Alvar Aalto and the Future of Architecture

In  the contemporary practice of architecture, digital design and  fabrication are emergent technologies in transforming how architects  present a design and form a material strategy that is responsible,  equitable, sustainable, resilient, and forward-looking. This book  exposes dialogue between history, theory, design, construction,  technology, and sensory experience by means of digital simulations that  enhance the assessment and values of our material choices. It offers a  critical look to the past to inspire the future. 

This  new edition looks to Alvar Aalto as the primary protagonist for  channeling discussions related to these topics. Architects like ALA,  Shigeru Ban, 3XN, Peter Zumthor, and others also play the role of  contemporary guides in this review. The work of Aalto and selected  contemporary architects, along with computer modeling software, showcase  the importance of comprehensive design. Organized by the five Ts of  contemporary architectural discourse―Typology, Topology, Tectonics,  Technic, Thermodynamics―each chapter is used to connect history through  Aalto and develop conversations concerning historical and contemporary  models, digital simulations, ecological and passive/active material  concerns, construction and fabrications, and healthy sensorial  environments.

Written for students and academics,  this book bridges knowledge from academia into practice and vice versa  to help architects become better stewards of the environment, make  healthier and more accountable buildings, and find ways to introduce  policy to make technology a critical component in thinking about and  making architecture.