Wiley Design Professionals and the Built Environment: An Introduction

Review ..." a very useful compilation of texts"... -- Arplus website, October 2001 Product Description Brings together many of the world′s leading names from the UK, USA, Europe, and Asia. this is the first book to fully reflect the move towards a more synthetic approach in professional and student courses. From the Back Cover Architects, building officials, contractors and other practitioners in fields related to the built environment often engage in their particular tasks as if they existed in splendid isolation from larger contexts. Seemingly discrete tasks, such as the design and construction of a shopping centre, are easy to deal with: there is a beginning and an end, there are codes and guidelines to follow, and when the task is over they can move on to the next one. However, it is increasingly evident that every aspect of the built environment is indeed part of a larger context. No action or element exists in isolation from a larger web of activity. The challenge for educators in this field is to nurture in students an awareness of the range and interconnectedness of elements and processes that contribute to the built environment. This book aims to order the issues involved. Within the context of this general study, there are two issues whose importance deserves to be given special emphasis. The first of these is information technology, the effects of which on the operations of business, government and society have yet to be properly understood. The second issue is that of the protection of our natural heritage. The impact of the world′s six billion inhabitants on the environment is clearly critical but by and large does not inform the actions of most design professionals. This textbook is a tool for better work in the built environment. It points to the experiences of others from which we can learn. Its objective is to introduce the range of issues involved in the analysis, design and production of the built environment, emphasizing the interaction between these issues. About the Author Paul Knox is University Distinguished Professor and Dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University where he teaches courses on Urbanization and Urban Theory. He is the author of several successful textbooks including Places & Regions in Global Context (with Salhe Marston, Prentice Hall, 2000), Urban Social Geography (with Steven Pinch, 4th edition, Prentice Hall, 2000). The Geography of the World Economy (with John Agnew, 3rd edition, Arnold 1998). World Cities in a World–System (co–edited with Peter Taylor Cambridge University Press, 1995), Urbanization (Prentice Hall, 1994) and The Restless Urban Landscape (Prentice Hall, 1992). He is also co–editor for the World Cities series (Wiley). Peter Ozolins is a practising architect in Blacksburg, Virginia. He is also a PhD candidate in Environmental Design & Planning at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, where he has taught an introductory course on the factors that influence the design and production of architecture. Professional activities include consulting for UNESCO and USAID on architectural and ecological issues in the Middle East, as well as in Madagascar and Tanzania, where he practised for nine years prior to the commencement of his doctoral studies.