Despite its ancient Roman origins; concrete is considered the ultimate modern material; used everywhere in construction today: the equivalent of three tonnes of concrete per person on the planet is produced each year. Used in our pavements; roads; tunnels and walls; concrete surrounds us wherever we go and polarizes opinion; provoking intense loathing in some and fervent passion in others.Concrete and Culture breaks new ground by charting concrete’s effects on culture since its reinvention in the modern period; examining the ways it has changed our understanding of nature; of time and of materiality. This book discusses architects’ responses to and uses of concrete while also taking into account the role it has played in politics; literature; cinema and labour-relations; as well as in present day arguments about sustainability.Crucial to the construction of some of the world’s most avant-garde buildings but also blamed for making all places look alike; concrete continues to be as controversial as ever. In this book Adrian Forty takes the reader across Europe; North and South America and the Far East; reflecting on the global consequences of the material. Concrete and Culture is a uniquely innovative historical account of the part played by an often despised substance in people’s relationships to their physical surroundings.
#1114837 in eBooks 2012-11-06 2012-11-06File Name: B00A2RR53Q
Review
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful. This book is for all sock knitters who ever lost that pesky 4th needle on an airplane....By DeborahDarlingEverything being said about "Knit Your Socks Straight" being a wonderful book is absolutely true...But if youre thinking "I dont need ths book - I LIKE knitting socks on 4 needles" - then you and I are on the proverbial same page. HOWEVER - I have tried socks on one circ; socks on 2 circs; plus all the top down; toe up; start somewhere in the middle; and straight needle patterns from this century and the last. I always end up going back to my fave top down 4 needle patterns. And this is where "Knit Your Socks Straight" comes in. I travel a lot. My DH is a pilot; and he likes me to "fly along". Dont envy me - I fly standby - and I am totally over Beijing; Hong Kong; Shanghai. I am in a coach seat for 12 to 18 hours with nothing to do but knit and pray that the 2 sleeping guys on either side of me will let me get up when I need to visit the "girls room". But I digress...Socks are a perfect choice when you need to "knit to save your sanity" for 16 hours and you can only take 1 carry-on bag that HAS to fit under your seat. So I like to take at least 3 or 4 skeins of my current happy sock yarn (all my trips involve TWO 12 - 18 hour legs) and the obligatory sets of 4 sock needles. Needless to say - the tiny metal size zeros are a bad choice for negotiating the TSA gauntlet. I usually secret a set of dainty bamboos somewhere in the seam of my purse or carry on. And here is my problem:I have broken one or two just getting thru security; Ive lost one or two during a hectic boarding at the last minute; Ive lost one or two in flight when some clod smacked into me as he raced down the isle; Ive lost one or two when turbulence hit at the exact moment that I had a needle free and on my lap..... Im sure youve got the idea here. Ive lost a bundle of tiny size zero and size 1 bamboo needles. I always carry spares; and buy them in sets of 5 when I can; but WOW: With "Knit Your Socks Straight" I can carry my 24" size 1 and size zero circulars - theyre a snap to hide in a seam of my bag! And when I saw these patterns I fell in love with nearly every one. Some for me; some for DH; some for a frozen Canadian friend; a couple for nieces; one or two for nephews; and even a pair of tiny baby booties that nobody I know needs right NOW; but heck - they are adorable. These are socks that you can make for yourself and give as gifts that will be fun and challenging to knit. Love the book; love the price; love that it took less than 2 days to get here! For me; this book was a knitting home run. Im off now to start the "First Sock" using Patons Classic Wool - for my frozen Canadian!6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. interesting and useful techniqueBy MarieMI am a veteran sock knitter and my favorite technique is using dpn. However; I wanted to see if this could be an innovative; faster; and fun way to knit socks. I like the technique very much. In fact; this would have been a five star review were it not for the errata. There are errors in the majority of patterns. All readers should go to the authors web site; or to her individual patterns on the web to find and download the many corrections to the print patterns. I then cut and taped the correct info into the book. I do recommend this useful book; but until the numerous pattern errors are corrected; I cannot give it a higher rating.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Very nice straight needle knitting book!By A. GrimesThis is a great book! I was in the middle of knitting my second pair of socks on dpns - so fiddly! I searched on for a book because I figured there had to be a better way to knit socks. This book is fantastic. Im already half-way through the first pair of socks. Each pattern is sectioned off very nicely so its easy to follow along. Nice mix of patterns; too. Anyone would be able to pick out a mix of patterns that they love. There are some pretty inventive and creative patterns included. I just looked up the errata and fixed it in the book in under 10 minutes. Not uncommon in pattern books to have a few little errors.Love this book. I would buy it again in a second!