Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis: Opportunistic Architecture [Paperback]

Paul Lewis (Author), Marc Tsurumaki (Author), David J. Lewis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1568987102 | ISBN-13: 978-1568987101 | Publication Date: August 30, 2007 | Edition: 1

What if the constraints and limitations of architecture became the catalyst for design invention? The award-winningyoung architecture firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis calls their answers to this question "opportunistic architecture." It is a design philosophy that transforms the typically restrictive conditions of architectural practicesmall budgets, awkward spaces, strict zoninginto generators of architectural innovation. Often building portions of projects themselves, thesearchitects seek to maximize their project's impact through material fabrication and construction.

Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis presents a diverse selection of built and speculative projects ranging from smallinstallations to larger institutional buildings. Their celebrated restaurant projectsincluding a caf with a wall made by the architects from 479 cast-plaster coffee cup lidspresent innovative solutions to the challenges of working with existing space. Their large institutional buildings such as Bornhuetter Hall for Wooster College imaginatively engage the particulars of program, budget, client needs, and code. Their designs for a residence in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, morph from a standard suburban elevation on the street front to a modern pavilion at the back. Also included are a selection of the firm's speculative projects addressing issues of urbanism and suburbanism. Built projects are accompanied by thought-provoking texts, beautiful drawings, and photographs. An appendix distills their design philosophy into five tactics, a readymade code forstudents and practitioners looking for design ideas for the real world. Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis will enlighten and inspire architects to create more useful, attractive, and interesting forms.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Opportunistic Architecture is an understated monograph from a firm that knows how to put understatement to good use. -- Architectural Record, December 2007

Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis is something else. Opportunistic Architecture is an understated monograph from a firm that knows how to put understatement to good use. -- Architectural Record, December 2007

"And finally, in search of some real in-the-know credibility, I consulted my sister, an architect who I suspect likes books even more than buildings, and who I always try to stump at Christmas with a gorgeous design book she's never seen (she might end up getting something from this list, in fact, but I can't say more, since I know she reads Omni!). She recommends a couple `classics' from the last few years documenting the work of innovative firms: Herzog & de Meuron: Natural History and Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis: Opportunistic Architecture." --Shelfari

"LTL is a cutting-edge firm - so much so that most of their work looks interventionalist, evanescent, contingent, highly indistrialized, and, in the end temporary." --Library Journal

"LTL won for interior design over the powerhouse David Rockwell." --New York Times

"...the 10-year-old New York enterprise is more interested in the big picture, and has completed some impressive architecture and proposed novel approaches to urban design...the firm's completed buildings show its real potential for creating thoughtful long-lasting structures." --Azure

"National Design Award recipients this year from the world of architecture include... Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis for interior design" -- Architect

About the Author

Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis is an architecture partnership established in New York City in 1997 by Marc Tsurumaki, Paul Lewis, and David J. Lewis. Paul Lewis is an assistant professor at Princeton University.

Marc Tsurumaki is an adjunct professor at Columbia University.

David J. Lewis is an associate professor at Parsons The New School for Design.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (August 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568987102
• ISBN-13: 978-1568987101
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LTL - monograph you need if you like their work!, October 17, 2007

By 

J. Reid (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis: Opportunistic Architecture (Paperback)

Lewis Tsurumaki Lewis continue to go from strength to strength as they progress from unbuilt theory and competition entries to built work. I envied them in school, and I appreciate them now I'm working as an Architect. This monograph is a perfect follow up to the Pamphlet Architecture "Situation Normal". Some of the work is re-presented here but 90% of it is fresh and new. If you ever wanted to see a beautifully clean (even restrained) approach to presenting a project through renderings and fantastic perspectives - this is the book for you.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the better monographs in some time., March 17, 2008

By 

Mark Reaves (Metro Detroit) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis: Opportunistic Architecture (Paperback)

If you are a fan of LTL's work, this monograph covers the vast majority of their work to date. Every project is presented by both good photography and/or the hybridized graphics LTL has become know for; as well as explinations as to how and why each was developed. While this is the typical format for an architectural monograph, it's not the main reason I am giving this book a high review. Ten pages toward the end of this book are dedicated to explaining, in detail, the 5 Tactics for an Opportunistic Architecture the firm uses as the basis for their work. These tactics provide for a much deeper explination into all of LTL's projects, and are published as a kind of "work in progress". Seeing an architect put their ideas out in print the same way a programmer publishes open source software is both refreshing, and inspiring.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good tool for architecture students, November 18, 2010

By 

David Figueroa (San Juan, Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis: Opportunistic Architecture (Paperback)

For architects the representation is something essential to communicate the ideas. This book will give you a notion in how the design and drawings must go together. A very good tool for architecture students and architecture lovers.