A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Pisé – Rammed Earth. Tradition and Potential Edited by Roger Boltshauser with Cyril Veillon and Nadja Maillard Triest , 2019 Paperback | 8-3/4 x 12 inches | 304 pages | 400 illustrations | English (also available in French and German editions) | ISBN: 9783038630289 | €60 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : This book for the first time illustrates the history and significance of rammed earth construction in Central Europe, particularly in Switzerland, using historical examples to investigate the potential of that building technique for contemporary construction. As such, it represents a pioneering comprehensive documentation that will contribute to safeguarding existing architectural monuments, while also providing the foundation for further research. Based on that evidence, the editors investigate the material’s potential for modern day edifices, especially from the perspective of regional architecture claiming to establish identity and save resources. Due to the material’s advantages –...

Upcycling:  Reuse and Repurposing as a Design Principle in Architecture Daniel Stockhammer (Editor) Triest , March 2020 Paperback | 6-1/4 x 8-1/4 inches | 204 pages | 230 illustrations | German/English | ISBN: 9783038630463 | $54.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Exploitation and destruction of the environment call for an inevitable paradigm shift as regards our resource consumption: “innovative” building will have to break away from the dogma of new build. We need to reconsider the existing building stock as a wealth of resources and ideas, just as we should understand recycling and upcycling building stock as architectonic potential. New approaches in architecture reveal a trend towards concepts of the frequently used but theoretically and historically rarely defined term upcycling. In that context, one often forgets that the history of building has also always been a history of, firstly, recycled and upcycled building materials and components, and secondly, of building knowledge a...