In architecture, as in food, local is an idea whose time has come. Of course, the idea of an architecture that responds to site; draws on local building traditions, materials, and crafts; and strives to create a sense of community is not recent. Yet, the way it has evolved in the past few years in the hands of some of the world's most accomplished architects is indeed defining a new movement. From the rammed-earth houses of Rick Joy and Pacific Northwest timber houses of Tom Kundig, to the community-built structures of Rural Studio and Francis Kéré, designers everywhere are championing an architecture that exists from, in, and for a specific place. The stunning projects, presented here in the first book to examine this global shift, were featured at the thirteenth and final Ghost conference held in 2011, organized by Nova Scotia architect, educator, and local practitioner Brian MacKay-Lyons. The result is the most complete collection of contemporary regionalist architecture available, with essays by early proponents of the movement, including Kenneth Frampton, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Pritzker Prize–winning architect Glenn Murcutt.

The shop/house – the building combining commercial/retail uses and dwellings – appears over many periods of history in most cities in the world. This book combines architectural history, cross-cultural understandings and accounts of contemporary policy and building practice to provide a comprehensive account of this common but overlooked building. The merchant's house in northern European cities, the Asian shophouse, the apartment building on New York avenues, typical apartment buildings in Rome and in Paris – this variety of shop/houses along with the commonality of attributes that form them, mean that the hybrid phenomenon is as much a social and economic one as it is an architectural one. Professionals, city officials and developers are taking a new look at buildings that allow for higher densities and mixed-use. Describing exemplary contemporary projects and issues pertaining to their implementation as well as the background, cultural variety and urban attributes, this book will benefit designers dealing with mixed-use buildings as well as academics and students.

It's been our distinct pleasure over the past few years to publish monographs on a select group of young architects and firms whose work represents the best of contemporary design thinking while retaining a distinctive regional sensibility. The Nova-Scotian architect Brian MacKay-Lyons fits neatly into this distinguished list, which includes Marlon Blackwell in the Ozarks, Rick Joy in the Southwest, andMiller/Hull in the Northwest. Those familiar with Nova Scotia understand the austere beauty of this Canadian landscape, with its wide open skies and rugged terrain pushing up against the Atlantic. MacKay-Lyons's work responds to this unique topography and to the vernacular building traditions that define its communities. His houses, commercial buildings, and public projects combine regional forms with local materials, technologies, and building practices to create works that are linked to their environments right down to their DNA.Peaked gables, shed roofs, and sliding doors are inspired by local barn types; corrugated metal cladding comes from the buildings used by the areas fishing industry; structural wooden frames are based on local ship-building traditions. These elements communicate a sense of place that is sophisticated, accessible, and free of sentimentality. Novelist and historian Malcolm Quantrill weaves together an intimate portrait of MacKay-Lyons and his work, elucidating the "peculiar regionality" of his subject's architecture. A New Voices monograph published with The Graham Foundation.

"New Vernacular Architecture considers the synthesis of modernity and tradition in contemporary architecture. Focusing on 37 international examples of buildings of different types completed in the last decade, it examines architecture that reinterprets rather than revives traditional forms, materials and construction techniques. The projects covered range from better known works by renowned architects such as Michael Graves, Renzo Piano and David Chipperfield, to less familiar buildings in Hungary, Nepal, Latvia and elsewhere." "The fragmentation of nation states and the greater plurality of political and cultural identities that have occurred over recent years have led to a growing reaction in architecture against "global blanding" - the worldwide homogenization of images and designs. As a result, local context, materials and culture are becoming increasingly important concerns for many architects. Architecture has captured the public imagination as a means of lending form to evolving regional identity and as a way of reflecting difference. Each project features a thoroughly researched and detailed commentary, and is generously illustrated with photographs, sketches and plans."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

In the last decades Western architecture has largely dominated the discourse and the built environment worldwide. Recently architecture firms from non-Western countries have been establishing local and global recognition for themselves. Practices all over the world face challenges against a backdrop of rapidly growing cities, ecological demands, changing societies and climate, and emerging economies. Local architects often find strikingly different solutions to local requirements, including sustainability, transportation, migration, construction materials, and traditions.In Mexico, architects work closely with indigenous communities to create modular social housing that can be assembled in one week. In Namibia, a lodge in a wildlife conservancy is designed to echo a local birds nest, while in Vietnam, a library and public space have created a micro-ecosystem to house fish and grow food.Beyond the West journeys across Asia, Africa, and the Americas to understand how local architects respond to a changing world, and focuses its wide lens on inspiring and truly global architecture.

