Tag: History

Architecture: A World History

Foamboards

Lavishly illustrated and super-condensed, Architecture: A World History is the perfect gift for any architecture buff. In this pocket-sized book bursting with 600 illustrations, page after page is dedicated to significant architectural movements, time lines that explore the evolution of the practice, and capsule biographies of great architects and examinations of their masterpieces.

Organized chronologically, the book travels from prehistory to the present, highlighting noteworthy examples of important architectural styles, and showcasing the work of significant architects, including Mies van der Rohe, Frank Gehry, Philip Johnson, Frank Lloyd Wright, Zaha Hadid, and Rem Koolhaas. From the pyramids of Egypt to the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower to the Glass House, Architecture: A World History takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the most spectacular examples of architecture from around the world and throughout time.

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The History of Visual Magic in Computers: How Beautiful Images are Made in CAD, 3D, VR and AR

Foamboards

If you have ever looked at a fantastic adventure or science fiction movie, or an amazingly complex and rich computer game, or a TV commercial where cars or gas pumps or biscuits behaved liked people and wondered, “How do they do that?”,  then you’ve experienced the magic of 3D worlds generated by a computer.

3D in computers began as a way to represent automotive designs and illustrate the construction of molecules. 3D graphics use evolved to visualizations of simulated data and artistic representations of imaginary worlds.

In order to overcome the processing limitations of the computer, graphics had to exploit the characteristics of the eye and brain, and develop visual tricks to simulate realism. The goal is to create graphics images that will overcome the visual cues that cause disbelief and tell the viewer this is not real.

Thousands of people over thousands of years have developed the building blocks and made the discoveries in mathematics and science to make such 3D magic possible, and The History of Visual Magic in Computers is dedicated to all of them and tells a little of their story.

It traces the earliest understanding of 3D and then foundational mathematics to explain and construct 3D; from mechanical computers up to today’s tablets. Several of the amazing computer graphics algorithms and tricks came of periods where eruptions of new ideas and techniques seem to occur all at once. Applications emerged as the fundamentals of how to draw lines and create realistic images were better understood, leading to hardware 3D controllers that drive the display all the way to stereovision and virtual reality.

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Modern Architecture (Oxford History of Art)

Foamboards

Colquhoun, an eminent scholar in the field of architecture, offers here a new account of international modernism that explores the complex motivations behind this revolutionary movement and assesses its triumphs and failures. The book focuses on the work of the main architects of the movement such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Adolf Loos, Le Corbusier, and Mies van der Rohe, re-examining their work and shedding new light on their roles as acknowledged masters. The author presents a fascinating analysis of architecture with regard to politics, technology, and ideology, all while offering clear descriptions of the key elements of the Modern movement.

Colquhoun shows clearly the evolution of the movement from Art Nouveau in the 1890s to the mega-structures of the 1960s, revealing the often-contradictory demands of form, function, social engagement, modernity and tradition.

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Architecture According To Pigeons: A Bird's-Eye-View Of Architecture History

Foamboards

Pigeons (or feral/street pigeons, as Wikipedia insists on calling them) aren’t exactly the most loved urban dwellers. Also referred to as “the rats of the sky,” the birds have become ingrained into the gritty image of larger, dirtier cities such as London or New York, to name a few. But it’s about time to mediate our quarrels and analyze their role as an inevitable part of our infrastructure. Our curiosity was piqued when Colin Jerolmack recently offered his views on pigeons as contemporary urbanists, but we really couldn’t hold back when we heard that Phaidon’s new book is putting pigeons in the shoes of architecture critic. “Architecture According To Pigeons,” by the pigeon elder and architecture expert Speck Lee Tailfeather, is a true bird’s-eye-view of some of the most important structures in architectural history—it also includes some words from Stella Gurney and pictures from Natsko Sek. Covering over 40 buildings, including the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, the Taj Mahal, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, this book is just adorable, with stunning collage illustrations to match. A great way to brush up on your architectural essentials, no matter what age you are. …

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