Iain Borden

Construct introduces a new category of architecture and engineering in our cities. These structures are highly visible yet often ignored, large-scale and built without traditional designers. They are characterised by substantial technical innovation and expertise, embedded in the everyday lives of thousands of urban citizens, and serve as embodiments of cultural and political meanings. These constructions represent an overlooked but significant aspect of our urban landscape, combining technical advancement with cultural significance despite their often anonymous design origins. The opening chapter introduces “Construct” as an architectural, academic and methodological concept, including its interdisciplinary approach combining history, critical theory, ethnography and visual studies. Six independent chapters then explore specific recent manifestations around the world – the Øresund bridge between Copenhagen and Malmö, tower cranes in Dubai, Shibuya pedestrian intersection in Tokyo, Venice skatepark in Los Angeles, Limehouse Link tunnel in London and the Singapore Flyer observation wheel in Singapore. Each is interpreted in its own context and as a manifestation of its shared architectural typology worldwide. Construct will appeal to those interested in the architecture, urbanism and experience of contemporary cities worldwide, and particularly those working in the fields of architecture, media studies, planning, sociology and urban geography.

Skateboarding is both a sport and a way of life. Creative, physical, graphic, urban and controversial, it is full of contradictions – a billion-dollar global industry which still retains its vibrant, counter-cultural heart. Skateboarding and the City presents the only complete history of the sport, exploring the story of skate culture from the surf-beaches of ‘60s California to the latest developments in street-skating today. Written by a life-long skater who also happens to be an architectural historian, and packed through with full-colour images – of skaters, boards, moves, graphics, and film-stills – this passionate, readable and rigorously-researched book explores the history of skateboarding and reveals a vivid understanding of how skateboarders, through their actions, experience the city and its architecture in a unique way.

The Dissertation is one of the most demanding yet potentially most stimulating components of an architectural course. This classic text provides a complete guide to what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and what the major pitfalls are.This is a comprehensive guide to all that an architecture student might need to know about undertaking the dissertation. The book provides a plain guide through the whole process of starting, writing, preparing and submitting a dissertation with minimum stress and frustration.The third edition has been revised throughout to bring the text completely up-to-date for a new generation of students. Crucially, five new and complete dissertations demonstrate and exemplify all the advice and issues raised in the main text. These dissertations are on subjects from the UK, USA, Europe and Asia and offer remarkable insights into how to get it just right.

How do we think about architecture historically and theoretically? Forty Ways to Think about Architecture provides an introduction to some of the wide-ranging ways in which architectural history and theory are being approached today. The inspiration for this project is the work of Adrian Forty, Professor of Architectural History at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (UCL), who has been internationally renowned as the UK’s leading academic in the discipline for 40 years. Forty’s many publications, notably Objects of Desire (1986), Words and Buildings (2000) and Concrete and Culture (2012), have been crucial to opening up new approaches to architectural history and theory and have helped to establish entirely new areas of study. His teaching at The Bartlett has enthused a new generation about the exciting possibilities of architectural history and theory as a field. This collection takes in a total of 40 essays covering key subjects, ranging from memory and heritage to everyday life, building materials and city spaces. As well as critical theory, philosophy, literature and experimental design, it refers to more immediate and topical issues in the built environment, such as globalisation, localism, regeneration and ecologies. Concise and engaging entries reflect on architecture from a range of perspectives. Contributors include eminent historians and theorists from elsewhere – such as Jean-Louis Cohen, Briony Fer, Hilde Heynen, Mary McLeod, Griselda Pollock, Penny Sparke and Anthony Vidler – as well as Forty’s colleagues from the Bartlett School of Architecture including Iain Borden, Murray Fraser, Peter Hall, Barbara Penner, Jane Rendell and Andrew Saint. Forty Ways to Think about Architecture also features contributions from distinguished architects, such as Tony Fretton, Jeremy Till and Sarah Wigglesworth, and well-known critics and architectural writers, such as Tom Dyckhoff, William Menking and Thomas Weaver. Many of the contributors are former students of Adrian Forty. Through these diverse essays, readers are encouraged to think about how architectural history and theory relates to their own research and design practices, thus using the work of Adrian Forty as a catalyst for fresh and innovative thinking about architecture as a subject.

The Dissertation is one of the most demanding yet potentially most stimulating components of an architectural course. This classic text provides a complete guide to what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and what the major pitfalls are.This is a comprehensive guide to all that an architecture student might need to know about undertaking the dissertation. The book provides a plain guide through the whole process of starting, writing, preparing and submitting a dissertation with minimum stress and frustration.The third edition has been revised throughout to bring the text completely up-to-date for a new generation of students. Crucially, five new and complete dissertations demonstrate and exemplify all the advice and issues raised in the main text. These dissertations are on subjects from the UK, USA, Europe and Asia and offer remarkable insights into how to get it just right.

Skateboarders are an increasingly common feature of the urban environment - estimated at 40 million worldwide and creating a subculture of clothes, boards, music, slang and moves. This book demonstrates that street-style skateboarding offers a critique of architecture, the city and capitalism.

Skateboarders are an increasingly common feature of the urban environment - estimated at 40 million worldwide and creating a subculture of clothes, boards, music, slang and moves. This book demonstrates that street-style skateboarding offers a critique of architecture, the city and capitalism.