Generously illustrated with concept development sketches as well as site plans, section drawings, full schematics, and photographs of finished buildings, this engaging volume focuses on "organic synthesis," the creative process that is architect Gunnar Birkerts's methodology and philosophy. Birkerts likens his organic approach to listening to music: the music must be heard as it unfolds; an attempt to perceive it all at once would reduce it to noise. Organic synthesis occurs as all aspects of a project present themselves: the building site, the building program and budget, available materials and technologies, emotional or intuitive content revealed through architect-client interaction.

The building of the National Library of Latvia is a landmark of the capital city of Riga, a spatial symbol and architectural icon, created by one of the 20th century renowned modernists--the Latvian-born American architect Gunnar Birkerts. It is one of the largest cultural buildings in Northern Europe in the 21st century and acquired a symbolic and meaningful name: The Castle of Light. The pyramidal structure which rises 68 meters high is a place of cognition equipped with state-of-the-art technology where up to 8 million units of national printed materials can be stored.

Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America is an impressive collection of important essays touching on all aspects of Michigan’s architecture and design heritage. The Great Lakes State has always been known for its contributions to twentieth-century manufacturing, but it’s only beginning to receive wide attention for its contributions to Modern design and architecture. Brian D. Conway, Michigan’s State Historic Preservation Officer, and Amy L. Arnold, project manager for Michigan Modern, have curated nearly thirty essays and interviews from a number of prominent architects, academics, architectural historians, journalists, and designers, including historian Alan Hess, designers Mira Nakashima, Ruth Adler Schnee, and Todd Oldham, and architect Gunnar Birkerts, describing Michigan’s contributions to Modern design in architecture, automobiles, furniture and education.

Gunnar Birkerts has designed some of America's most innovative and distinctive architecture. A member of the Modern Movement's postwar generation, he has shown that modernism can accommodate lyrical, emotional, dynamic, and regional influences within its abstract construct. His design concepts, which grow from the individual character of site and client, defy stylistic categorization. Over his career he has won more than fifty major awards. The Architecture of Gunnar Birkerts not only presents the architects work, but also explores the influences of his background, design methodology, and philosophy on his buildings. -- from book flap.

In The Structure of Design, Leslie Earl Robertson recounts a storied career in engineering which has generated among the most innovative and formally daring buildings of the modern era, as well as his extensive collaborations with several titans of the practice: Minoru Yamasaki, Philip Johnson, Max Abramovitz, Romaldo Giurgola, I. M. Pei, Pei Partnership, KPF, Kiyonori Kikutake, and Gunnar Birkerts. Robertson’s large-scale projects with some of the leading sculptors of the day, including Richard Serra and Beverly Pepper, display the range of this engineer’s craft. As a restless student from modest origins, Robertson’s first encounters with engineering were almost accidental, yet he would go on to be lead engineer of the landmark IBM buildings in Pittsburgh and Seattle while still in his early thirties. Immediately thereafter he embarked on what would become his most renowned project, the World Trade Center, to be followed by scores of major buildings around the world. The Structure of Design is a personal and accessible chronicle of the partnerships and problem-solving that have forged classics of modern architecture, and a privileged look at how the key discipline of engineering influences design, as told by a genius and poet of structure.

Torgerson begins by discussing God's transcendence and immanence and showing how church architecture has traditionally interpreted these key concepts. He then traces the theological roots of immanence's priority from liberal theology and liturgical innovation to modern architecture. Next, Torgerson illustrates this new architecture of immanence through particular practitioners, focusing especially on the work of theologically savvy architect Edward Anders Sövik. Finally, he addresses the future of church architecture as congregations are buffeted by the twin forces of liturgical change and postmodernism.

Michigan Modern: An Architectural Legacy takes readers on a privileged tour of iconic buildings and interiors designed by some of the world¿s most renowned and celebrated architects and interior designers. Each of the 34 selected projects is carefully documented to record its place in art history and the story behind both its architect and client.

"A balance of sophistication and clarity in the writing, authoritative entries, and strong cross-referencing that links archtects and structures to entries on the history and theory of the profession make this an especially useful source on a century of the world's most notable architecture. The contents feature major architects, firms, and professional issues; buildings, styles, and sites; the architecture of cities and countries; critics and historians; construction, materials, and planning topics; schools, movements, and stylistic and theoretical terms. Entries include well-selected bibliographies and illustrations."--"Reference that rocks," American Libraries, May 2005.

This is the first fully comprehensive survey and analysis of masted structures and covers examples that have evolved during the past three decades. Masted Structures are one of the most interesting developments in post-war architecture resulting from a combination of technology, structural engineering theory and a collaboration between architects and engineers. This is an essential guide for architects to the structural and constructional implications of masted forms in relation to space enclosure, patterns of loading and use of differing materials and techniques. This useful volume will enable architects and engineers to understand the origins, development and nature of masted structures and will provide a stimulating basis for future design.