Books From University Presses

If you're intrigued by how a region's culture can shape its architecture, "The Living House" offers a fascinating journey through the homes of South-East Asia. It champions the idea that these structures are not just buildings but are also a reflection of the lives and traditions of the people who inhabit them. This book is a beautiful convergence of anthropology and design, a narrative with the power to make you see buildings as breathing embodiments of culture.

As someone intrigued by the mystical allure of ancient art and the sophisticated engineering of bygone civilizations, "Reconstructing God" could offer you a profound dive into Angkor's rich history. Marnie Feneley's meticulous research, intersecting archaeology, art history, and digital technology, resurrects the grandeur of the West Mebon Visnu and its significance in the context of political and hydraulic power. This book promises to refresh your understanding of the iconic ruins and inspire awe for Southeast Asia's cultural achievements.

Michel de Certeau considers the uses to which social representation and modes of social behavior are put by individuals and groups, describing the tactics available to the common man for reclaiming his own autonomy from the all-pervasive forces of commerce, politics, and culture. In exploring the public meaning of ingeniously defended private meanings, de Certeau draws brilliantly on an immense theoretical literature in analytic philosophy, linguistics, sociology, semiology, and anthropology--to speak of an apposite use of imaginative literature.

In The Timeless Way of Building Christopher Alexander presents a new theory of architecture, building, and planning which has at its core that age-old process by which the people of a society have always pulled the order of their world from their own being.He writes, “There is one timeless way of building. It is thousands of years old, and the same today as it has always been. The great traditional buildings of the past, the villages and tents and temples in which man feels at home, have always been made by people who were very close to the center of this way. It is not possible to make great buildings, or great towns, beautiful places, places where you feel yourself, places where you feel alive, except by following this way. And, as you will see, this way will lead anyone who looks for it to buildings which are themselves as ancient in their form as the trees and hills, and as our faces are.”The Timeless Way of Building is the introductory volume to Alexander’s other works, A Pattern Language and The Oregon Experiment, in the Center for Environmental Structure series.

Explores the relationship between architectural history and the current practice of architecture. The authors draw on insights from anthropology, ancient history, theology, philosophy and the Holocaust. They also provide practical ideas which should help students build a more human world.

Interaction of Color could be a great read for anyone interested in color theory or art education. The book provides interactive exercises and optical illusions that help readers understand complex color theory principles. Josef Albers's explanation of color relativity, intensity, temperature, and other principles are illustrated with over sixty color studies. A timeless resource, this book is an indispensable guide to mastering the art of seeing and understanding colors.

If you're fascinated by the intersection of art and history, then this biography of Bernini is your ticket to a bygone era. You'll not only get a rich look at the artist's dramatic life but also understand how his masterpieces shaped the very essence of Rome. It's as much a story of a man as it is a chronicle of a city he helped define with his vision.

This book would be a good read for anyone interested in delving into the captivating world of Greek art. With its fresh perspective on the political, social, and religious significance of Greek art, it offers valuable insights into the cultural context and craftsmanship of this classical era. Through its focus on the relationship between visual and narrative history, it unveils how art played a pivotal role in the construction of meaning and the conveyance of personal and communal identity. Whether you are an art enthusiast or history buff, this book is sure to captivate and enlighten you.

This book is an essential read for architects and designers who are looking to create buildings and communities that are sustainable, beautiful, and functional. The authors provide step-by-step guidelines and examples of how to apply Alexander's principles and production methods to large-scale projects. Readers will appreciate the book's emphasis on the importance of embracing technology, ecology, and science to achieve a new built landscape that is both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly.

Why architecture matters―and how to make it matter moreFit is a book about architecture and society that seeks to fundamentally change how architects and the public think about the task of design. Distinguished architect and urbanist Robert Geddes argues that buildings, landscapes, and cities should be designed to fit: fit the purpose, fit the place, fit future possibilities. Fit replaces old paradigms, such as form follows function, and less is more, by recognizing that the relationship between architecture and society is a true dialogue―dynamic, complex, and, if carried out with knowledge and skill, richly rewarding.With a tip of the hat to John Dewey, Fit explores architecture as we experience it. Geddes starts with questions: Why do we design where we live and work? Why do we not just live in nature, or in chaos? Why does society care about architecture? Why does it really matter? Fit answers these questions through a fresh examination of the basic purposes and elements of architecture―beginning in nature, combining function and expression, and leaving a legacy of form.Lively, charming, and gently persuasive, the book shows brilliant examples of fit: from Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia and Louis Kahn's Exeter Library to contemporary triumphs such as the Apple Store on New York's Fifth Avenue, Chicago's Millennium Park, and Seattle's Pike Place.Fit is a book for everyone, because we all live in constructions―buildings, landscapes, and, increasingly, cities. It provokes architects and planners, humanists and scientists, civic leaders and citizens to reconsider what is at stake in architecture―and why it delights us.

Drawing on the work of leading scholars in the fields of anthropology, architecture, art, art history, geography, and history, House Home Family explores and analyzes the functional, social, and symbolic attributes of Chinese dwellings. It goes beyond generalization to clarify the diverse nature of house, home, and family in China, exploring such topics as the Chinese garden as an integral part of living, house-building ritual and fengshui, architectural aesthetics, the inter-relatedness of furniture and architecture, preservation of historical structures, the structure and development of the family (jia), gender and household space, the role of lineage in the construction of ritual and social space, the function and meaning of the architectural division of space, and domestic space and privacy. The Chinese house, the elementary space in which a family lives and works, resonates the tensions between continuity and innovation that characterize China today. As a dynamic instrument of socialization and a domain of propriety, its "inner" and "outer" spaces as well as ornamentation and ritual helped shape the identity of the Chinese and simultaneously serve as a reflection of this identity. This inaugural volume in the series Spatial Making and Meaning in Asia’s Vernacular Architecture contains more than five hundred illustrations, most in color and including a number of rare drawings that demonstrate the richness of domestic architecture and living patterns in traditional and contemporary China. Through its exploration of how Chinese families are organized and why Chinese construct their living spaces the way they do, this carefully researched, convincingly argues, and refreshingly insightful book yields a deeper and wider understanding of what it means to live and be Chinese. Nancy Berliner, Maggie Bickford, Francesca Bray, Myron L. Cohen, David Faure, James Flath, Wen Fong, Puaypeng Ho, Nancy Jervis, Ronald G. Knapp, Cary Liu, Kai-Yin Lo, Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt, Joseph Wang, Yan Yunxiang.

In power since 1965, Indonesia's New Order government has formulated distinctive policies for cultural development. What effect have these policies had on individual artists and on art forms? This collection of fifteen essays explores the theme in the areas of literature, drama, film,television, painting, contemporary art, architecture, music, and language. The essays touch on current debates about the role of the artist in Indonesian society and discuss recent trends in the various genres.

If you're intrigued by the way human cultures interpret and shape the environment, "The Iconography of Landscape" is a thoughtful dive into the subject. You'll appreciate how it brings together different scholarly perspectives to dissect the narrative and artistic layers that landscapes hold, revealing how deeply intertwined our social history and surroundings are. Whether you're a student of architecture, geography, art history, or simply have a love for how story and place intersect, this book offers a rich, scholarly examination that could change the way you see the world around you.