Constructions An Experimental Approach To Intensely Local Architectures Architectural Design 03042015 Vol 85 N 2 Profile 234 Michael Hensel by Michael Hensel, Christian Hermansen Cordua 9781118700532, 1118700538 instant download after payment.

In the last decade, there has been a seismic shift in architecture. Whereas once architectural design centred, with very few exceptions, on drawing, design and representation, in the last decade making has become the main motor of innovation. Within the pages of 3, this has manifested itself in issues such as Design through Making (July/August 2005) and Protoarchitecture: Analogue and Digital Hybrids (July/August 2008) guest-edited by Bob Sheil; Made by Robots: Challenging Architecture at a Larger Scale (May/June 2014) guest-edited by Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler; and the forthcoming Pavilions, Pop-ups and Parasols: The Impact of Social Media on Physical Space (May/ June 2015), guest-edited by Leon van Schaik and Fleur Watson. In schools internationally, this transference in emphasis towards fabrication has culminated in investment in large-scale workshops and machinery. Guest-Editors Michael Hensel and Christian Hermansen Cordua articulate clearly in their introduction how pivotal making has become a force for innovation, investigation and learning in architecture: ‘The issue seeks to foreground the notion of “construction” because the schools and practices portrayed in this issue defi ne their stance – perhaps even “research their positions” – through actual building. Building is, then, not just the implementation of represented conceptions, but rather seen as a process by which one discovers and explores.’ What differentiates this 3 title from other publications on making is its emphasis on localness. For the guest-editors, a locally specific architecture provides a signifi cant ‘antidote to unchecked globalisation’ and ‘homogenisation’. Rather than prescribing a one-stock formal response or regional style, Hensel and Hermansen Cordua espouse a plurality of design solutions, as reflected in the diversity of contributions that are drawn from across continents: from Norway and Spain to Chile, Alabama and New York to India. ...