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Concrete: In Architecture Hardcover – September 3, 2012

by Leonard Koren (Author), William Hall (Author)

132 ratings

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This book is a celebration of concrete: collating fascinating and beautiful images of concrete structures from the breathtaking New York Guggenheim to coldly functional aircraft hangars, Concrete will engage anyone interested in architecture and encourage them to think about the sculptural qualities of buildings. Familiar icons by Le Corbusier and Tadao Ando are featured alongside vernacular structures such as petrol stations, vast power plants and London Zoo’s famous penguin pool.

Print length

240 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Phaidon Press
Publication date

September 3, 2012
Grade level

Preschool and up
Dimensions

10.25 x 1.13 x 11.75 inches
ISBN-10

9780714863542
ISBN-13

978-0714863542
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From the Publisher

phaidon, concrete, wood, brick, stone, building materials, architecture

A fresh look at this diverse material, Concrete explores the beauty and versatility of concrete and presents architecture to a wider audience


Sun Moon Lake Visitor Centre, Yuchih Township, Taiwan, 2010, Norihiko Dan . Picture credit: Norihiko Dan and Associates	Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1996, Oscar Niemeyer. Picture credit: Leonardo Finotti	Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik, Iceland, 1986, Guðjón Samúelsson. Picture credit: Julien Sarthou

Featuring familiar buildings by Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright alongside work from the leading lights of contemporary architecture including Zaha Hadid and Herzog & de Meuron

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Concrete is a beautifully designed book. It is also a thought-provoking exploration of an important subject."―John Pawson

"What a surprising and beautiful book – a parade of amazing buildings."―Peter York

"Yes, concrete can be cold and imposing - but as the 175 structures in the book attest, it can also be colorful, playful, and delicate."―Wall Street Journal

"The eye candy here, from the graceful to the brash is enough to open the mind of any skeptic."―Atlantic Cities

"Afresh look at [...] the world's most versatile and abundant building material... Urges us to reconsider its merits and its contribution to architecture... A global tour of inspiring and intriguing structures."―Self Build & Design

"Concrete has acquired a reputation as a cheap and bland building material. This book sets the record straight, putting forward 100 years worth of elegant, exciting and at times poetic architectural masterpieces."―David Nicholls, Daily Telegraph

"Superbly illustrated... Many of the world's best architectural photographers who have caught the play of light and shade, the elemental shapes, the smooth or artfully roughened surfaces to suggest an architecture of pristine, lasting beauty."―Marcus Binney, The Times

"The sweeping survey of buildings featured in Concrete illustrates the material's chameleonlike versatility, from the Pantheon's coffered dome to Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye."―ELLE Decor

"The book is a vivid reminder of the sheer endurance, unexpected delicacy, and humor of architecture's humble hero."―Architectural Digest

About the Author

William Hall trained at Central Saint Martins and began his career in the office of the minimalist architect John Pawson. Formerly a Design Director at Phaidon Press, Hall now runs his own design practice in London, working with clients such as Calvin Klein, Henry Moore Institute and Tate.

Leonard Koren has written and designed a number of books including Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers. In 1976, two years after studying architecture at UCLA, he founded WET, one of the premier avant-garde publications of the 1970s. He now consults on the subject of design, aesthetics, and communications. He lives in San Francisco.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0714863548
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Phaidon Press; First Edition (September 3, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780714863542
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0714863542
Grade level ‏ : ‎ Preschool and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.95 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.25 x 1.13 x 11.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,223,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #308 in Architectural Materials
- #2,225 in Architectural Buildings

Customer Reviews:
132 ratings

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William Hall

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William Hall trained at Central Saint Martins in London and began his career in the office of the minimalist architect John Pawson. Hall now runs his own design and art direction practice in London, working with clients such as Wayne McGregor, MoMA and Tate.

As a book designer Hall has had an illustrious career with a wide variety of publications to his credit, including: 'Architecture of Truth' (Phaidon, 2001); 'Living and Eating' (Ebury, 2001); Giorgio Locatelli's 'Made In Italy' (Fourth Estate, 2006); 'Plain Space' (Phaidon, 2010); 'Mies' (Phaidon, 2014); 'elBulli 2005–2011' (Phaidon, 2014); and 'Sculpture: Vertical...' (Yale, 2017). 'Concrete', 'Brick', 'Wood' and 'Stone' were all conceived, written and designed by Hall.

Customer reviews

5 star		77%
4 star		11%
3 star		6%
2 star		4%
1 star		2%

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incredible book on "Concrete" structures

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

Enjoy this incredible book on "Concrete" structures.
Only brief descriptions of the structures are offered though, and no technical data at all, which is a shame. But still "Five Stars" for the books uniqueness and the pictures of the structures are great. (Remember, Ancient Rome would not have been "Ancient Rome" without "Roman" Concrete, whose secret ingredient was the volcanic sands of Mount Vesuvius.)

From "Concrete Thoughts" by Leonard Koren at the beginning of the book (no page numbers):
"Concrete is a composite of sand, cement, aggregate (crushed rock or pebbles) and miscellaneous additives. (When used structurally - as bearing walls, floors and ceiling - it also contains steel reinforcing rods.) Cement, the binding agent of this admixture, is mainly lime. In order to get lime you have to cook limestone at over 1,400C (2,552F)."

On page 344 is a picture of the amazing Geisel Library, the Main Library at U.C.S.D., built in 1970, where I spent a lot time studying in the late 1970's. (If you do go see this incredible building be sure to go back and see it at night when the lights are on, it is amazing.)

