Remarkable Structures

In the revolution of form-making that has taken place in architecture during the last ten years-from the crumbled folds of Frank Gehry to the cantilevered structures of Santiago Calatrava-the unsung heroes are the engineers who actually build these fantastic constructions. Their underappreciated task is the transform the designer's vision-sometimes not much more than a cardboard model or computer rendering-into a built form of concrete, steel, glass, stone, or wood. In this balancing act between design and engineering, Remarkable Structures sets the record straight. It discusses and illustrates some of the best recent buildings from around the world, and looks at the relationship between architect and engineer, both from a practical and philosophical perspective. The buildings belong to a wide range of structural solutions that reflect both the architectural intention and the aesthetic sensibility of the engineer. Among others, the Japanese Pavilion (Shigeru Ban/Buro Happold), the Tokyo International Forum (Rafael Vinoly/Structural Design Group), the City of Science (Santiago Calatrava), the Guggenheim Museum (Frank Gehry/SOM), and the Dynamic Earth Centre (Michael Hopkins/Ove Arup) are presented in photographs, detailed architectural and engineering drawings, and clear prose.

Sutherland Lyall is a freelance writer and the author of numerous books, including Santiago Calatrava: Dynamic Equilibrium: Recent Projects (1992) and Designing the New Landscape (1998).