Concrete

Concrete presents a visual exploration of the aesthetics of concrete architecture through 180 structures from ancient Rome to the present day. The book includes innovative and inspirational projects from monuments and churches to stations and cultural spaces, by some of the best architects of the last 100 years.

Concrete takes a fresh look at the world’s most versatile and abundant building material. Collating fascinating and beautiful concrete buildings by some of the most celebrated architects of the last century, it features familiar projects from Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright alongside work from some of the leading lights of contemporary architecture including Zaha Hadid, Herzog & de Meuron, and many lesser-known newcomers.

Arranged to promote comparison and discussion, the selected projects take the reader on a global tour of inspiring and intriguing structures: a German skatepark sits beside an Italian rooftop test track, a Japanese crematorium alongside a Portuguese swimming pool and a Brazilian government building next to a Chinese opera house.

Illustrated with extraordinary photographs, each project includes an extended caption providing a commentary on the building. An essay by Leonard Koren, author of the best-selling Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, offers an evocative and perceptive view of concrete through the author’s experience of studying architecture in California and living in Tokyo.

Concrete is a beautiful and informative visual exploration of a material often considered dull and cold, but actually full of spectacular potential.

Published by Phaidon, 2012, hardcover with die-cut jacket, 240 pages, 11.25 x 9.5 inches.