Building the Future

Including color photographs, drawings, and architectural plans, this book profiles some of the world's most interesting public spaces, commercial buildings, stadiums, and transport stations to reveal how prevailing social mores helped determine these structures' materials, appearance, and function. The innovative concepts these buildings signify and the integration of these ideas into the common lexicon are presented in chapters on the evolution of the greenhouse, artistic buildings, pioneering techniques in materials' use, the development of the building facade, and the future of sustainable building design. This book uniquely blends a societal perspective with the latest technology, and is an essential reference for anyone interested in the crucial roles structural engineering and culture play in architecture.