Each century has its own unique approach toward addressing the problem of high density and the 21st century is no exception. As cities try to cope with rapid population growth - adding 2.5 billion dwellers by 2050 - and grapple with destructive sprawl, politicians, planners and architects have become increasingly interested in the vertical city paradigm. Unfortunately, cities all over the world are grossly unprepared for integrating tall buildings, as these buildings may aggravate multidimensional sustainability challenges resulting in a “vertical sprawl” that could have worse consequences than “horizontal” sprawl. By using extensive data and numerous illustrations this book provides a comprehensive guide to the successful and sustainable integration of tall buildings into cities. A new crop of skyscrapers that employ passive design strategies, green technologies, energy-saving systems and innovative renewable energy offers significant architectural improvements. At the urban scale, the book argues that planners must integrate tall buildings with efficient mass transit, walkable neighbourhoods, cycling networks, vibrant mixed-use activities, iconic transit stations, attractive plazas, well-landscaped streets, spacious parks and engaging public art. Particularly, it proposes the Tall Building and Transit Oriented Development (TB-TOD) model as one of the sustainable options for large cities going forward. Building on the work of leaders in the fields of ecological and sustainable design, this book will open readers’ eyes to a wider range of possibilities for utilizing green, resilient, smart, and sustainable features in architecture and urban planning projects. The 20 chapters offer comprehensive reading for all those interested in the planning, design, and construction of sustainable cities.

A revolutionary reimagining of the cities we live in, the air above us, and what goes on in the earth beneath our feet Today we live in a world that can no longer be read as a two-dimensional map, but must now be understood as a series of vertical strata that reach from the satellites that encircle our planet to the tunnels deep within the ground. In Vertical, Stephen Graham rewrites the city at every level: how the geography of inequality, politics, and identity is determined in terms of above and below. Starting at the edge of earth’s atmosphere and, in a series of riveting studies, descending through each layer, Graham explores the world of drones, the city from the viewpoint of an aerial bomber, the design of sidewalks and the hidden depths of underground bunkers. He asks: why was Dubai built to be seen from Google Earth? How do the super-rich in São Paulo live in their penthouses far above the street? Why do London billionaires build vast subterranean basements? And how do the technology of elevators and subversive urban explorers shape life on the surface and subsurface of the earth? Vertical will make you look at the world around you anew: this is a revolution in understanding your place in the world.

This revised edition focuses on the spaces of production in cities--both the modernist period and today--and the technologies that have contributed to shifts in factory architecture, manufacturing, and urban design. Vertical Urban Factory tracks the evolution of the vertical urban factory from the first industrial revolution to the present and provides an analysis of the political, social, and economic factors that have shaped today's global industrial landscape. Ultimately, it provokes new concepts for the futureof urban manufacturing, and the necessity of creating new paradigms for sustainable, self-sufficient urban industry. Illustrated with historic and contemporary photographs, manufacturing process diagrams, and infographics by MGMT Design.

The architecture practice MVRDV and The Why Factory envision a new model for the development of Asian cities. Their idea is The Vertical Village, a three-dimensional community intended to bring back personal autonomy, diversity, flexibility and neighbourhood life to cities in Asia. As a result of demographic and economic forces, cities in Asia are undergoing rapid change. Traditional urban villages, which formed the core of the cities for centuries, are being replaced at a merciless pace by uniform tower blocks. In tracking the development of nine very distinct Asian cities, The Vertical Village provides insight into the evolution, current situation and future of these 'vertical urban villages'. This book then introduces two tools: The VillageMaker© and The HouseMaker©, with which to design a dream house and find a dream location. The book also offers a glimpse into what it would be like to live in a 'Vertical Village'. Publisher's note.

In den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten sind weltweit so viele Hochhäuser gebaut worden wie nie zuvor. Auch in Europa, wo lange Zeit vor allem Kirchtürme und Schornsteine vertikale Akzente setzten, prägen sie vermehrt das Gesicht der Städte. Die neuere monumentale Architektur ist mit vielfältigen Versprechen, Begehrlichkeiten und Befürchtungen verknüpft. Am Beispiel von Paris, London und Wien diskutiert diese Studie, welche Vorstellungen von Urbanität dabei im Spiel sind. Sie verortet das vertikale Bauen im Spannungsfeld von globalisierten Vergleichshorizonten und städtischem Eigensinn. More high-rises have been built worldwide over the past two decades than ever before. Even in Europe, where vertical accents have traditionally been placed by steeples and chimneys, towering buildings are increasingly shaping the face of cities. This new monumental architecture is associated with a variety of promises, desires and fears. Based on the examples of Paris, London and Vienna, this study discusses the concepts of urbanity that come into play here. It contextualizes vertical construction in the field of tension between globalized horizons of comparison on the one hand and urban specificity on the other.

