A reflection on 20 years of Gumuchdjian Architects in practice Sensing Place is a reflection on 20 years of Gumuchdjian Architects in practice. The principal architect, Philip Gumuchdjian sets out the thinking behind his projects with a view to re-stating the relevance of architecture in an increasingly virtual, image driven world. The book is thus a manual designed to guide the general public through the many concurrent and competing ideas that underpin a typical body of architectural work. These include the importance of keeping the culture of the past closely with us; the imperative of instilling buildings with the capacity to connect people to places; and how shared space is the real engine of community. Gumuchdjian exposes the observations and emotional responses that fuel his design intuition and pairs this with a fundamental belief in the necessity to respect our shared human past. Like a writer or a painter he is seen to observe the world and brings those observations to bear on his projects. In asking 'what is the point of architecture?' and airing the span of sensitivities, hopes and ambitions that form the foundation of his architectural projects, Gumuchdjian aims to reveal the little understood motivations behind every architect's work. The book restates the fundamental potential of architecture to contribute to the betterment of the lives of people on this environmentally depleted, socially inequitable and commercially over-exploited planet. Divided into five chapters that describe his approach to landscape, heritage, the home, and the public realm, Sensing Place concludes by reinforcing the need for architects to continue their advocacy of visionary change.

This is the first book to be published on the leading London architecture firm Gumuchdjian Architects whose widely published first project the Think Tank established their reputation for sensitive, contextual work. Its covers the first ten years of production since the studio was founded and includes an unusually wide range of project types and collaborations with architects and artists. They won the international competition for the new Pompidou Centre in Metz with Shigeru Ban and gained planning approval for a residential tower beside the Tate Modern. Their most important finished projects include the giant Recycled Paper Building in the Millennium Dome and the Marylebone School in London, winner of the RIBA National Award in 2008.

" ... Is the first book to survey the intersection between design, the body, science and the senses, from the utopian pods and head gear of the 1960s, to the high-tech prostheses, wearable computing, implants, and interfaces between computers and humans of the past decade ..."--Introduction, p. 6.

A classic examination of superb design through the centuries. Widely regarded as a classic in the field, Experiencing Architecture explores the history and promise of good design. Generously illustrated with historical examples of designing excellence—ranging from teacups, riding boots, and golf balls to the villas of Palladio and the fish-feeding pavilion of Beijing's Winter Palace—Rasmussen's accessible guide invites us to appreciate architecture not only as a profession, but as an art that shapes everyday experience. In the past, Rasmussen argues, architecture was not just an individual pursuit, but a community undertaking. Dwellings were built with a natural feeling for place, materials and use, resulting in “a remarkably suitable comeliness.” While we cannot return to a former age, Rasmussen notes, we can still design spaces that are beautiful and useful by seeking to understand architecture as an art form that must be experienced. An understanding of good design comes not only from one's professional experience of architecture as an abstract, individual pursuit, but also from one's shared, everyday experience of architecture in real time—its particular use of light, color, shape, scale, texture, rhythm and sound. Experiencing Architecture reminds us of what good architectural design has accomplished over time, what it can accomplish still, and why it is worth pursuing. Wide-ranging and approachable, it is for anyone who has ever wondered “what instrument the architect plays on.”

This book explores the notion of mapping in architectural discourse. First locating, positioning and theorizing mapping, it then makes explicit the relationship between research and design in architecture through cartography and spatial analysis. It proposes three distinct modalities: tool, operation and concept, showing how these methods lead to discursive aspects of architectural work and highlighting mapping as an instrument in developing architectural form. It emphasizes the importance of place and time as fundamental terms with which to understand the role of mapping. An investigation into architectural discourse, this book will appeal to academics and researchers within the discipline with a particular interest in theory, history and cartography.

The classic work on the evaluation of city form. What does the city's form actually mean to the people who live there? What can the city planner do to make the city's image more vivid and memorable to the city dweller? To answer these questions, Mr. Lynch, supported by studies of Los Angeles, Boston, and Jersey City, formulates a new criterion—imageability—and shows its potential value as a guide for the building and rebuilding of cities. The wide scope of this study leads to an original and vital method for the evaluation of city form. The architect, the planner, and certainly the city dweller will all want to read this book.