World Architecture

Journeying through time and place, from the ancient Egyptian pyramids to the soaring skyscrapers of Manhattan, renowned architectural historian Dan Cruickshank explores the most impressive and characterful creations in world architecture. His selection includes many of the world’s best-known buildings that represent key or pioneering moments in architectural history, such as the Pantheon in Rome, Hagia Sophia in Turkey, the Taj Mahal in India and the Forbidden City in China.

Brunelleschi's Dome is the story of how a Renaissance genius bent men, materials, and the very forces of nature to build an architectural wonder we continue to marvel at today. Denounced at first as a madman, Brunelleschi was celebrated at the end as a genius. He engineered the perfect placement of brick and stone, built ingenious hoists and cranes to carry an estimated 70 million pounds hundreds of feet into the air, and designed the workers' platforms and routines so carefully that only one man died during the decades of construction.

In this beautiful and empowering book, Jennifer Jewell - host of public radio's award-winning program and podcast Cultivating Place - introduces 75 inspiring women. Working in wide-reaching fields that include botany, floral design, landscape architecture, farming, herbalism, and food justice, these influencers are creating change from the ground up.

Legal scholar and architect Sara C. Bronin examines how zoning became such a prevailing force and reveals its impact. Outdated zoning codes have maintained racial segregation, prioritized cars over people, and enabled great ecological harm. But, as Bronin argues, once we recognize the power of zoning, we can harness it to create the communities we desire, and deserve. Drawing on her own experience leading the overhaul of Hartford's zoning code and exploring the efforts of activists and city planners across the country, Bronin shows how new codes are reshaping our cities.

99% Invisible is a big-ideas podcast about small-seeming things, revealing stories baked into the buildings we inhabit, the streets we drive, and the sidewalks we traverse. The show celebrates design and architecture in all of its functional glory and accidental absurdity, with intriguing tales of both designers and the people impacted by their designs.

To look south and skyward from Central Park these days is to gaze upon a physical manifestation of tens of billions of dollars in global wealth: a series of soaring spires stretching from Park Avenue to Broadway. Known as Billionaires’ Row, this set of slender high-rise residences has transformed the skyline of New York City, thanks to developer-friendly policies and a seemingly endless gush of cash from tech, finance, and foreign oligarchs. And chances are most of us will never be invited to step inside.

In this companion volume to The Discoverers, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Daniel J. Boorstin brings to life more than three thousand years of human artistic achievement, examining painting, sculpture, architecture, theology, philosophy, history, poetry, drama, literature, dance, music, and film.

Discover the key architectural concepts behind the world's most incredible buildings and structures. The Architecture Book goes beyond other architecture books to analyze not just buildings themselves, but the ideas and principles that make each of the featured structures key to the history and evolution of our built environment.

Escape into the verdure-clad pages of "Urban Canopy," where the intersection of ecology and modern living blossoms across a thriving landscape of knowledge. Imagine a future where cities breathe through verdant rooftops, communities draw together in luscious aerial gardens, and our very buildings pulse with life. "Urban Canopy" unveils the transformative power of green roofs in an urban world—towering oases that could redefine our skylines. Each chapter delves into a specific facet of this marvel, not just as a concept, but as a practical and approachable reality for the world of tomorrow...

The world’s skyscrapers have brought us awe and wonder, and yet they remain controversial—for their high costs, shadows, and overt grandiosity. But, decade by decade, they keep getting higher and higher. What is driving this global building spree of epic proportions? In Cities in the Sky, author Jason Barr explains all: why they appeal to cities and nations, how they get financed, why they succeed economically, and how they change a city’s skyline and enable the world’s greatest metropolises to thrive in the 21st century.

Who's a Pretty Polymath then? ChatGPT exploded onto the market around the end of 2022. It was a sensation, an absolute wonder. The laypersons were agog, this Chatbot app could do anything, it was a polymath with great writing skills, it was incredible, breathtaking, What was this magic? In a way, it was, as it is a neural network, which are complex, opaque, and unexplainable even to the scientists who built and train them. Moreover, some of the vast dataset it was trained upon was of unknown provenance, veracity, or integrity as it had been recklessly scraped from all corners of the ...

In this groundbreaking book, "Unleashing the Digital Powerhouse," we delve into the transformative capabilities of Google Scaffold, a game-changing cloud computing platform. From the birth of Google Scaffold to its impact on businesses and society, we embark on a journey through the digital architecture that underpins the modern world. Discover how data centers, cloud computing, and networking technologies converge to shape the foundation of Google Scaffold. Explore the building blocks of virtual machines, containerization, and Kubernetes, unlocking scalability and efficiency. Dive into the...

Have you ever seen the Eiffel Tower? Gustave Eiffel’s tower is one of the most recognized landmarks in the world, but it wasn’t an easy path to turn his idea into a reality. Listeners will love learning the story behind the name as they follow along with Gustave’s beginnings as a bridge designer and the engineer behind the Statue of Liberty, the criticism and personal attacks by the media he faced while building the tower, and his eventual world-renowned success.

This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great--the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of an icon in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction listeners and that always includes the hero's childhood influences. This book features I. M. Pei, the award-winning Chinese American architect whose projects include the John F. Kennedy Library and the pyramid at the Louvre.

In a series of fascinating tales, Gene Kohn explains how he helped build one of the most successful architecture firms in the world, offering inspiring lessons on business leadership and design innovation that can be applied to many fields.

Forthright and engaging, Kohn examines both award-winning achievements and missteps in his 50-year career in architecture. In the process, he shows how his firm, KPF, has helped change the buildings and cities where we live, work, learn, and play.

Immerse yourself in the captivating world of "Small Scale Metropolises," where the grandeur of cities meets the precision of miniaturization. Dive into the enchanting universe where every tiny brick tells a story, and intricate skylines fit within the palm of your hand. Explore the magic of miniature metropolises, and learn how to transform your visionary concepts into tangible cityscapes. From the rustling leaves of miniature trees to bustling streets alive with Lilliputian cars and people, this book guides you through each exquisite detail of crafting your own urban masterpiece. Begin ...

Step into the groundbreaking world of cryptocurrency with "Secure Your Crypto," an all-inclusive eBook dedicated to enhancing and refining your understanding of cryptocurrency security. This comprehensive guide is designed to be an invaluable tool for both beginners exploring the crypto space for the first time and seasoned investors looking to bolster their knowledge. Chapter one lays a solid foundation, introducing you to cryptocurrencies and the concept of crypto wallets. From understanding what they are to comprehending the different types readily available, it paves the way to the more...

The architects selected here have designed buildings that are as dramatic as their impact on the world of architecture. From familiar modern era names such as Zaha Hadid and Sir Norman Foster to geniuses from history such as Nicholas Hawksmoor and Andrea Palladio, Ike Ijeh reveals his top 50 list of the architects deserving of the description "greatest".

We are living in a new urban age and its most tangible expression is the "supertall": megastructures that are dramatically bigger, higher, and more ambitious than any in history. In Supertall, TED Resident Stefan Al—himself an experienced architect who has worked on some of the largest buildings in the world—reveals the advancements in engineering, design, and data science that have led to this worldwide boom.

Step into a world where the unseen becomes seen, where the untouchable becomes palpable, and where the symphony of life is composed not by instruments, but by the extraordinary capabilities of the human mind. "Mind's Eye, World's Canvas" is an immersive odyssey into the rich and complex universe that lies beneath our skulls and within our senses. Explore the architecture of perception, decode the mysteries of the brain, and unravel the fabric of reality as we know it. With profound insight, this remarkable volume delves into the sophisticated web of neurons, the building blocks of our ...