Home, Heat, Money, God

Home, Heat, Money, God PDF

Author: Kathryn E. O'Rourke

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2024-05-07

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1477328939

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Thematically focused analysis of modern architecture throughout Texas with gorgeous photographs illustrating works by famous and lesser-known architects. In the mid-twentieth century, dramatic social and political change coincided with the ascendance and evolution of architectural modernism in Texas. Between the 1930s and 1980s, a state known for cowboys and cotton fields rapidly urbanized and became a hub of global trade and a heavyweight in national politics. Relentless ambition and a strong sense of place combined to make Texans particularly receptive to modern architecture’s implication of newness, forward-looking attitude, and capacity to reinterpret historical forms in novel ways. As money and people poured in, architects and their clients used modern buildings to define themselves and the state. Illustrated with stunning photographs by architect Ben Koush, Home, Heat, Money, God analyzes buildings in big cities and small towns by world-famous architects, Texas titans, and lesser-known designers. Architectural historian Kathryn O’Rourke describes the forces that influenced architects as they addressed basic needs—such as staying cool in a warming climate and living in up-to-date housing—and responded to a culture driven by potent religiosity, by the countervailing pressures of pluralism and homogenization, and by the myth of Texan exceptionalism.

Constructing Futures

Constructing Futures PDF

Author: Paul Chan

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2010-09-29

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1444327844

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There is growing interest in future scenario planning of theconstruction industry but a disconnect between thinking about thefuture at the policy-making level and implementing real change. Constructing Futures: industry leaders and futures thinkingin construction takes a thematic approach to the future of theUK construction industry by presenting the results of a series ofin-depth interviews conducted with leading construction figures andstructuring this material into chapters addressing the keycontemporary issues in the industry. These high-profile figures are drawn from a wide range ofstakeholder groups representing the realities of construction,including architects, client organisations (public-sector andprivate-sector), consultants, contractors, developers, lobby groupswith special interests, policy makers, professional institutions,and trade unions. A total of 15 influential figures were interviewed for the book,from Sir Michael Latham and Bob White to Wayne Hemmingway and KevinMcCloud. Part One looks to the past by reviewing a series of foresightstudies undertaken of the construction industry and re-presentingstories of our interviewees' lives to explain the development ofleadership in the context of the construction industry. In PartTwo, the authors look at the present and discuss two fundamentalissues: sustainable development and governance of the constructionindustry. In Part Three the book concludes with an afterthought forthe future, highlighting key lessons learnt putting forward aseries of research questions derived from this scholarly reflectionof 'futures thinking' in construction. Throughout, the authors juxtapose the views of the 15influential figures interviewed with a review of the salient pointsfound in the relevant and authoritative sources of theoreticalliterature, both in the mainstream literature and the field ofconstruction management. This allows the reader to benefit from thepractical insights of those interviews whilst gaining a rapidunderstanding of the key debates of the theoretical subject underscrutiny.

The Eighth Wonder of the World

The Eighth Wonder of the World PDF

Author: Robert C. Trumpbour

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2016-09-01

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 0803295723

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When it opened in 1965, the Houston Astrodome, nicknamed the Eighth Wonder of the World, captured the attention of an entire nation, bringing pride to the city and enhancing its reputation nationwide. It was a Texas-sized vision of the future, an unthinkable feat of engineering with premium luxury suites, theater-style seating, and the first animated scoreboard. Yet there were memorable problems such as outfielders’ inability to see fly balls and failed attempts to grow natural grass—which ultimately led to the development of Astroturf. The Astrodome nonetheless changed the way people viewed sports, putting casual fans at the forefront of a user-experience approach that soon became the standard in all American sports. The Eighth Wonder of the World tears back the facade and details the Astrodome’s role in transforming Houston as a city while also chronicling the building’s pivotal fifty years in existence and the ongoing debate about its preservation.