Pamphlet Architecture 27: Tooling (Paperback)

by Benjamin Aranda (Author), Chris Lasch (Author), Sanford Kwinter (Afterword), Cecil Balmond (Foreword) "Imagine a few drops of water about to freeze..." (more)
Key Phrases: spiral lattice, Las Vegas

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
We all know that today's architectural design has moved from the sketchpad to the screen-the era of the Mayline and the drafting board now seems downright Paleolithic-but techniques for using the computer not just as a tool for rendering but as a generative instrument remain woefully unexplored. In Tooling, the latest installment in our renowned Pamphlet Architecture series, the technologically progressive young firm Aranda/Lasch illustrates how advanced computational methods and algorithmic codes can be used to foster architectural design. Tooling explores patterns generated by computer codes that in turn create an organizational template assembling projects. By openly sharing these codes, the authors seek to foster further investigation into their methods, allowing other architects to model and evolve more critical and insightful geometries and patterns.

About the Author
Benjamin Aranda and Chris Lasch established their New York-based architecture firm, Aranda/Lasch, in 2003 to build and expose the nested structures found in our urban, media and natural environments. arandalasch.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568985479
• ISBN-13: 978-1568985473
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,363 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Where's the website?, November 24, 2007

By	C. Sammarco (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book looks at scripting from a conceptual point of view. I enjoyed its form and content. The examples of work were inspiring.

Why do I give this 3 out of 5 stars? I feel slightly miss led. On page 94 the authors write "Scripts from tooling experiments are available at www.arandalasch.com/tooling". Yet the site doesn't exist! The authors have yet to create this accompanying site that could give more tangible insight into the nitty-gritty of scripting. I assume it won't happen as its been more than a year now since the book was published. Too bad, because there are really few books that get into the details of scripting without becoming "programming books". Aranda and Lasch could have been pioneers in this area as they seem to enjoy the hands-on aspects of making stuff. Instead, they have dropped the ball.

The book is full of pseudocode which is fine if you already know how to program. But for DIY beginners like myself, its just not enough...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Conceptual Analysis with Little Detail, May 13, 2008

By	MISA Design - See all my reviews

Aranda/Lasch provide a glimpse of what algorithmic techniques in architecture are capable of producing. Spiraling, packing, weaving, blending, cracking, flocking, and tiling are briefly defined, and their conceptual application in architecture is explored.

Although interesting, the discussion is left at a highly conceptual level, and the book could benefit from more detailed exploration and explanation. A website promising programming code to accompany the techniques has yet to be developed (and 2 years from date of publication probably never will) and does not appear to require the purchase of the book in order to access if it ever does go online.

A better discussion of algorithmic architecture can be found in Kostas Terzidis' Algorithmic Architecture, which not only shows better developed architectural projects but provides an analysis of code scripting.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars suggested for digital designers, July 28, 2007

By	Steven B. Harper Jr. (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

as an architect, i find this book fascinating. but it is not in any way limited to the practice of architecture. its relevance extends to all fields of design, and probably into fields of which i am not familiar. its a 'must have' in my opinion.