Focuses on the emerging field of advanced digital design.

Rethinking Building Skins: Transformative Technologies and Research Trajectories provides a comprehensive collection of the most relevant and forward-looking research in the field of façade design and construction today, with a focus on both product and process innovation. The book brings together the expertise, creativity, and critical thinking of more than fifty global innovators from both academia and industry, to guide the reader in translating research into practice. It identifies new opportunities for the construction sector to respond to present challenges, towards a more sustainable, efficient, connected, and safe future. - Introduces the reader to the role of façades with respect to the main challenges ahead - Provides an overview of the major façade technological advancements throughout history and identifies prospective research trajectories - Includes interviews with key industry players from different backgrounds and expertise - Showcases a comprehensive range of leading research topics in the field, organised by product and process innovation - Covers major innovations across the value chain including façade design, fabrication, construction, operation and maintenance, and end-of-life - Contributes towards the definition of an international research agenda and identifies emerging market opportunities for the façade industry

BEFORE quitting England for a first visit to Spain in the Autumn of 1869, I made up my mind both to see and draw as much of the Architectural remains of that country as the time and means at my disposal would permit; and further determined so to draw as to admit of the publication of my sketches and portions of my notes on the objects represented, in the precise form in which they might be made. I was influenced in that determination by the consciousness that almost from day to day the glorious past was being trampled out in Spain; and that whatever issue, prosperous or otherwise, the fortunes of that much distracted country might take in the future, the minor monuments of Art at least which adorned its soil, would rapidly disappear. Their disappearance would result naturally from what is called "progress" if Spain should revive; while their perishing through neglect and wilful damage, or peculation, would inevitably follow, if the ever smouldering embers of domestic revolution should burst afresh into flame. Such has been the invariable action of those fires which in all history have melted away the most refined evidences of man's intelligence, leaving behind only scanty, and often all but shapeless, relics of the richest and ripest genius.

What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In this work the author analyzes a unique collection of data from twenty countries, ranging as far back as the eighteenth century, to uncover key economic and social patterns. His findings transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality. He shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities on the apocalyptic scale predicted by Karl Marx. But we have not modified the deep structures of capital and inequality as much as we thought in the optimistic decades following World War II. The main driver of inequality--the tendency of returns on capital to exceed the rate of economic growth--today threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values if political action is not taken. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past, the author says, and may do so again. This original work reorients our understanding of economic history and confronts us with sobering lessons for today.

Amid economic uncertainties, fluctuating oil prices, and a rising environmental consciousness, the need for sustainable and efficient food production has become dire. The Vertical Farm: Scientific Advances and Technological Developments systematically navigates the realm of vertical farming (VF), rooted in a robust, scientific foundation. Unveiling the intricate convergence of plant biology, environmental science, and agronomy, it provides a profound understanding of contemporary agriculture. The book spans lighting systems and climate control mechanisms, focusing on sustainability. From small urban initiatives to significant commercial endeavors, real-world case studies showcase VF's adaptability, scalability, and resilience. Addressing multiple challenges, the book explores economic considerations and public perceptions, recognizing their roles in fostering meaningful advancements in agricultural innovation. A volume in the Nextgen Agriculture series, this book is valuable to scientists, practitioners, and students in urban agriculture and planning, horticulture, engineering, landscape architecture, and plant/technology sciences.

This book explains how with careful planning and design, the functions and performance of constructed wetlands can provide a huge range of benefits to humans and the environment. It documents the current designs and specifications for free water surface wetlands, horizontal and vertical subsurface flow wetlands, hybrid wetlands and bio retention basins; and explores how to plan, engineer, design and monitor these natural systems. Sections address resource management (landscape planning), technical issues (environmental engineering and botany), recreation and physical design (landscape architecture), and biological systems (ecology). Site and municipal scale strategies for flood management, storm-water treatment and green infrastructure are illustrated with case studies from the USA, Europe and China, which show how these principles have been put into practice. Written for upper level students and practitioners, this highly illustrated book provides designers with the tools they need to ensure constructed wetlands are sustainably created and well manage

Coastal Flood Risk Reduction: The Netherlands and the U.S. Upper Texas Coast represents the culmination of a 5-year international research and education partnership funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and more than 10 years of collaboration between Dutch and U.S. flood experts on the basic issue of how to protect society from growing flood risks. Multiple case studies integrating the fields of engineering, hydrology, landscape architecture, economics, and planning address the underlying characteristics of physical flood risks and their prediction; human communities and the associated built environment; physical, social, and built-environment variables; and mitigation techniques. In recognition of the lack of systematic research and the growing societal need to better understand flood impacts, this edited book provides an in-depth, comparative evaluation of flood problems and solutions in two key places: the Netherlands and the U.S. Upper Texas Coast. Both regions are extremely flood-prone and have experienced continual adverse impacts throughout their histories. For researchers in flood management, geographers, hydrologists, environmental studies, and social science as well as policymakers and decision-makers in flood management authorities and related industries, this book provides an essential resource. - Introduces integrated comparative work on flood risk reduction and management across disciplines and international boundaries - Presents chapters written by dozens of experts across six U.S. and Dutch universities that have formally participated in the international research and education program funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) - Provides a basis for understanding and mitigating flood risk over a range of necessary perspectives, from modeling inputs to design solutions - Integrates cutting-edge scientific methods and state-of-the-art knowledge with examples of specific solutions and how they are being implemented in each national case study