Whereas some architects have a signature style, what sets Piano apart is that he seeks simply to apply a coherent set of ideas to new projects in extraordinarily different ways. "One of the great beauties of architecture is that each time, it is like life starting all over again," Piano says. "Like a movie director doing a love story, a Western, or a murder mystery, a new world confronts an architect with each project." This explains why it takes more than a superficial glance to recognize Piano’s fingerprints on such varied projects as the Pompidou Center in Paris (1971-77), the Kansai airport in Osaka, Japan (1990-94), and the Tjibaou Cultural Center in Nouméa, New Caledonia (1993-1998).

This stunning monograph, illustrated by photographs, sketches, and plans, covers Piano’s career to date. Also included are sneak peeks at Piano’s current projects, including the New York Times Tower, a 52-story skyscraper to be built in Times Square, and the 80-story London Bridge Tower, which is set to be Europe’s tallest building.

Другие книги серии XL

Frank Lloyd Wright, Complete Works, Vol. 1, 1885–1916

Frank Lloyd Wright, Complete Works, Vol.2, 1917-1942

Frank Lloyd Wright, Complete Works, Vol.3, 1943-1959

Zaha Hadid, Complete Works 1979–2009

Santiago Calatrava. Complete Works 1979-2007

Ando. Complete Works, Updated Version 2010

Shigeru Ban, Complete Works 1985-2010

Jean Nouvel by Jean Nouvel, Complete Works 1970-2008

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