As the oldest and largest design firm in Japan, Nikken Sekkei employs over two thousand people and boasts of over fourteen thousand completed projects in forty countries. This volume examines their finest displays of architectural refinement, elegance, and bravura from 1990 to the present. Botond Bognar, Professor of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Kenneth Frampton, Ware Professor of Architecture at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, provide an authoritative and thorough history of the firm's achievements since the beginning of the century, focusing on such important recent works as the Islamic Development Bank Headquarters, Jeddah; the IBM Japan Head Office, Tokyo; and the Education and Cultural Center "Cairo Opera House." Although famous for their innovative approach to materials and new technologies as applied to the designs of magnificent large-scale buildings and monumental complexes like the high-tech Osaka World Trade Center Building "Cosmo Tower" in Osaka and Queen's Square in Yokohama (nearly the scale of a small city), Nikken Sekkei's brilliantly executed miniature conceptions, like the artfully conceived Sakuradamon Police Box in Tokyo, display a similar level of artistic control and finish as well. Whether reclaiming land from the sea, as in the Kansai International Airport Passenger Terminal Building and the Asia and Pacific Import Mart (AIM); merging buildings with the surrounding environment, the Museum of Ehime History and Culture in Uwa; or constructing them underground, the subterranean Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium, whose site is located under the expansive greenery of YawatayaPark, the superbly crafted architectural solutions of Nikken Sekkei are both feats of creative engineering and thoughtfully conceived monuments, based on a long-standing aesthetic judgment both firmly rooted in the past and present and moving beyond them.

A celebration of architecture from around the world profiling todays leading firms. The top one hundred firms.

This superbly illustrated book marks Nikken Sekkei's 120th anniversary and celebrates the company's unparalleled innovation in local and international design. Founded in 1900, Nikken Sekkei is a world leader in architectural innovation, urban planning and technology. Instrumental in achieving the modernization of Japan itself, the company is both a national icon and renowned international creator of architectural, engineering, and environmental landmarks. This beautifully designed book is an elegant tribute to Nikken Sekkei's remarkable achievements and contributions to world architecture over the last 120 years. A poetic photographic journey features Nikken's approach to timeless design: its integrated perspectives, meticulous craftsmanship, and quintessential Japanese traditions. Tracing the company's exceptional story and its enduring passion for sustainability, it will delight general audiences and experts alike. Narrated from a "micro to macro" perspective, this book features elemental shapes and surfaces that manifest into spaces and environments, encompassing both intimate and masterful initiatives. Over twenty-four selected projects showcase Nikken Sekkei's reputation and experience. Some are iconic international landmarks and others are quietly nestled in their respective landscapes. All of them demonstrate the company's dedication to people, communities, and the natural world.

This title illustrates an excellent way to view the dynamic growth of Asia and Australia and features some of the tallest buildings in the world. It would make an excellent reference work.

Offering extensive coverage, this Encyclopedia is a new reference that reflects the vibrant, diverse and evolving culture of modern Japan, spanning from the end of the Japanese Imperialist period in 1945 to the present day. Entries cover areas such as literature, film, architecture, food, health, political economy, religion and technology and they range from shorter definitions, histories or biographies to longer overview essays giving an in-depth treatment of major issues. With over 700 alphabetically arranged entries, this Encyclopedia will be an invaluable reference tool for students of Japanese and Asian Studies, as well as providing a fascinating insight into Japanese culture for the general reader. Suggestions for further reading, a comprehensive system of cross-referencing, a thematic contents list and an extensive index all help navigate the reader around the Encyclopedia and on to further study.

Current assessment methods of sustainable buildings do not adequately account for the users’ needs. Given that over the life of a building, total salary costs far outweigh both operating costs and combined capital and rental costs, the occupants’ needs are not something which should be sensibly ignored. This book presents an unbiased evaluation of thirty of the most cutting-edge, sustainable buildings in the world, in terms of the users’ perceived comfort, health and productivity. The author has visited the buildings, interviewed the design teams and examined the findings of a sixty-question standardized user questionnaire. The book provides: thirty case studies covering mixed-mode, passive and environmentally sustainable commercial and institutional buildings detailed insights into the principles underlying the design of sustainable buildings worldwide, over several climatic zones and eleven countries, together with clear explanations and illustrations of innovative design practice a discussion of common issues and the lessons that may be learnt from a study of the performance of sustainable buildings in practice, from the point of view of the people who use them. This important book will be of great benefit to architects and engineers, facility managers of commercial and institutional buildings, as well as developers and researchers, academics and students in these fields.