This catalogue of the Biennale Architettura 2023 follows the path of the exhibition and opens with statements from the President of La Biennale di Venezia Roberto Cicutto and the Artistic Director of the Architecture Department Lesley Lokko.

‘Beirut, Epi-Centre Ville’ recalls the aftershock of the explosion that hit Beirut in 2020. The disaster killed 218 people and injured thousands. The devastation was enormous, destroying many homes. Lebanon’s government subsequently fell, causing political instability. The ensuing economic and administrative crisis is still ongoing. Although the blast gradually disappeared from the news, it continued to feel extremely close for Hans Wilschut. This book is his attempt to make tangible th...

The city is not only the habitat of people, but also of plants and animals. Building Urban Nature is a plea for nature-inclusive, bioreceptive architecture that inspires designers to give nature a place in their work.

Through the presentation of realized projects, the book shows how the values of nature can be incorporated into our buildings. It discusses the conditions under which flora and fauna settle on and around our buildings, and the design methods, strategies and techniques that can h...

In cities around the world a new urban condition is spreading

rapidly: an ever-increasing push for ‘perfection’, efficiency

and control and the active eradication of any

aberration, friction or alternative. The smooth city with its

sanitized spaces and new technologies compresses urban

life into a seamless experience. While the demand for safe,

clean, and well-functioning urban environments is understandable,

the rise of the smooth city undermines the democratic

nature and emancipatory po...

The first publication on the life and work of the Argentine-American architect Helena Arahuete explores how she is one of the few architects who still practice the original principles of organic architecture, pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan over a century ago. The book expands the scholarship on organic architecture by illuminating Arahuete’s personal philosophy and integration of this tradition with the current discourse on sustainability. With contributions by Alan Hess...

An indispensable tool for the initial stages of designing and planning a building project

This new edition of the classic bestselling text provides, in one concise volume, the essential information needed as the basis for the more detailed design and development of any building project. Organized largely by building type, it covers the planning criteria and considerations of function and location--and with over 6200 diagrams, it provides a mass of data on spatial requirements.

Most of the fea...

All human-made structures are “incomplete,” according to author Michael Mehaffy – that is, they embody abstract information that necessarily leaves out essential aspects of reality. This important concept from mathematics and philosophy has new relevance for today’s human challenges, Mehaffy argues. For “incompleteness” need not be a problem – but we must understand its nature, and be prepared to work toward a “right adjustment of the process of abstraction,” in the words o...