2 people found this helpful

Derrick L. Rowe

Buyers beware when they say “very good condition”

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 10, 2021

Verified Purchase

The content of the book is great, no doubt about it. However, I’m very disappointed in the seller’s The_Book_Brothers description of the book’s condition as “very good” when the front cover is ripped almost halfway up the spine. I expected a slightly worn cover, maybe a bent corner or two, but not all tear as large as whats shown in the photograph. If a cost effective option is available in the future on a book I seek, I will only buy new from now on.

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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 30, 2012

Verified Purchase

This was a gift for a relative, who does a lot of DIY on his property. He told me that though he had expected more text, it was very interesting just to see what has been done using concrete. The book has houses, business buildings, museums, roads, apartment buildings, and Hoover Dam.

The photographs are excellent, and the text with each one is informative. Some of the structures were designed by well known architects, some lesser known. A few of the pages are not numbered when the photos take both pages. The index lists projects by name, with page numbers, and architects by name, with page numbers, which means you can search either way. Photographic credits are at the end of the index.

The book is 11.75" by 10.25". It is 237 pages without the index. The paper is heavy and glossy.

I had flipped through it before I gave it to him, and enjoyed it. I imagine that anyone using concrete would get ideas from the book. However, it is not a text book.

I recommend it.

10 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

Such a cute little book to put in your backpack, tote bag, or purse. Love the size and the content 😁

Adorable for display

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 22, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a cute addition for any bookcase!! Pairs so well with the corresponding retailer sized wood book. Gorgeous pictures and fabulously detailed.

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Cool book if you're into Concrete

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 6, 2013

Verified Purchase

Nice photos, good coffee table book. Cover is pretty cool looking, too! The book is divided into structures based on design elements- light, form, etc. Only thing I would have liked is better printing on the photos, they could have been a little better quality. Other than that, a nice photo based book for anyone interested in concrete architecture.

One person found this helpful

Carol Long Pottery

oh wow erma gerd

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 12, 2014

Verified Purchase

The cover was in good shape, the text was legible, I cannot hold amazon responsible for content. Thanks amazon for making me waste my time writing this review just so you will stop emailing me about it. I feel that the star system is sufficient for rating a book.

3 people found this helpful

Keturah Sageman

This book has beautiful inspiring photos from all around the world and is ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 6, 2014

Verified Purchase

This book has beautiful inspiring photos from all around the world and is a reminder of the versatility of concrete forms.

Top reviews from other countries

emma who reads a lot

Heavy-duty material, heavily exquisite book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 17, 2012

Verified Purchase

Phaidon Press are known for elegant and distinctive art and architecture books but this one is good even by its own high standards. The book has a simple premise - rather than acres of text, it assembles a single gorgeous image of each of 150 or so buildings and constructions - given at least a page or many even big double page spreads - each with a clear, concise caption. (In fact the only extensive text occurs in the author's introduction and the accompanying essay by Wabi-Sabi author Leonard Koren, both of which exhort the reader to rethink concrete as a material of beauty rather than stark utility.)

The sense of luxury as you turn the pages is palpable - the paper is beautiful, the images are beautiful. Even the cover is beautiful, with an amazing printed-in effect of the wooden mould-made lines in in-situ-cast concrete. And the juxtapositions made by the book's designer are in many cases completely stunning: Westminster Jubilee line station opposite an amazing Japanese print centre that looks almost like an oil rig high above the city; Canary Wharf Jubilee line station opposite Auguste Perret's intense, meditatory concrete church. The real joy of the book is discovering many unusual buildings. Of course the usual suspects are here too - South Bank, Fallingwater, the Pantheon, Trellick Tower, Guggenheim, Villa Savoye, Sydney Opera House. (Though I'm not totally sure that whole building is concrete.) But the most fun are the ones I've never heard of before - Rem Koolhass's "Casa da Musica", Louis Kahn's Bangladesh Parliament, Max Berg's Breslau Centennial Hall: all stunning unforgettable constructions now that I know them.

Cooling towers, train stations, fire stations, flak towers, dams, housing estates, oh yes, of course. But also sculptures, Biennale pavilions, chapels, libraries, swimming pools, and luxury clifftop villas: concrete ennobles them all, and this is the book to prove it. Grand spaces are spanned, beautiful organic shapes echoed, and imaginative leaps are made. (It's intriguing how often concrete has been chosen as a material for spiritual or contemplative buildings, with stunning creations here by Le Corbusier, BNKR, Fonseca, Schultes and Frank, Kurokawa, Trahan Architects, Bohm and others.) The best thing about this book is the way it sends you off to explore new avenues of thought: truly inspirational.

13 people found this helpful

C. J. Snodin

... of pictures of concrete structures and those chosen are beautiful and inspiring

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book consists of pictures of concrete structures and those chosen are beautiful and inspiring, although I'll admit that concrete is an acquired taste. I can also recommend 'Brick' in the same series and the same comments apply to that; 'Brick' is possibly more accessible for many because of its familiarity. Presumably 'Wood' will follow in due course with perhaps 'Plastic Cladding' after that. The point is that building materials can be beautiful and inspiring in themselves and this series brings that home.

alexander clark

lighter than it looks.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 6, 2019

Verified Purchase

Sadly although this book is titled 'Concrete', it's actually made of paper! low blow Amazon.

Good book, full of concrete buildings. Great for your coffee table when you want to look all clever and trendy.

MistyB

Great

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 25, 2021

Verified Purchase

Bought it as a gift and it was well received

Alex P

I like it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

I read a review about this book months ago and thought it would make a good present for my husband - It was difficult to find in Waterstones so I searched on Amazon and found it easily. It's really beautiful and interesting - the perfect book for lovers of concrete - like the French!

2 people found this helpful

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