Landscrapers Hardcover by Aaron Betsky

Product Details

• Publisher: Thames and Hudson (2002-10-29)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 192 pages
• ISBN-13: 9780500341889
• Item Weight: 1192.97 grams
• Dimensions: 0.0 x 0.0 x 0.0 cm

"An introductory historical survey on the many and creative ways humans have fought for and against the earth beneath our feet reveals an architecture that reads the text and texture of the land in three dimensions." Architecture

Developments in structural engineering have made it possible to engage the earth's surface as a building element. With an increased awareness of the planet's limited natural resources and with landscape architects exerting ever-greater influence on contemporary design, architects around the world are building into the earth, merging man-made forms with the contours of the land.

The results are at once preternatural and breathtaking. From Zaha Hadid's Tram Terminal in France to Antoine Predock's Spencer Theater in the United States, over fifty projects expose the breadth and depth of this new direction in architecture.

Aaron Betsky first considers our historical preoccupation with communing with the land through building. He then explores the ways in which geotecture responds to, becomes a part of, and yet remains distinctive within our natural landscape. With the subtext of our planet's power and beauty, Landscrapers reveals some of the most important, influential, and appealing building forms for today and the future. 367 illustrations, 290 in color.

About the Author

Aaron Betsky is a critic and teacher living in Philadelphia. Previously, he was professor and director of the School of Architecture and Design at Virginia Tech and, prior to that, president of the School of Architecture at Taliesin. A critic of art, architecture, and design, Betsky is the author of over twenty books on those subjects, including 50 Lessons to Learn from Frank Lloyd Wright, Making It Modern: The History of Modernism in Architecture of Design, Architecture Matters, and The Monster Leviathan: Anarchitecture.