Koolhaas. Elements of Architecture
Hardcover, 7.9 x 10 in., 7.79 lb, 2528 pages
US$ 125
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This collection is a look through the microscope at the real fundamentals of our buildings, revealing the essential design techniques used by any architect, anywhere, anytime. Conceived by Rem Koolhaas and made with the Harvard Graduate School of Design, it is a primordial toolkit to understanding how seemingly stable elements are actually in constant evolution.
Customer reviews (4)
architecture under the microscope
rem koolhaas’s essential toolkit to building anatomies
Elements of Architecture focuses on the fragments of the rich and complex architectural collage. Window, façade, balcony, corridor, fireplace, stair, escalator, elevator: the book seeks to excavate the micro-narratives of building detail. The result is no single history, but rather the web of origins, contaminations, similarities, and differences in architectural evolution, including the influence of technological advances, climatic adaptation, political calculation, economic contexts, regulatory requirements, and new digital opportunities. It’s a guide that is long overdue—in Koolhaas’s own words, “Never was a book more relevant—at a moment where architecture as we know it is changing beyond recognition.”Derived, updated, and expanded from Koolhaas’s exhaustive and much-lauded exhibition at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale, this is an essential toolkit to understanding the fundamentals that comprise structure around the globe. Designed by Irma Boom and based on research from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the 2,600-page monograph contains essays from Rem Koolhaas, Stephan Trueby, Manfredo di Robilant, and Jeffrey Inaba; interviews with Werner Sobek and Tony Fadell (of Nest); and an exclusive photo essay by Wolfgang Tillmans.
In addition to comprehensively updated texts and new images, this edition is designed and produced to visually (and physically) embody the immense scope of its subject matter:
- Custom split-spine binding: our printer modified their industrial binding machine to allow for the flexible, eight-centimeter thick spine
- Contains a new introductory chapter with forewords, table of contents, and an index, located in the middle of the book (where it naturally opens due to its unique spine)
- Printed on 50g Opakal paper, allowing for the ideal level of opacity needed to realize Boom’s palimpsest-like design
- Translucent overlays and personal annotations by Koolhaas and Boom are woven in each chapter to create an alternative, faster route through the book
- Printed at the originally intended 100% size for full readability
Koolhaas. Elements of Architecture
Irma Boom, Wolfgang Tillmans, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Stephan Trüby, James Westcott, Stephan Petermann
Hardcover, 7.9 x 10 in., 7.79 lb, 2528 pages
Customer reviews (4)
Love it!
Dominik, October 27, 2021
This is an amazing addition to my library.
The book has so much detail covering all the elements of the building. The book covers, history, details and reasons for each element and how they developed.
The book has so much detail covering all the elements of the building. The book covers, history, details and reasons for each element and how they developed.
A must have for enthusiast
Giuliano, October 27, 2021
Whether you are an architect or an architecture enthusiast this book needs to be on your library! Every single aspect of the architecture field is well described and full of technical data. Really interesting.
Schönes Nachschlagewerk
Tim, December 27, 2021
Das Buch ist ein fantastisches Nachschlagewerk und erklärt die wichtigsten Elemente der Architektur sehr tiefgründig.
Leider ist der Einband nicht so stabil wie ich es von anderen Büchern des Verlags gewöhnt bin und zeigte schon schnell Abnutzungsspuren.
Leider ist der Einband nicht so stabil wie ich es von anderen Büchern des Verlags gewöhnt bin und zeigte schon schnell Abnutzungsspuren.
Must have für Architektur- und Designinteressierte
Martin, October 29, 2021
Dieses Buch ist ein wahrer Koloss voller Wissen. Durch alle Epochen der Menschheitsgeschichte für Architektur analytisch zerlegt und in wichtige Meilensteine aufgetrennt. Gegliedert in wichtige Bestandteile der Architektur wie Treppe, Feuerstelle, Schräge werden viele interessante Details dargelegt. Wichtige Vertreter bestimmter Architekturströmungen werden vorgestellt und werden mit einer Fülle von Fakten untermauert.
Sehr empfehlenswertes Werk und auch optisch und haptisch unglaublich.
Sehr empfehlenswertes Werk und auch optisch und haptisch unglaublich.