Knapp (geography, SUNY) continues the work of his previous books by examining the distinctive characteristics of the common house in Zhejing province. Over 300 original photographs illustrate his discussion of construction techniques, the organization of space, settlement patterns, the expression of

Triangle Modern Architecture documents the rich history and unique cultural significance of a region that is one of the most important on the national map of modern design. Over the last 75 years, the architecture in this area has grown to creatively combine innovation and technology with the area's history, culture, unique landscape, and built context. While the Triangle has seen a great increase in interest in Modern architecture, the understanding of this design and the reasons and history behind it, have not been shared in a clear and meaningful way. There is an information gap between what is appreciated by architects and by the general public.

A study of historic architectural styles of New Orleans homes. This presentation of nineteenth-century gouache and watercolor archival paintings from the New Orleans Notarial Archives offers a glimpse at what old, renovated, restored, and new buildings in New Orleans neighborhoods not only might look like, but how they should look. Including examples of each New Orleans house type, ranging from the French colonial plantation home to the Creole cottage, this volume offers historic plans for each house along with contemporary adaptive-use alternatives to suit modern needs. An architectural pattern book, educational tool, city planner’s handbook, and stunning visual presentation, this gorgeous resource is intended for all interested in historic preservation and architectural history as well as those wishing to build a modern home in an authentic New Orleans style. Praise for A Pattern Book of New Orleans Architecture “An enchanting waltz through the heart of the Crescent City choreographed by the doyenne of New Orleans’ preservationists. [Toledano] presents two centuries of colored renderings from the New Orleans Notarial Archives in a stunning visual portrait of the city’s built heritage, while architect Gate Pratt’s pattern book of new homes designed in authentic styles provides an indispensable resource for rebuilding efforts. This work is destined to become the quintessential bible for historians, preservationists, architects, and all those interested in the true story of the architectural traditions that have shaped the ‘real’ New Orleans.” —Russell Versaci, AIA, traditional architect and author of Creating a New Old House and Roots of Home “For architects, builders, and developers working in the Crescent City, Roulhac B. Toledano’s A Pattern Book of New Orleans Architecture reveals an extraordinary new design resource. Toledano describes in detail the evolution of the city and the building types that have given the city a character unique in the world. Modern floor plans designed by local architects for historic house types demonstrate that the traditional architectural patterns of New Orleans are as accommodating today as in the past. For local practitioners and visitors wishing to build in New Orleans, Toledano’s pattern book is essential for sensitive and thoughtful design in this most exotic and precious city.” —Paul Ostergaard, AIA, Urban Design Associates, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Originally published in 1947, this book examines the regional styles of architecture which developed inside England itself, particularly during the later medieval period. It discusses the causes and locations of these regional variations. In explaining the cause for the geographical variations in stye, the author investigates the various factors responsible for bringing them about, such as geology, race, religion, foreign influence, transport and fashion. As churches have survived the passage of time better than many secular buildings, the emphasis is on church architecture (although not exclusively). The book contains over 120 photographs and the book is an original and important inquiry into the origin and development of local styles in English architecture.

Although 3D printing promises a revolution in many industries, primarily industrial manufacturing, nowhere are the possibilities greater than in the field of product design and modular architecture. Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, of the cutting-edge San Francisco–based design firm Emerging Objects, have developed remarkable techniques for "printing" from a wide variety of powders, including sawdust, clay, cement, rubber, concrete, salt, and even coffee grounds, opening an entire realm of material, phenomenological, and ecological possibilities to designers. In addition to case studies and illustrations of their own work, Rael and San Fratello offer guidance for sourcing alternative materials, specific recipes for mixing compounds, and step-by-step instructions for conducting bench tests and setting parameters for material testing, to help readers to understand the process of developing powder-based materials and their unique qualities.