Architecture

Nine years ago, French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin became obsessed by the centuries-old mystery of how the Great Pyramid was built. For ten hours a day, he labored at his computer to create exquisitely detailed 3-D models of the interior of the Great Pyramid. After five years of effort, the images rotating on his computer screen provided evidence of an astonishing secret. Corkscrewing up the inside of the Great Pyramid is a mile-long ramp, unseen for 4,500 years. The pyramid was built from the inside. This revelation casts a fresh light on the minds that conceived one of the wonders of the ancient world. The Secret of the Great Pyramid moves between the ancient and the modern. The ancient story chronicles, step-by-step, how a nation of farmers only recently emerged from the Stone Age could construct one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. To execute something as complex and massive as the Great Pyramid, Egypt needed architects, mathematicians, boat builders, stone masons, and metallurgists. It took twenty years to build the Great Pyramid. By the time its capstone was laid in 2560 B.C., the innovations born of the building quest had transformed agrarian Egypt into the world's most modern, most powerful nation. As we follow the progress of Hemienu, the innovative architect who planned, organized, and oversaw construction of the Great Pyramid, we also follow Houdin working to discover how and why the ancient architect designed the Pyramid as he did. Houdin works as a forensic architect, aiming to reconstruct the lessons Hemienu had learned from construction of three previous pyramids and to visualize his blueprint for the massive stone building. In the process, Houdin also discovers the answers to other questions that have bedeviled Egyptologists for centuries: such as what was the purpose of the mysterious Grand Gallery and when did the Pyramid crack? Along the way, Houdin receives the support of a pathbreaking French software company, which helps him vali more...

Price: $12.99

From the bestselling author of Ecohouse, this fully revised edition of Adapting Buildings and Cities for Climate Change provides unique insights into how we can protect our buildings, cities, infra-structures and lifestyles against risks associated with extreme weather and related social, economic and energy events. .. .. Three new chapters present evidence of escalating rates of environmental change. The authors explore the growing urgency for mitigation and adaptation responses that deal with the resulting challenges. .. ..: .. ..; Theoretical information sits alongside practical design guidelines, so architects, designers and planners can not only see clearly what problems they face, but also find the solutions they need, in order to respond to power and water supply needs. .. .. ..; Considers use of materials, structures, site issues and planning in order to provide design solutions. .. .. ..; Examines recent climate events in the US and UK and looks at how architecture was successful or not in preventing building damage. .. .. Adapting Buildings and Cities for Climate Change is an essential source, not just for architects, engineers and planners facing the challenges of designing our building for a changing climate, but also for everyone involved in their production and use. more...

Price: $57.95

A noted architect shares his iconoclastic approach to the creation of public space, his ideas about tragedy and hope and the ways in which architecture can shape and memorialize human experience, and his unique vision for the construction of the 1776 Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site. more...

Price: $16.00

Now available in an updated and expanded third edition, The Codes Guidebook for Interiors incorporates the latest standards for interior projects. The book presents the International Building Code, Life Safety Code, NFPA 5000, ICC/ANSI accessibility standard, and many others in a clear, jargon-free style. more...

Price: $85.00

emotional. ROOMS. the sensual interiors of benjamin noriega-ortiz. Named by House Beautiful as one of ''America's Most Brilliant Decorators'' for ten consecutive years, Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz is recognized as one of the most stylish and influential of today's interior designers. His sensuous, glamorous, and ethereal work captures an unusual sense of openness and light through the use of color, materials, architecture, and the unexpected integration of fashion. Noriega-Ortiz has traveled the world to design spaces for such clients as rock superstar Lenny Kravitz, bestselling author Laura Esquivel, and celebrity photographer Mark Seliger. Now, with Emotional Rooms, he shares his process with anyone who may not have access to a high-end designer but wants a home or workspace that is at once beautiful and true to themselves. more...

Price: $25.00