Overview

In ""Tower and Office"" the Spanish architects Inaki Abalos and Juan Herreros look at the meaning of technology in contemporary architecture, particularly American, from World War II to the early 1990s. World War II, they claim, marked the end of the modern cultural cycle, destroying the illusion that technological progress alone could produce a perpetually better future. At the same time, the war was the source of powerful new technologies. Inspired by the new pragmatism advocated by American philosopher Richard Rorty, they examine the many ways in which the new building technologies have intertwined since then with the more subjective process of architectural conceptualization. In the first part, Abalos and Herreros focus on the work of Le Corbusier and his followers, identifying the degree of complexity achieved in their interpretations of the modern skyscraper. In the second part, they look at the technological, typological and urban evolution of high-rise construction and the contemporary office building. Among the issues they consider are the evolution of the load-bearing structure, the impact of high-tech systems in buildings, and the transparent building skin. In the third part, they address developments in the planimetric concept of the office and the repetitive and homogeneous office skyscraper, as well as present-day mixed-use structures. Throughout, they emphasize the importance of technical analysis in exposing subjective architectural issues that remain stubbornly hidden when viewed from other perspectives.

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9780262011914

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Reviews

...insightful and integrated... -- Paul Glassman, Library Journal An informed, informative, and well-documented analysis of the technical development of office buildings throughout the twentieth century, Tower and Office is a valuable resource for anyone thinking critically about architecture's status in today's world. From structural systems to skins to space planning to urbanism, the commercial skyscraper becomes an archive of knowledge in which alternative futures lay hidden, awaiting recognition. --Reinhold Martin, School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University, author of The Organizational Complex: Architecture, Media, and Corporate Space Much of what passes for research today consists in the mere accumulation of data around the borders of an architectural project. Not so in the case of Inaki Abalos and Juan Herreros. For Abalos and Herreros, research is necessarily informed as much by the imperatives of their creative design practice as by a keen awareness of the impact of changing technologies on contemporary building practice. Tower and Office: From Modernist Theory to Contemporary Practice records their patient search for a specifically architectural expertise. The result is a book dense with carefully collated information and incisive analysis that will both surprise and educate the reader. --Stan Allen, architect and Dean of the School of Architecture, Princeton University They read architecture's history with the eyes of designers. They think contemporary culture with the concepts of the historian. And with close attention to the interactions of forms, programs, and above all the construction technologies of the tall building, Abalos and Herreros write a rich and compelling account of our present moment in architecture. --K. Michael Hays, Graduate School of Design, Harvard

An informed, informative, and well-documented analysis of the technical development of office buildings throughout the twentieth century, *Tower and Office* is a valuable resource for anyone thinking critically about architecture's status in today's world. From structural systems to skins to space planning to urbanism, the commercial skyscraper becomes an archive of knowledge in which alternative futures lay hidden, awaiting recognition. --Reinhold Martin, School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University, author of *The Organizational Complex: Architecture, Media, and Corporate Space*

""An informed, informative, and well-documented analysis of the technical development of office buildings throughout the twentieth century, *Tower and Office* is a valuable resource for anyone thinking critically about architecture's status in today's world. From structural systems to skins to space planning to urbanism, the commercial skyscraper becomes an archive of knowledge in which alternative futures lay hidden, awaiting recognition.""--Reinhold Martin, School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University, author of *The Organizational Complex: Architecture, Media, and Corporate Space*

Author Information

Madrid-based architect Iñ aki Á balos was, along with Juan Herreros, the recipient of Columbia University's Buell Book Fellowship. Madrid-based architect Juan Herreros was, along with Iñ aki Á balos, the recipient of Columbia University's Buell Book Fellowship.

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