This book is about the materials used in the design of architecture, landscape architecture and the city. The fundamental properties and technical aspects are reviewed within a context of a material's history, the theories of its meaning and making, and its use. Information about the sustainability aspects of each material is included (as a critical necessity in construction). Innovative design comes from an understanding of materials for what they are, how they have been used in the past, and what they can do to support human activity.

The author's intent is to provide essential information useful both to those studying materials and methods of construction for the first time and to seasoned professionals concerned with advancing their design at a time when the consumption of natural resources and the consequences of wasteful practices are of urgent concern.

About the Author
Caren Yglesias is an architect practising in Washington, DC. She has taught architecture and landscape architecture at Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland. She lives in Washington, DC.

Reviews
"Caren Yglesias has written a most ambitious book. It offers a practical guide to an architect about the materials he employs, and helps him or her make a choice by offering them an account of the history of their use and the associations and symbolism of each of them. She has succeeded in her ambition so that every student of architecture...and most architects, for that matter...should have this book!"-Joseph Rykwert Professor of Architecture emeritus, University of Pennsylvania.



Book Information
ISBN 9780786470808
Author Caren Yglesias
Format Paperback
Page Count 216
Imprint McFarland & Co Inc
Publisher McFarland & Co Inc