Monolithic architecture
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Monolithic architecture
Prestel, c1995
Available at 7 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Description and Table of Contents
Description
A number of architectural works recently completed internationally exhibit a particular sensibility best described by the term "monolithic". Some of these works have already acquired a certain notoriety, primarily as a result of their strong physical presence in important urban settings. Others are still under construction or have yet to be realized. This book presents this controversial contemporary phenomenon to the general public. Looking closely at several buildings in Europe, Japan and America, the essayists set out to define monolithic architecture in its larger context, searching for its physical and conceptual roots in earlier times and proposing reasons why such structures both answer certain contemporary questions and provoke emphatic public response. The works include projects by such established figures as Peter Eisenman (Max Reinhardt Haus, Berlin) and Rem Koolhaas (Sea Trade Centre, Zeebrugge, Belgium), as well as by up-and-coming architects, such as Herzog and de Meuron (Signal Box, Basel, Switzerland) and Phillipe Samyn (Belgian Forestry Department Shell, Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium).
The projects range from grand public showcases (Jean Nouvel's Tokyo Opera House) to private homes (Ungers and Kinslow's T-House, Wilton, New York), thus demonstrating that monoliths are not simply monumental but, rather, resonant of certain other traits. These buildings primarily share an extreme economy and simplicity of overall form; most characteristic is their capacity to deliver tremendous eloquence with very few formal means. Some adopt straightforward, elementary configurations, others limit more gestural impulses to a clear and single utterance. Most contain considerable planimetric and sectional complexities within strict volumetric restraint. All have a monolithic character that ostensibly defies current preoccupation with fragmentation and heterogeneity. This presentation of provocative but lesser-known projects by notable figures on the contemporary architectural scene is a contribution to the ongoing debate regarding form - and formalism - in architecture and a useful addition to every architecture library.
This book documents an exhibition organized by The Heinz Architectural Centre, The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh with Rodolfo Machado and Rodolphe el-Khoury serving as guest-curators.
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