The Room In Context: Design Beyond Boundaries [Hardcover]

Katherine Benzel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997

Apply cutting-edge spatial design techniques. If you're a design professional who wants to expand your horizons, Katherine Benzel's The Room in Context will inspire you with new ways of thinking about rooms and their spatial relationship with the buildings, landscapes and cities in which we live and work. You'll discover scores of ideas for designing beyond the boundaries of your specific field. . .master the relational aspects of design. . .deal with the issues of social use, spatial relationships and humanistic goals. . .explore new ways of working with shape, light, color, and materials. . .tackle the ``hows'' and ``whys'' of environmental design. . .and then see how to apply these insights to create healthy buildings and outdoor spaces. Case studies of buildings, rooms, and social use bring Benzel's original concepts vividly to life!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"It's about time that someone who understands the relationship between interior spaces, their envelope, the landscape, and the community is willing to tackle the subject in a more humanistic approach."--St. Clair. the Room in context is an insightful treatment of the exchange between interior and exterior, a design theory that links autonomous inner and outer spaces. The room relates in function, form, and meaning to the architecture of the building that houses it, the cityscape, and the landscape. All of these environments, or "spaces," are necessarily connected to each other through the continuity of time, movement, materials, views, and the human life within. The heritage of civilized architecture has always recognized this continuity. Now, Benzel gives architects, designers, and urban planners the theoretical framework to think and plan holistically, beyond the boundaries of their own professions, to create a harmonious and organic sense of place that nurtures the people who inhabit it. Benzel uses case studies to bring this design theory to life, covering issues of social use. . .spatial relationships. . .designing in context. . .humanistic goals. . .integrated design. . .and more formal topics such as form, light, color, and materials. The Room in Context is a unique guide for professionals and students who want to design rooms that have a harmonious relationship to the world beyond their walls.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 388 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 1 edition (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 007005956X
• ISBN-13: 978-0070059566
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,011,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.