a+u 06:11 special issue: Cecil Balmond

This features the work of Cecil Balmond, an internationally renowned designer, structural engineer, author and Deputy Chairman of the multi-disciplinary engineering firm Arup. His work and on going projects showing the intriguing creative process of Cecil Balmond and the Advanced Geometry Unit at Arup are revealed in this much awaited monograph.
Balmond was born in Sli Lanka, where he studied at university, before leaving for further education in England. His interest lies in the genesis of form using numbers, music and mathematics as vital sources. Working with some of the most influential architects including Rem Koolhaas/OMA, Daniel Libeskind, Álvaro Siza, and Toyo Ito, he continues to promote engineering as a totally creative activity.
Balmond lectures and teaches at architectural schools all over the world. He was appointed visiting Kenzo Tange Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Architecture, Saarinen Professor at Yale University School of Architecture. He is now the Crét Professor at the Architectural School of the University of Pennsylvania once held by Louis Khan, developing a radical programme on the generation of form. Balmond is the author of several books and has written editorials for a wide range of publications. Notable books include Number 9, a story about the hidden world of numbers, and Informal which explores structure as catalyst in architecture.

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Contents:

3D Puzzle of Selected Projects

Essays by Cecil Balmond
Deep Structure
Structure as Music
Informal
Definition
Span

Grid
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2005
Centre Pompidou, Metz
Forest Park Pavilion
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2002
Taichung Metropolitan Opera House
Grand Egyptian Museum

The Generative Line
Chemnitz Stadium
Portuguese National Pavilion Expo 1998
Arnhem Centraal
Chavasse Park
V&A Spiral
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2001
Coimbra Footbridge
Penn Bridge
Marsyas

Numbers
Portuguese Pavilion Expo 2000
St François d’Assise – Olivier Messiaen
S-Project

AGU (Advanced Geometry Unit)
Research:
2D Tiling
2D Packing
3D Tiling
3D Packing
Voronoi/Delaunay
Reciprocal Networks
Folding
Branching
Knotting
Implied Surface
N-Dimensional Objects

Projects:
Flux Room
Tensegrity Bridge
Installation for Louis Vuitton
British Pavilion, Venice Art Biennale 2003
Grotto
Alishan Bridge
Marina Bridge
Qatar Education City Monuments
Penn Opera

Teaching
Research Studio and Seminars at Penn

James Stirling – A Look Back

Toyo Ito – A Look Forward
Interview with Toyo Ito:
‘Cecil Balmond, Architecture Liberated by Geometry’

Battersea Power Station Redevelopment
Masterplan
Twist
Crystal
Weave
The Power Station
West Hotel
Residential Complex
Landscape
Lighting

Delirium
Bibliothèque de Jussieu, Togok Towers, UN City
Comments from Rem Koolhaas
Kunsthal
Congrexpo (Lille Grand Palais)
Maison à Bordeaux
Seattle Central Library
Casa da Musica
CCTV New Headquarters
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2006

Biography and Chronology
Credit