Werner Blaser

W. Blaser ist Autor mehrerer Werke über Mies van der Rohe. Dieses mehrfach aufgelegte, nunmehr zweisprachig in der Reihe "Studio Paperback" erscheinende Buch (zuletzt A. Siza: ID 13/97) dokumentiert die bedeutendsten Bauten und Projekte, dargestellt in zahlreichen Abbildungen, Zeichnungen und Grundrissen. Nüchtern-klarer Aufbau, kurze Erläuterungen zu jedem dargestellten Bauwerk. Im Anhang Werk- und Projektverzeichnis, Bibliographie. Gut geeignet zum Nachschlagen und zur schnellen Information über das Werk. Mehr über Leben und Umfeld des Architekten vermitteln die Titel von F. Schulze (BA 4/87), D. Spaeth (zuletzt BA 9/94) und J.-L. Cohen (ID 49/95). (3) (LK/HL: Ittekkot)

Mies van der Rohe

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

1952/53 erbaute Mies van der Rohe die Crown Hall in Chicago: das Domizil fur Architektur, Stadt- und Regionalplanung auf dem Campus des Illinois Institute of Technology. Das Stahl- und Glasgebaude kommt ohne innere Stutzen aus, das Dach ist an vier Stahltragern aufgehangt. In der Halle - einem ganz grossen Raum mit niedrigen Wandabschlussen - sind Zeichenraum, Bibliothek und Ausstellungsraum untergebracht, im Untergeschoss die Unterrichtsraume und Werkstatten. Mies Suche nach immer klareren Strukturen gelangt in diesem Bau zur Meisterschaft. Werner Blaser, ehemaliger Mitarbeiter Mies van der Rohes, liefert eine sorgfaltige, von personlichen Erfahrungen gepragte Darstellung dieses epochemachenden Gebaudes in Text und Bild.

The Art of Structure

Mies Van Der Rohe

Tadao Andō

Werner Blaser, architect and author of more than one hundred books, introduces the reader to the world of Tadao Ando's sunken architectures. In fascinating photographs, a method of construction is presented that has its roots in the traditional "earth dwellings" of northern and north-western China. Yet, Tadao Ando's in-ground buildings are no dark, cave-like structures. The interiors are illuminated through open atriums and large, deep-drawn areas of glass, thus giving light an almost palpable form. Stillness and contemplativeness rank among the qualities of this architecture, corresponding herein to Far Eastern spirit. In the face of increasing environmental damage and urban housing problems, architectural strategies have to be developed that respect nature and do not put extra pressure on urban surroundings. With his sunken structures, Tadao Ando succeeds in building in accordance with nature, at the same time connecting tradition and present - thus making the cultural history of building relevant for the present.

Sunken courts

Christoph Allenspach

Dieter Wronsky

Hans Rudolf Heyer

Beispiel, Kanton Basel-Land

Bauen Vor Der Stadt

Helmut Jahn

Helmut Jahn's latest buildings are the result of interdisciplinary thinking taken a step further: they represent a symbiotic collaboration between architecture, engineering and building technology. The credo of this form of architecture engineering is transparency, openness and inner flexibility, and instrumental in its development are among others, Helmut Jahn, Werner Sobek and Matthias Schuler. This innovative team has taken up the challenge of turning optimum technical solutions into intelligent and resource-saving constructions, creating internationally acclaimed architecture of the very highest technical and aesthetical quality: "Modern buildings make the highest demands of technology. And it is not the architect who fulfils them but the engineer" (Helmut Jahn) This volume documents in detail a large number of recent projects in Europe, the USA and Asia by Helmut Jahn, Werner Sobek and Matthias Schuler including the European Union Headquarters in Charlemagne, Munich Airport Center, the Sony Centre in Berlin, the airport Cologne/Bonn, office buildings for the Deutsch Post in Bonn, Shanghai International Expo Centre, Bishopsgate (London), MANN (Chicago), New Bangkok International Airport, Illinois Institute of Technology Campus Center, and Shenzhen Convention and Exhibit Center.

Architecture Engineering

The Pulitzer family who established the world famous prize also created the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, and to house their art collection the Japanese architect Tadao Ando was commissioned to design the new museum building. In October 2001, Ando's first public structure in the USA was opened in St. Louis (Missouri). It consists of two parallel rectangular buildings one of which is higher than the other, between the two wings is a reflecting water pool. With great subtlety Ando has linked interior and exterior spaces, ensuring optimal daylight is present. The artists Ellsworth Kelly and Richard Serra were also very much involved in the design process. This building with its striking yet reserved sculptural presence has been captured in duotone photographs which highlight Ando's deceptively simple composition of space and light. Tadao Ando's most recent museum building - a place where space, light and art come together in serene harmony.

The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

Tadao Ando

Johannes Spalt

Lichthöfe Seit Fünf Jahrtausenden

Atrium

Werner Blaser ist einer der renommiertesten Architekturpublizisten der letzten Jahrzehnte mit Kontakten zu nahezu allen wichtigen Architekten wie Mies, Foster, Piano oder Calatrava. In „Synthesis" erzählt er nicht nur von seinen Begegnungen mit diesen und von seinen Erfahrungen mit ihrer Architektur. Er macht in Collagen auch gestalterische Zusammenhänge zwischen Ost und West, zwischen traditioneller und zeitgenössischer Architektur anschaulich.

Texte und Collagen / Texts and Collages

Synthesis

Sketches

Renzo Piano

Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Museum Beyeler

"Werner Blaser is among the most respected architectural critics of recent decades, who has interacted with virtually all of the major architects, including Mies, Foster, Piano, and Calatrava. In Synthesis, he tells the story of his encounters with architects and architecture. In addition, he is also the creator of collages that make apparent aesthetic connections between the East and West, and between traditional and contemporary architecture"--

Architekturgeschichten und Collagen

The architect himself authorized Blaser to document his work, and the original was published in 1964. An expanded edition was published in English and German in 1985 (Verlag fur Archeitektur, Zurich, and Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., New York, respectively). Birkhauser issued an expanded edition in English and German in 1993. The current version contains an expanded appendix, with enhanced biography, bibliography, and catalog of works, and a listing of important books in Mies' library. Also, the author has photographed some of Mies' buildings in their present setting, showing how three decades have aged them little if at all. Abundantly illustrated, elegantly presented. 10x10.5" Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Werner Blaser

Books

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