January 2024 MBR The Architecture Shelf

The Architecture Shelf

Climatic Architecture
Philippe Rahm
Actar D
c/o Actar Publishers
https://actar.com
9781638400394, $64.95, HC, 360pp

https://www.amazon.com/Climatic-Architecture-Philippe-Rahm-architectes/dp/1=
638400393

Synopsis: Architecture and urbanism were traditionally based on climate and=
 health, as we can read in treatises of Vitruvius, Palladio or Alberti, whe=
re exposure to wind and sun, variations in temperature and humidity influen=
ced the forms of cities and buildings. These fundamental causes of urban pl=
anning and buildings were ignored in the second half of the 20th century th=
anks to the enormous use of fossil energy by heating and air conditioning s=
ystems, pumps and refrigerators, that today cause the greenhouse effect and=
 global warming.

The fight against climate change forces the architects and urban designer t=
o take back seriously the climatic issue in order to base their design on m=
ore consideration to the local climatic context and energy resources. Faced=
 with the climatic challenge of the 21st century, we propose to reset our d=
iscipline on its intrinsic atmospheric qualities, where air, light, heat or=
 humidity are recognized are real materials of building, convection, therma=
l conduction, evaporation, emissivity, or effusivity are becoming design to=
ols for composing architecture and cities, and through materialism dialecti=
c, are able to revolutionize esthetic and social values.

Critique: "Climatic Architecture" is about climate and its impact on archit=
ecture. Informatively written by the Swiss architect Philippe Rahm, "Climat=
ic Architecture" is a informative monograph on the architectural, urbanisti=
c and landscape work of the office "Philippe Rahm architectes", as well as =
a manifesto for a climatic architecture to face global warming, and a theor=
etical and practical treatise on the art of building atmospheres. This larg=
e format (8.1 x 1.3 x 12.5 inches, 3.05 pounds) hardcover edition of "Clima=
tic Architecture" is highly recommended fore personal, professional, commun=
ity, and college/university library Contemporary Architectural Studies coll=
ections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Philippe Rahm (http://www.philipperahm.com) is a Swiss arch=
itect, principal in the office of "Philippe Rahm architectes", based in Par=
is, France. His work, which extends the field of architecture from the phys=
iological to the meteorological, has received an international audience in =
the context of sustainability. His recent work includes the first prize for=
 the Farini competition (60 ha) in Milan in 2019, the 70 hectares Central P=
ark in Taichung, Taiwan, completed in December 2020. He has held professors=
hips at GSD Harvard University, Columbia, Cornell or Princeton Universities=
. He is a tenured associate professor at the National Superior School of Ar=
chitecture in Versailles, France (ENSA-V). In 2020, he is the curator and a=
uthor of the exhibition and book "Natural History of Architecture" at the P=
avillon de l'Arsenal in Paris.

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