Solingen, Alemania : Umbau-Verlag, [2006].

277. p. ; il. : 25 cm.

Introduction. -- Acknowledgments. -- 1. The laws of architecture from a physicist's perspective. -- 2. A scientific basis for creating architectural forms. -- 3. Hierarchical cooperation in architecture: the mathematical necessity for ornament. -- 4. The sensory value of ornament. -- 5. Life and complexity in architecture from a thermodynamic analogy. -- 6. Architecture, patterns, and mathematics. -- 7. Pavements as embodiments of meaning for a fractal mind. -- 8. Modularity and the number of design choices. -- 9. Geometrical fundamentalism. -- 10. Darwinian processes and memes in architecture: a memetic theory of modernism. -- 11. Two languages for architecture. -- 12. Architectural memes in a universe of information. -- Credits. -- Glossary. -- References. --

Tomado de la Introducción: "In a short period of time, contemporary architecture has captured the imagination of millions of people the world over. Thick, glossy and expensive books and magazines featuring photos of the world's premier architects along with their buildings adorn the living-room tables and libraries of those who can afford them. Millions of dollars are spent on flashy new buildings, when something much more reasonable could do. Developing countries with severely limited budgets frantically compete to engage the most fashionable of our "star" architects to build something for them, too. Architecture is thus highly visible in our media. It is clearly "in" with the times, thus providing a magnet for young persons wishing to make an exciting and challenging career choice. What is it that a young student actually studies to become an architect, how- ever? Is there a body of information to be mastered, such as for example the foundations of biology or medicine? There is a practical side requiring training and an apprenticeship of several years, but where are the thick books containing all of ac- cumulated architectural knowledge, labeled "Principles of Architecture" (analogous to, say, "Principles of Physics") and running into one thousand pages? Surprisingly, thick architecture books are either full of pictures of contemporary "star" architects and their buildings, or they only address the history of architecture, featuring dead architects and their buildings. Architecture today seems to have no basis not one that uses architectural traditions and analytic thought for today's designs. Students are taught by example that buildings of the past offer no lessons applicable to the contemporary built environment."

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