Element [Hardcover]

Cecil Balmond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2008

A mesmerizing paean to the interconnectedness of science, art, and nature from one of the world's most innovative architects and structural engineers.

The genius of Cecil Balmond is behind some of the world's most exciting architectural endeavors. From Anish Kapoor's gigantic sculpture at the Tate Modern to Rem Koolhaas' CCTV buildings in Beijing, Balmond is the unsung hero of modern architecture. In Element, his third book, he offers a glimpse into his creative process.

Following a loose yet logical configuration, Element uses pattern, mathematical reasoning, and advanced technology to create an unconventional exploration of design. Balmond's narrative unfolds in three conceptual chapters--elements, pattern, nature--linked by two conceptual bridges--digital "tectonics" and numbers. Each of these aspects relates to each other in a number of ways, leading to a series of narratives, the correlations of which recall the archetypal Chinese wheel. The book is a highly engrossing journey of the world around us seen from different, multiple angles.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The photographs are vivid, and occasionally we get a sense of what makes Balmond such an influential engineer. For instance, he translates the prime-number chart into a series of diagrammatic waves, grids, skylines, and diamonds that are at once rhythmic and hypnotic; they bring to life his declaration that 'beauty moves on hidden planes, away from the physical fact and the literal towards [sic] an inward magnification.' --Architectural Record

About the Author

Cecil Balmond is deputy chairman of the world-renowned engineering and design firm, Arup. He has collaborated with Rem Koolhaas, Philip Johnson, Daniel Libeskind, and Toyo Ito, among many others. His recent projects include Penn Bridge, Philadelphia; Coimbra Footbridge, Portugal; Battersea Power Station Twist, London; and Seattle Central Library, among others. His books include Informal (Prestel).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Prestel USA; First U.S. Edition edition (February 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3791337785
• ISBN-13: 978-3791337784
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #191,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointed, April 27, 2008

By 

Pedro Barran "peter pank" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Element (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed Balmond's previous book, "Informal", so I bought this one right away.
But instead of a inspired engineer sharing his knowledge about complex design, here you can find drawings on photographs of beautiful landscapes (searching for patterns) and his "poetic" thoughts on nature.
I have to say that this book is beautiful and well designed, but is not challenging intellectually like I hoped. If you're interested in architecture, stick to "Informal", way better than this one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Quite appalling Re-Hashed Previously used images with generic poetic meanderings, September 22, 2008

By 

Joao "Joao" (New York, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Element (Hardcover)

Having read Informal I had high hopes for this book. I admire Balmonds' open mindedness, creativity and presentation. However, this book strongly disappointed - To put it frankly, it sucked. Pages and pages of health insurance style advertising images of nature, generic poetic meanderings with barely any relevance and certainly little to learn from. Not that I am necessarily against poetics but there wasn't much attention paid to how the reader would experience pages and pages of a mediorcre image library. Eventuallly in the last third of the book there are some Balmond work related images but most have been rehashed from previous publications or semi-relevant screen captures from semi-relevant, unexplained models. Basically this book is not worth reading, certainly not worth buying in my opinion.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simple precursors to design modelling, June 20, 2008

By 

Jonathan Gibb (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Element (Hardcover)

The book was a surprise. As stated by other reviewers it has a hightened sense of graphic representation, with overlay line and pattern making searching out patterns in specifically chosen natural landscapes... It was this back to a base principle that was the interesting part. Basic yes. Fundamental yes. It leaves you with more a 'taught to fish' rather than 'given the fish' approach - which can be most infuriating when wishing to have a straight and direct answer. It a book that with a mind emptied of immediate questions will delight both mentally and aesthetically. I recommended this text for the simplicity of underlying basics that leads to the more complex.