Modern Architecture and Climate: Design before Air Conditioning

Modern Architecture and Climate explores how architects of the twentieth century incorporated climate-mediating strategies into their designs, focusing on the period before fossil-fuel powered air-conditioning became widely available. It demonstrates how images and diagrams produced by architects helped conceptualize climate knowledge and catalyzed new ways of thinking about climate and architectural design. The book provides global perspectives on modern architecture and its evolving relationship with a changing climate, showcasing designs from Latin America, Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and Africa.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 11 April 2023
Publisher: Princeton University Press

Modern Architecture and Climate delves into the fascinating interplay between climate and the design strategies employed by renowned architects of the twentieth century. By examining the period prior to the widespread availability of fossil-fuel powered air-conditioning, Daniel Barber sheds light on a vibrant and dynamic architectural discourse centered around innovative approaches to interior climate control. Through a comprehensive analysis of projects by influential architects like Richard Neutra, Le Corbusier, Lúcio Costa, Mies van der Rohe, and Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, as well as the work of climate-focused architects such as MMM Roberto, Olgyay, and Olgyay, and Cliff May, Barber explores the ways in which architects conceptualized climate knowledge through images and diagrams. He demonstrates how this novel form of environmental media catalyzed new ways of thinking about climate and architectural design.

The book is extensively illustrated with archival material, offering a global perspective on modern architecture and its evolving relationship with a changing climate. It showcases designs from various regions, including Latin America, Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and Africa, highlighting the diverse approaches architects have taken to address climate challenges. Modern Architecture and Climate serves as a timely and important resource, reconciling the cultural dynamism of architecture with the material realities of ever-increasing carbon emissions from building mechanical cooling systems. By providing a historical foundation for today's zero-carbon architecture, the book contributes to the ongoing conversation about sustainable design and the urgent need for climate action.

Weight: 1132g
Dimension: 205 x 257 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691248653