Here are a list of new titles available from the RIBA Bookshop in Birmingham:
Buildings that feel good
Ziona Strelitz
RIBA Publishing, June 2008, £25
What makes a building good? This central challenge facing architects and clients can only be answered by looking at what works well for those who know the buildings most intimately – the building's users.
Richly illustrated in colour, this refreshingly original book is packed with case studies of recent buildings that feel good. This ineffable quality is architecture's Holy Grail. It is rooted in the physical but mediated by human experience, and may only be judged after the building has been 'lived in' and stood the test of time. The trick is to identify the relevant characteristics that will inform new buildings before they are built.
Written by a highly respected briefing and design evaluation expert who specializes in optimizing the experience of building users, Buildings that feel good distils a set of hard-won lessons synthesized from years of empirical research. It argues that a powerful key to designing good buildings is to decipher consistent principles from users' positive experience of existing buildings. The case studies include many recent highly-rated projects that cover a wide range of building types – offices, retail, industrial, infrastructure, sport and education. The lessons extracted are universal and provide valuable generic insights into the critically important briefing process.
Eclectic, thought-provoking and distinctive in articulating propositions for successful design, Buildings that feel good offers a design action agenda aimed at clients, architects, engineers, interior designers, construction professionals, students and indeed anyone interested in the nature of spaces that are both effective and cherished.
Birmingham: Shaping the City
Ben Flatman
RIBA Publishing, March 2008, £19.95
The book seeks to identify the drivers for change in the renaissance of contemporary Birmingham following its evolutions from Victorian times and explores the depth and complexity of the public-private partnerships involved in the delivery structures and their achievements. Using unique case studies that illustrate the processes involved in the major physical change of the city, it assesses their influence on planned future projects. The book articulates and stresses the importance of urban design for successful regeneration in this ever-changing city.
Birmingham: Shaping the City will make a lasting contribution to city's collective consciousness and make available, for the first time, a coherent narrative of where the city has come from and where it may be going in both a written and visual form.
For information: this book has been published by RIBA Publishing, in association with Birmingham City Council
You can also browse or search for books available in RIBA Bookshops| then order them from us to support the RIBA Regional Office in the West Midlands.
Contact Sue on: 0121 233 2321, for more information.