Verb Natures: Architectural Boogazine (Actar's Boogazine) (Actar's Boogazine) (Paperback)

~ Albert Ferre (Author, Editor), Irene Hwang (Editor), Tomoko Sakamoto (Editor), Anna Tetas (Editor), Michael Kubo (Editor), Ramon Prat (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Cultivated, socially conscious, cautiously optimistic, yet pragmatic... An enjoyable exploration into the nature of nature. --Dwell

Nature meets technology... Presenting some of the most striking projects to grace the pages of the series. --Life Without Buildings

Through a series of profiles and interviews this self-dubbed 'boogazine' captures the zeitgeist of design that is rooted in biology and algorithmic geometry. --SEED Magazine

Product Description

Buildings and cities grow, are transformed and dissolve. How can this evolution be generated, controlled, enhanced or imagined? Is our environment programmable? How does the fusion of natural and artificial materials produce new architectural organisms, new environments, new natures? How does technology animate space and how do users and programs animate matter? Because everything grows, especially cities, the fifth volume of Actar's Verb series looks for a new definition of the organic through architecture, graphics, and photography as well as visual and digital art. Verb Natures follows Verb 1, Verb Matters, Verb Connection and Verb Conditioning.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Actar; Architecture Boogazine edition (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8496540219
• ISBN-13: 978-8496540217
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #463,418 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some interesting approaches to the 'organic' in architecture, May 21, 2007

By	Mario Cipresso "deathbyarchitecture.com" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fifth in the Actar 'boogazine' series, Verb Natures is a search for the natural or the organic in architecture. The selected works are as varied as the approaches or design methodologies demonstrated. Certain projects strive for that 'simple' complexity that is often found in genuine natural conditions. Manuel Gausa's 'Land-Arch' project, for instance, explores the ease in which natural systems lend themselves to shifting between scales. Gausa shows the flexibility inherent in natural systems by extending their influence to general program organization and envelope articulation. In contrast is Hitoshi Abe's AIP French Restaurant that choses to simulate nature through the use of imagery and modern fabrication processes. With a thoughtfully articulated screen, Abe manages to create a natural sensibility as it relates to a quality of light rather than structure.

The 'natural' in architecture, as frequently depicted in this book, seems largely informed by mathematical processes. Various algorithms or mathematical expressions are created or utilized as generators of form or structure. The goal often appears to be auto-generative architecture with the intention of removing the influence or 'hand' of the designer. Arguably, this isn't easily accomplished as one has to make certain decisions related to the creation, manipulation and implementation of such processes.

The occasional interviews with the designers are quite interesting and provide excellent insight into the ideas driving each project. This is another well-crafted Actar publication with generous photos, drawings and text.