Product Description

The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture presents a global survey of the most outstanding works of contemporary architecture from around the world completed in the last five years. Organized geographically and illustrated with global, regional and sub-regional maps locating each building, the book illustrates more than 1,000 completed buildings, and includes some of the most influential projects as well as many lesser-known buildings from around the world. Sections on World Data, Building Data and Architect’s Biographies build up a detailed picture of the influences on contemporary architecture today. Every building type, from the largest publicly-funded art museums and airports to private houses, is covered, and each project is illustrated with colour photographs, line drawings and a descriptive text.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #378952 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 824 pages

Amazon.com Review
The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture--so massive that it comes in its own plastic carrying case--is one of the rare publishing events that lives up to its hype. The book showcases 1,052 buildings completed since January 1998 with thousands of well-chosen color photographs plans, elevations, and cross-sections. Major elements of each project are described in elegantly succinct texts. Rather than simply pay lip service to the concept of "world" architecture, this book ranges throughout 75 countries on six continents. And although the big names in the field are here--Rafael Moneo and Herzog & De Meuron are each represented by nine projects; Tadeo Ando with eight, Frank Gehry with six--the focus is on the ingenuity and diversity of contemporary architecture, regardless of the fame of its creator.

The book's global view embraces many approaches, including experimental construction, neo-modernism, postmodernism, reinterpreted vernacular architecture and lingering traces of the International Style. While virtually every building type is included, from factories to museums, from lookout towers to train stations, the largest and most creative category is single family housing. Selected (as were all the projects) by a panel of leading architects, critics, scholars and others, these homes offer a tantalizing sense of what is possible, even on a modest budget. Grouped by country, the residences establish a sense of local context--from the elegant use of Scandinavian wood to the imaginative use of narrow plots of land in Tokyo. Fully indexed, with an array of maps and world data charts, The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture is destined to serve as a unique reference tool. But the geographic organization encourages you to just open the book anywhere and make a discovery--perhaps the surreal vision of Ake Larsson's Icehotel (carved from ice and snow), or the forest of Cor-ten steel pipes Jose ABP Forjaz used in the Mbuzini Memorial, or the startling shed forms of Rick Joy’s Tubac House. --Cathy Curtis

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Customer Reviews

to Buy or not to Buy
It is hard to review or even to critique good books, especially this one. Simply say "great" or "must have" does not help potential readers decide whether they need to invest in this volume. I have been struggling as well due to the fact that this book costs money (considering that I am still a poor student) and time (for reading). I was unable to finalize my choice untill this afternoon; and I would like to share my thoughts with all of you.

If you are an architecture professional, then the decision is easy to make. Just buy it! Owning this book to you is similar to getting a good dictionary or thesaurus to a professional writer.

The hard part comes if you are only a layperson or causal connoisseur to modern architecture (like me). To me, the cons to the investiment is twofold: 1)Information overload and redundancy. The information contained in this book is just massive. Honestly speaking, if you have already read quite a few books about modern architecture, nearly 70-80% of these projects (especially residentail buildings) are similar conceptually. What I (and probably you) need now is thought-provoking ideas and eye-catching images, which pop up among the mediocre. As a reference book, this Atlas includes both the ingenious ones and the boring ones. I have been wondering the necessity of reading all these projects. At least, I don't plan to get a PhD in architecture. 2)Size of the book. This point is peripheral comparing with the above, but still important (at least to me). The book is so large and so heavy that I cannot lie in my sofa or bed, holding and reading it comfortably. I have to get a desk and sit tight and straight. Architecture is my hobby and I really don't want to infuse a research-like mood when reading the book.

Fortunately, I picked up another book "Architecture Now 3" (AN) published by Taschen this afternoon. To me, AN is a concise version of the Phaidon Atlas, and could serve as a good substitute. The projects in AN and Phaidon Atlas overlap a lot. The good thing is that, in general, AN selected those interesting ones from the Atlas, removing all other redundant buildings. So you will still get the cutting-edge trends in today's architecture world with fewer projects and a little bit more detailed text. Plus, AN is organized by architects, so you got the chance to know those people (really useful information for amateurs). Further, AN is much smaller and I can read it anywhere I like (on the patio, in the bed, in a park...).

In summary, whether you need to buy this book depends on your needs. Spend money wisely. Hope this helps.

outstanding compilation of current architecture!!
I bought this book recently (not at amazon)primarily to bring myself up to date on what's out there in the latest trends. I hadn't seen the book, other than the publisher's web site. I was astounded when it arrived at my place of employment to see how much detail on the various projects has been worked into half page arrangements. It's a giant of a book, so the format works. This is one of the finest collections of contemporary architecture I have seen. (I am a practicing architect.)For the price, i believe it to be unique and unrivalled in scope. What especially impressed me was how much work from non-marquee architects was included.

I would heartilly recommend this to anyone, in the profession or not, for an in-depth survey of buildings worldwide. I only hope that this is the start of a series and not a one shot deal.

Comprehensive and gorgeous
Comes in a briefcase-style transparent case, which you will definately need to carry this huge tome home (the book measures around 12"x18" and weighs almost 18 pounds!). This is a beautiful book covering a fairly comprehensive range of architecture and is well organized (the material is broken down by regions/sub-regions and the pages are color-coded). Anyone interested in architecture and design will thoroughly enjoy this fantastic book.