LIQUID STONENew Architecture in Concrete

Jean-Louis Cohen, G. Martin Moeller

Concrete is becoming a favored material of cutting-edge architects and engineers who value not only its versatility and strength but its unlimited potential for imaginative expression. A hybrid substance made from cement, water, sand, and mineral aggregates, concrete—or liquid stone—has no intrinsic form. In the hands of talented designers, its ultimate appearance is dictated by the framework into which it is poured and the color, texture, or pattern applied to its surface. In a series of essays by top architects, engineers, and scholars, Liquid Stone explores the nature of concrete, its past and future, from technical, artistic, and historical perspectives. Over 30 buildings by leading international architects, including Jean Nouvel, Herzog & de Meuron, Zaha Hadid, Steven Holl, Norman Foster, and Santiago Calatrava are presented through detailed descriptions, photographs, and technical drawings.

2006 / 248 pp / 248 color / 75 b+w / 978-1-56898-570-1 / hc / $65.00