Off the Radar

This horizon expanding, curiosity-fuelling issue of Architectural Design brings together new work from the farthest flung edges of the world, much of which has never been published before.

The quality of architectural design needs to know no geographical, economic or political boundaries. So why is the majority of the architecture brought to the world's attention concentrated in USA and the wealthier nations of Europe?

Off the Radar presents work from countries as diverse as Iceland, Portugal, Chile, India and Guinea and features contributors who are successfully designing and building at the very edges of the world.

• Successful "off the radar" contributors bring a refreshing change to the discussion on architectural design today

• Presents new work set in unfamiliar surroundings, much of which has not been widely published before

• It features interviews with well-known architects, including John Patkau from Vancouver and German del Sol from Santiago, and contributions from John Tuomey from Dublin and Greg Dykkers of Snohetta in Oslo

Architectural design is not limited by geographical, economic or political boundaries. However, the majority of the architecture brought to the world's attention tends to be concentrated in a few countries and located in the wealthier nations of Europe and North America. This title of Architectural Design seeks to present recent architecture that is situated beyond these familiar boundaries and outside the customary centres of architectural debate. It focuses on architecture that positively benefits from being at the periphery. By presenting work from countries as diverse as Iceland, Guinea, Canada, Portugal, Chile, New Zealand and India, it highlights buildings designed to respond to climatic extremes, remote sites and a broad range of social settings. It also identifies architects who are exploring the potential of materials and limited resources. This work has not only been sought out for attention, but is documented and connected through interviews with selected architects and international contributors who are designing, researching and building at the edge.

Off the Radar is the product of a year's original research and travelling that the guest-editors, Brian Carter and Annette LeCuyer, undertook while on sabbatical from the University of Michigan during 2001 and 2002. Prior to having taken up academic appointments in the US in 1994, Carter and LeCuyer were both architects working in practices in London. The authors of several books, their work has also been published in numerous international professional journals. In January 2003 they joined the faculty at the State University of New York in Buffalo where Brian Carter is Dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning and Annette LeCuyer is a Professor of Architecture.

German del Sol
Studio Granda
Rahul Mehrotra
Heikkinen-Komonen
Felipe Assadi & Francisca Pulido
Jose Cruz Ovalle
Fearon Hay
O'Donnell & Tuomey
Manuel & Francisco Aires Mateus
Arup
Nicholas Olsberg
Brigitte Desrochers
Snohetta
Ernst Giselbrecht
Gilles Perraudin
Patkau
Jensen & Skodvin
Shim Sutcliffe
Suzanne Ewing
Williams & Tsien
Jarmund Vignaes