The Ecologies of the Building Envelope : A Material History and Theory of Architectural Surfaces.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zaera, Alejandro.

Contributor:

Anderson, Jeffrey.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Architectural criticism--Criticism.

Architectural criticism.

Architecture--History--Contemporary (1945-).

Architecture.

Facades.

Physical Description:

1 online resource, (498 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Ecologies of the Building Envelope

Place of Publication:

New York City : Actar D, 2021.

Summary:

The Ecologies of the Envelope theorizes the building envelope as a literal embodiment of the social, political, technological, and economic contingencies which have become embedded within it over the last century, analyzing the historical lineages, heroes and villains that helped define the complex material ecologies we see within the envelope today. While the façade is one of the most thoroughly theorized elements of architecture, it is also one of the most questioned since the end of the 19th century. Within the discipline of architecture, the traditional understanding of the façade focuses primarily on semiotic and compositional operations (such as proportional laws and linguistic codes), which are deployed on the building's surface. In contrast to this, our material and environmental theory of the envelope proposes that the exponential development of building technologies since the mid-19th century, coupled with new techniques of management and regulation, have diminished the compositional and ornamental capacities of the envelope in favor of material, quantitative, and technical performances. Rather than producing a stylistic analysis of the façade, we investigate the historical lineages of the performances, components, assembly types, and material entanglements that constitute the contemporary building envelope.

Contents:

Intro

0.0-Envelopes: A Material and Environmental Ontology

1.0-Environmental Performances: The Teleology of the Envelope

1.1-Transparency: The Material Tempering of a Modern Ideology

1.2-Watertightness: From the Roof to the Wall

1.3-Airtightness: The Breathless Envelope

1.4-Insulation: The Rise of the Cellular

1.5-Economics: Depth, Weight, and Logistics

2.0-Components: Microevolutions in the Envelope

2.1-Mullions: The Miniaturization of the Envelope

2.2-Joints: Subject to Movement

2.3-Membranes: Performance without Form

3.0-Assembly Logics: The Tectonics of Modern Envelopes

3.1-Panelized: Embodying Labor

3.2-Layered: A Vertical Geology of Hidden Tectonics

4.0-Assemblages: The Speciation of the Envelope

4.1-Curtain Walls: Currency of the Modern Envelope

4.2-Double Façades: Climate Incorporated

4.3-All-Glass Envelopes: Total Vision

4.4-Precast Concrete: Sin and Redemption

4.5-Screens: The Making of the Mask

4.6-Tensile Enclosures: From Comfort to Spectacle

4.7-Media Façades: From Information to Atmosphere

4.8-Vegetated Envelopes: Greenwashing

4.9-Kinetic Assemblages: The Politics of Control

Images Copyrights

Glossary.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781638409489

163840948X

OCLC:

1251447715