European metropolises like Berlin, Rome, Barcelona, Istanbul or London are fascinating because of the history, the people, and the feeling for life – but especially because of the buildings. Architectural details of all epochs and styles are the focus of this book: the window as the eye of the house, balconies as retreats in the midst of the urban din or stairs as the embodiment of change. Aside from their functions, these details lend a building individuality, provide it with a face and determine its appearance. This volume takes the reader on a journey through the plazas and streets of the most exciting 20 metropolises of Europe, presenting an unusual variety of architectural details. Be it something new, old, beautiful or strange, every city appears in a thoroughly new light.

As a part of the activities that will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award, this catalogue explains the value of the Prize as a platform for discovery and debate about two main topics: the historical value of the Prize as a demonstration of the significance of European architecture, and the Award's role as a mechanism for bringing up topics of concern in today's European architecture, and as a process that contributes to building an architectural and urban discourse, both in Europe and throughout the world. The works of the last 25 years are essential tools for defining the future in the upcoming years.

The author documents photographically more than eighty Romanesque and Gothic vaults from medieval churches, cathedrals, and basilicas.

Architecture and Language examines one of the central themes in the history and theory of Western architecture. Seeking to understand how language provides a model for understanding architecture, the essays in this volume both celebrate the diversity of the language-architecture analogy and assess its theoretical implications in the light of the diverse historical circumstances that produced it. The chapters examine the connections between style and nationality, vernacular and "official" languages, the importance of Latin in giving the architectural profession a literate and cultured status, and the influence of architectural description on perception and design.

Drawing together case studies from all over Europe, this text explores the relationship between the overall idea of the landscape architecture for a site and the design of details. Examining concept sketches and design development drawings in relation to the details of the design, the book offers a more profound understanding of decision making through all stages of the design process. The book includes the study of the choice of materials and techniques of construction, and explores the cultural and symbolic significance of such choices, as well as questions of environmental sustainability. With projects analyzed and evaluated here that have won international acclaim, or have been awarded national prizes, European Landscape Architecture is a core book in the study and understanding of the subject.

There's an ethereal magic to standing beneath a dome, neck craned, looking up at a vision of the heavens created by some long-ago figure of genius. From the Pantheon to the Hagia Sophia, the power of the dome seems transcendent. Photographer David Stephenson's magnificently kaleidoscopic images of dome interiors capture this evanescent drama, and make Visions of Heaven one of the most spectacularly beautiful books we've ever produced. Traveling from Italy to Spain, Turkey, England, Germany, and Russia, among other countries, and photographing churches, palaces, mosques, and synagogues from the second to the early twentieth century, Stephenson's work amounts to a veritable typology of the cupola. His images present complex geometrical structures, rich stucco decorations, and elaborate paintings as they have never been seen before. Brilliantly calibrated exposures reveal details and colors that would otherwise remain hidden in these dimly lit spaces. Visions of Heaven shows more than 120 images, including the Roman Pantheon, the Byzantine churches of Turkey, the great domes of the Renaissance, the decorative cupolas of the Baroque and the Rococo ages, and a nineteenth-century synagogue in Hungary.

Since the release of the first edition of 1000 x European Architecture in 2006, the world of architecture has gone through some major changes: in the midst of an seemingly unstoppable building boom the banking crisis descended on the world economy in 2008, but since 2010 a spirit of optimism has taken hold again. A completely new impact for the world of architecture, which is gaining in significance, is the Web 2.0 and the rapidly increasing influence of social media.The vehement debates about style at the end of the 20th century have faded away, instead the questions of quality in execution, valence of the material and especially ecological sustainability have moved to the foreground of the discussions. The new edition of the bestseller 1000 x European Architecture presents the European building culture during this tumultuous time with 1000 projects from the last five years.

What does a collective process in architecture entail and how does it influence the planning of our built environment? Although the hierarchically organized office with its claim to individual authorship is still the dominant form of architecture firm, more and more horizontally organized collectives with alternative approaches to architectural planning are emerging. In this insightful survey of renowned European collectives, Natalie Donat-Cattin offers an overview of their working methods, organizational forms, goals, and projects. The book includes statements and projects by: A-A Collective, (ab)Normal, Assemble, baukuh, CNCRT, Colectivo Warehouse, Collectif Etc, constructLab, false mirror office, Fosbury Architecture, la-clique, Lacol, n'UNDO, orizzontale, raumlabor, X=(T=E=N), and Zuloark.