the charged void: urbanism by alison and peter smithson
the charged void: urbanism is the companion volume to the charged void: architecture; the two together comprise the complete works of alison and peter smithson. for the designers, architecture and urbanism were inseparable: buildings encapsulate urban ideas; urban systems are the means by which buildings function effectively. this second book collects both urban and architectural designs that have specific implications for city form into fourteen thematic chapters: the team x doorn manifesto with its worked examples (close houses, fold houses, terraced crescent houses); large-scale designs such as the berlin hauptstadt, hamburg steilshoop, and the kuwait urban form study; and built manifestations of urban ideas, notably the economist building of 1959-64. more than a collection of work, the charged void: urbanism represents a record of a focused thought process concerned with the qualities of urban life -- a thoughtful and witty collection of observations, decipherings, and recommendations for understanding and improving the complex nature of the city.

336 pages, 8 1/4 x 10 5/8 inches, 450 illustrations, 50 in color, hardcover