Stan Allen

Conversant in contemporary theory and architectural history, Stan Allen argues that concepts in architecture are not imported from other disciplines, but emerge through the materials and procedures of architectural practice itself. Drawing on his own experience as a working architect, he examines the ways in which the tools available to the architect affect the design and production of buildings. This second edition includes revised essays together with previously unpublished work. Allen’s seminal piece on Field Conditions is included in this reworked, revised and redesigned volume. A compelling read for student and practitioner alike.

Architecture, Technique and Representation

Practice

Richard Meier

Accompanying a major exhibition organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (and traveling throughout the world), this exquisitely designed and produced catalog explores the formal aspects of Richard Meier's architecture. Over his thirty-five-year career, Meier has produced a body of work that is recognized for its unceasing pursuit of the ideals of modernism and its sensitive handling of urban contexts. This volume, illustrated with exceptional duotone photographs and Meier's own drawings, is the first to cover his entire career. Included are twenty-four of the architect's masterworks, including the Smith House in Darien, Connecticut; the Douglas House, on the shores of Lake Michigan; the Museum for Decorative Arts in Frankfurt; the Canal+ Headquarters in Paris; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona; and the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Current projects -- the Federal Courthouse in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Church of the Year 2000 in Rome -- are also presented. Dozens of Meier's original sketches -- most never before published -- illustrate all of the designs. Essays by noted historians and scholars offer readings of the work focused on themes of abstraction, light, and space, and a fully illustrated chronology completes the comprehensive presentation of Meier's buildings and projects.

Richard Meier, Architect

With Points + Lines: Diagrams and Projects for the City, influential architect and theorist Stan Allen proposes a series of new architectural strategies for the contemporary city. Organized in the form of a user's manual, it juxtaposes texts outlining Allen's theoretical principles with his projects, in which those principles are demonstrated in practice. Finding inspiration in the artistic minimalism and postminimalism of the 1970s, Allen uses the city's vitality and infrastructure to support projects that reflect and augment the urban experience. Included in this volume are three essays by Allen along with six projects, including his designs for the Cardiff Bay Opera House in Wales, the Museo del Prado in Madrid, the Souks of Beirut, the Logistical Activities Zone of Barcelona, the Korean-American Museum of Art in Los Angeles, and the National Diet Library in Kansai Kan, Japan. Allen's work is introduced by K. Michael Hays; R.E. Somol provides an afterword. In addition, the book contains a complete, illustrated chronology of Allen's projects.

Stan Allen

Books

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