Summary

Since the large-scale use of concrete prefabricated parts in the 1960s and 1970s, this material has developed new applications in recent years and also become more aesthetically refined. Extremely light and thin varieties of concrete like the newly developed Ductal and virtually transparent concrete cladding allow for the creation of interesting and spectacular designs. Precisely such avant-garde architects as Tod Williams & Billie Tsien, Herzog & de Meuron, Zaha Hadid, and Steven Holl make frequent use of these materials.

Eight articles and essays by noted authors such as Antoine Picon, Adrian Forty, Guy Nordenson, Franz Ulm, and others shed light on specific aspects of this material and its new forms. Scattered throughout the book are also 30 attractive recent buildings, which illustrate and exemplify these developments. Included are projects by Takashi Yamaguchi, Baumschlager & Eberle, Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Foster and Partners, Ingenhoven und Partner, Santiago Calatrava, Hariri & Hariri, Tadao Ando, Antoine Predock and others.

Library Journal Review

Frequently reviled by the public, employed in enormous quantities by the building industries, and admired for its strength and plasticity (though susceptible to deterioration under certain conditions), concrete makes possible the expressive forms and continuity of structure central to modern architecture. It was first used for buildings in ancient Rome, and its place within the history of architecture continues to be debated. Is it a harsh industrial material unsuitable for aspirant forms or a medium of unparalleled flexibility and expressive possibility? This book offers an intelligent answer to that question as well as a tribute to concrete itself. Editors Cohen (Inst. of Fine Arts, NYU; Encyclop?die Perret) and Moeller Jr. (AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C.) have compiled contemporary examples in four groups-structure, surface, sculptural form, and the future of concrete-each preceded by a cogent historical essay. Illustrative material in the form of superb color photographs, sketches, plans, sections, and diagrams complement an international selection of powerful and dynamic forms. Since the interiors are well illustrated, this book is recommended for all architecture and interior design collections.-Paul Glassman, Hofstra Univ. Lib., Hempstead, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.