One of the most interesting questions in architectural history is why modern architecture emerged from the war-ravaged regions of central Europe and not the United States, whose techniques of mass production and mechanical products so inspired the first generation of modern architects like Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, and Walter Gropius. In From Autos to Architecture, sociologist David Gartman offers a critical social history that shows how Fordist mass production and industrial architecture in America influenced European designers to an extent previously not understood. Drawing on Marxist economics, the Frankfurt School, and French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, From Autos to Architecture deftly illustrates the different class structures and struggles of America and Europe. Examining architecture in the context of social conflicts, From Autos to Architecture offers a critical alternative to standard architectural histories focused on aesthetics alone.

A colorful account of Le Corbusier's love affair with the automobile, his vision of the ideal vehicle, and his tireless promotion of a design that industry never embraced. Le Corbusier, who famously called a house “a machine for living,” was fascinated—even obsessed—by another kind of machine, the automobile. His writings were strewn with references to autos: “If houses were built industrially, mass-produced like chassis, an aesthetic would be formed with surprising precision,” he wrote in Toward an Architecture (1923). In his “white phase” of the twenties and thirties, he insisted that his buildings photographed with a modern automobile in the foreground. Le Corbusier moved beyond the theoretical in 1936, entering (with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret) an automobile design competition, submitting plans for “a minimalist vehicle for maximum functionality,” the Voiture Minimum. Despite Le Corbusier's energetic promotion of his design to several important automakers, the Voiture Minimum was never mass-produced. This book is the first to tell the full and true story of Le Corbusier's adventure in automobile design. Architect Antonio Amado describes the project in detail, linking it to Le Corbusier's architectural work, to Modernist utopian urban visions, and to the automobile design projects of other architects including Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd Wright. He provides abundant images, including many pages of Le Corbusier's sketches and plans for the Voiture Minimum, and reprints Le Corbusier's letters seeking a manufacturer. Le Corbusier's design is often said to have been the inspiration for Volkswagen's enduringly popular Beetle; the architect himself implied as much, claiming that his design for the 1936 competition originated in 1928, before the Beetle. Amado Lorenzo, after extensive examination of archival and source materials, disproves this; the influence may have gone the other way. Although many critics considered the Voiture Minimum a footnote in Le Corbusier's career, Le Corbusier did not. This book, lavishly illustrated and exhaustively documented, restores Le Corbusier's automobile to the main text.

Takes you on a trip through some iconic houses and the unique cars that match them in elegance of design and construction

There’s an undeniable fascination with motorcycles—their speed, design, riders, and coolness factor, are all part of the magnetism. This exquisite deluxe volume, presented on cotton paper in a beautiful black rubber clamshell box with a cutout metal plate, is the newest addition to Assouline’s Impossible Collection series is a compendium of the 100 most exceptional bikes of the twentieth century—from the rare to the renowned—each one is unique. Some of these brilliant pieces of machinery include the stunning and one-of-a-kind BMW R7, the 1948 Vincent Series Rapide that Rollie Free shattered land speed record on, in nothing but a bathing suit, the iconic 1969 Easy Rider bike that Peter Fonda made famous, and the 1973 Harley-Davidson XR750, Evel Knievel’s bike of choice. Motorcycle aficionados, aesthetes, and enthusiasts alike will treasure this collector’s item.

When the motor car first came to England in the 1890s, it was a luxury item with little practical purpose--drivers couldn't travel very far or quickly without paved roads or traffic laws. Thus began a transformation that has affected the architecture, infrastructure, and even the natural environment of the country. Carscapes relates the history of the car's impact on the physical environment of England from its early beginnings to the modern motorway network, focusing especially on its architectural influence. The authors offer a detailed look at the litany of structures designed specifically to accommodate cars: garages, gas stations, car parks, factories, and showrooms. Presenting a comprehensive study of these buildings, along with highways, bridges, and signage, Carscapes reveals the many overlooked ways in which automobiles have shaped the modern English landscape. Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

This book is dedicated to architecture that serves the automobile, showing esthetic and technical solutions of the past few years - from parking garages to gas stations and showrooms.

It is a fair claim to make that, in the history of the slot car racing hobby, there has been nothing previously published that parallels this text.When the author set out on a journey to build a slot car track based on the Scalextric product, little did he appreciate all the considerations that this encompassed. It was soon realised that the building process involved considerably more than mapping out a design and assembling track pieces, for this alone did not assure a good outcome. Many choices needed to be made that together contributed to the outcome - a slot car track.Making a track was relatively easy. Making it to be 'good' was a different matter altogether.But what is it that makes a good slot car track, and how should its construction be approached? What steps can be taken to avoid a 'pot luck' outcome?This book, detailing the journey from conception to delivery, applies a methodical approach founded on architecture underpinnings to building a slot car track. It takes the reader through the many considerations and design choices in a narrative that describes what actually occurred and eventuated in the author's 10 year journey.Contained within is a detailed slot car track architecture framework. Comprising over 62 aspects spanning 10 domains, the framework details the many hundreds of considerations that the budding track builder needs to work through regardless of whether the track is analogue, digital, set track or routed. Even then 'good' is not assured for there is no specific design formula, however the likelihood of achieving a 'good' slot car track outcome is significantly enhanced when the unique intellectual property contained herein is applied.Slot Cars and Architecture - Track Design & Construction Insights is an enjoyable and essential reference for those seeking to build 'good' a slot car track, and for those who enjoy the slot car racing hobby.

The most in-depth exploration of one of the most important, innovative, and creative architecture practices working today For the last twenty years Studio Gang, led by Jeanne Gang, has created buildings that, while spectacular, also deal with the most urgent problems of our time – inequality, climate change, and the challenges of urbanism. The studio's award-winning body of work spans multiple scales and typologies worldwide. This book showcases 25 exceptional projects – including the Aqua Tower and O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and Solar Carve Tower in New York City – that collectively demonstrate Studio Gang's bold, collaborative, research-based design approach.

Architects, however, tend to deny this, fearing contingency and preferring to pursue perfection.