Take Rem Koolhaas's lauded new Seattle Public Library, and remove it from its context. Would it be as beautiful? Would it lose something of its meaning (not to mention the books off the shelves), if you picked it up and placed it elsewhere? Is it even possible for a building to have no relation whatsoever to the place where it is erected? Is it pointless to talk about architecture as a pure intellectual enterprise, without grounding it in its surroundings? These are among the important questions raised by the German architecture scholar Florentine Sack in this exploration of the...
Take Rem Koolhaas's lauded new Seattle Public Library, and remove it from its context. Would it be as beautiful? Would it lose something of its meanin...
Since their invention in the early twentieth century, plastic laminates have left their mark in international design. Like Formica in the U.S., the brand name Resopal is practically synonymous with the entire field of laminates in Germany. This study of the material investigates the history of Resopal from its invention (it was trademarked in 1930) up through the latest innovations in plastic surface finishing. Even 75 years after its conception, Resopal continues to offer almost unlimited possibilities for savvy designers--an endless diversity of tactile-aesthetic surfaces usable in almost...
Since their invention in the early twentieth century, plastic laminates have left their mark in international design. Like Formica in the U.S., the br...