In this "complex tale of war, politics, and lust for power" (The Guardian), the fate of the world is decided when heroes and gods march into battle one last time in the searing conclusion of this bold and bloody epic fantasyseries. There are no gods. Only men. Betrayed by her closest allies, Empress Miko Ts’ai is thrust from ruler to pawn. But she won’t suffer the whims of men. A string of dangerous gambles could win Miko her empire for good, but to take back the throne, she must become everything her ancestors failed to be. Rah e’Torin leads a herd again. Now he seeks to honor a promise he made a lifetime ago—to safely bring his Swords home. Yet Rah’s loyalty to the past may be his ultimate undoing. Cassandra Marius is lost. Ensnared by memories that aren’t her own, Cass must decide who she really is, but the answer lies beyond one final confrontation with Leo Villius. And trapped in the heart of the Chiltaen army, Dishiva e’Jaroven is handed unexpected power. The dream of a new homeland is within her grasp—if she risks everything and trusts her former enemies. Praise for The Reborn Empire: "Imaginative worldbuilding, a pace that builds perfectly to a heart-pounding finale and captivating characters. Highly recommended." —John Gwynne, author of The Shadow of the Gods "An exciting new author in fantasy." —Mark Lawrence, author of Red Sister The Reborn EmpireWe Ride the StormWe Lie with DeathWe Cry for Blood We Dream of Gods For more from Devin Madson, check out: The Vengeance TrilogyThe Blood of WhisperersThe Gods of ViceThe Grave at Storm's End

Studies of compact cities have evolved along with the rising awareness of climate change and sustainable development. Relevant debates, however, reveal that the prevailing definitions and practices of compact cities are tied primarily to traditional Western urban forms. This book reinterprets "compact city", and develops a ground-breaking discourse of "Vertical Urbanism", a concept that has never been critically articulated. It emphasizes "Vertical Urbanism" as a dynamic design strategy instead of a static form, distinguishing it from the stereotyped concept of "vertical city" or "towers in the park" dominant in China and elsewhere, and suggests its adaptability to different geographic and cultural contexts. Using Chinese cities as laboratories of investigation, this book explores the design, ecological, and sociocultural dimensions of building compact cities, and addresses important global urban issues through localized design solutions, such as the relationship between density and vitality, the integration of horizontal and vertical dimensions of design, and the ecological and social adaptability of combinatory mega-forms. In addition, through discussions with scholars from the United States, China, and Japan, this book provides an insight into the theoretical debates surrounding "compact city" and "Vertical Urbanism" in the global context. Scholars and students in architecture and urban planning will be attracted by this book. Also, it will appeal to readers with an interest in urban development and Asian studies.

Featuring 165 expertly reproduced visionary architectural drawings from The Museum of Modern Art's Howard Gilman Archive, this collection brings together a selection of idealized, fantastic and utopian architectural drawings.

In 1946 a group of students and idealists got together to realize their visions for a modern city. Over the following half century, the Architectural Centre they founded helped shape the possibilities of modern life in urban New Zealand and profoundly influenced the remaking of the capital city of Wellington. More than just an association of architects, the Centre furthered education, published a magazine—Design Review—hosted modernist exhibitions in its gallery, staged an audacious campaign for political influence called &“the Project,&” and fought for better planning, better design, and better built environments in Wellington. Charting these activists and their projects over the years, Julia Gatley and Paul Walker also offer a history of urban Wellington from the 1940s to the 1990s and beyond. The book reminds us that, in modernist ideology, architecture and urban planning went hand-in-hand with visual and craft arts, graphic and industrial design. In recovering the multidisciplinary history, politics, and planning of the Architectural Centre, Gatley and Walker begin writing the city back into the history of architecture in New Zealand.

A comprehensive overview of Earth's biosphere, written with scientific rigor and essay-like flair. In his latest book, Vaclav Smil tells the story of the Earth's biosphere from its origins to its near and long-term future. He explains the workings of its parts and what is known about their interactions. With essay-like flair, he examines the biosphere's physics, chemistry, biology, geology, oceanography, energy, climatology, and ecology, as well as the changes caused by human activity. He provides both the basics of the story and surprising asides illustrating critical but often neglected aspects of biospheric complexity. Smil begins with a history of the modern idea of the biosphere, focusing on the development of the concept by Russian scientist Vladimir Vernadsky. He explores the probability of life elsewhere in the universe, life's evolution and metabolism, and the biosphere's extent, mass, productivity, and grand-scale organization. Smil offers fresh approaches to such well-known phenomena as solar radiation and plate tectonics and introduces lesser-known topics such as the quarter-power scaling of animal and plant metabolism across body sizes and metabolic pathways. He also examines two sets of fundamental relationships that have profoundly influenced the evolution of life and the persistence of the biosphere: symbiosis and the role of life's complexity as a determinant of biomass productivity and resilience. And he voices concern about the future course of human-caused global environmental change, which could compromise the biosphere's integrity and threaten the survival of modern civilization.