Skip to content
Home/ African Fabbers Atlas: Manual of Synthetic Vernacular Architecture
African Fabbers Atlas: Manual of Synthetic Vernacular Architecture
Save Ask us

African Fabbers Atlas: Manual of Synthetic Vernacular Architecture

No customer reviews yet ISBN 9781948765626
Published
Aug 2025
Language
English
$24.53 $34.95 29% off
You save $10.42 · list price $34.95
In stock
Most orders arrive within 3 weeks. Shipping policy
Qty
Sign in to Add to Saved list
Free delivery over $35 · 15-day returns

Condition

Brand New

An unread, unused copy: no writing or highlighting, and no missing or damaged pages. Every book we sell is brand new, including our lowest-priced titles.

About this book

A compendium of essays, conversations and paradigmatic projects conceived as an adaptive platform on synthetic-vernacular architecture in Africa and its potential role as cultural driver for global scenarios.

Based on almost ten years of applied research of Paolo Cascone and his CODESIGNLAB practice in Africa, the book investigates the potential role of indigenous and spontaneous architecture in the contemporary debate on sustainability in architectural design. How to respond to climatic changes reconciling nature with tekné? What is the social role of technology? How architects would reconsider their practices supporting community-oriented projects? These questions are discussed through a number of paradigmatic projects and conversations between the author and a panel of experts from different backgrounds in order to shape an interdisciplinary approach that bridges different knowledges.

The theoretical assumption for this investigation is based on the observation of cause-effect relations, between different urban and architectural configurations and their performances: social, environmental, structural etc. in both pre-colonial and informal cultures around Africa. The diachronic approach intends to generate, after many years of post-colonial studies, an operative agenda of possible strategies, which is in accordance with different contextual conditions starting from the anthropological and the climatic ones.

Such an agenda responds to a global cultural need for an ecological shift in the contemporary design and manufacturing processes, which should bridge high and low-tech cultures. Therefore, the book is conceived also as a sort of manual that is articulated around emergent principles inspired by traditional and informal African practices and architectures: self-similarity and diversified typologies, material optimisation and circular economy, self-sufficiency and responsive dwellings. Each principle is confronted also with the work of pioneers such as Hassan Fathy, Fabrizio Carola etc. with the aim of sharing and evolving such tremendous heritage by introducing the case studies realized in the frame of the [AF] African Fabbers project over the last decade.

The [AF] project has been developed in the last decade as a research platform and an itinerant school for training programmes and community-oriented initiatives that bridges digital and traditional manufacturing for sustainable living. This approach responds to the lack of schools of architecture in the region, despite the economic growth of these countries and their need for social housing and basic infrastructures. For this reason, the book aims at declining such on-site experience and its theoretical background into a decolonised approach to architectural education. This drives to the conclusion that we should probably start to take into serious consideration African solutions for global problems.With Contributions of David Adjaye - David Adjaye Architects - London/NYC/Accra Chirstian Benimana /MASS - Architect - Boston/Kigali Cheick Diallo - Designer - Bamako/Mali Ron Eglash - Professor of ethnomathematics -University of Michigan Mariam Kamara - Architect Atelier Masomi-Niamey Niger Ugo La Pietra - designer - Milan Massimo Moretti - founder of WASP - Italy AbdouMaliq Simone - Professor of sociology - University of Sheffield Paul Assako - Professor of history of contemporary arts -University of Yaoundé /Cameroon

Specifications

PublishedAug 26, 2025
ISBN-101948765624
ISBN-139781948765626
LanguageEnglish

Buying from Saanjhi

  • Ships from the USA. Delivery to US addresses only.
  • Free delivery on orders over $35.
  • 15-day returns. Unless we send the wrong book or it arrives damaged, you pay return shipping and a 15% restocking fee.
  • Secure checkout. We never store card details.

Readers who bought this also bought

More from Methods & Materials
See all
Concrete Systems for Homes and Low-Rise Construction
<b>Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product.</b></p><b><br></b></p>SOLID ANSWERS ON CONCRETE FOR RESIDENCES AND SMALL BUILDINGS</b></p><p>Fast gaining on more traditional homebuilding materials, concrete systems save builders time, money, and headaches. Offering durability, cost savings, energy efficiency, and eye-pleasing aesthetics, concrete systems now account for large shares of the walls, floors, roofs, finishes, and landscape products in small buildings in the United States.</p><p>But are concrete systems right for you and your construction crew? And if so, which ones? This is the place to find out. Written by experts from the Portland Cement Association, <i>Concrete Systems for Homes & Low-Rise Construction</i>provides expert, straightforward answers on concrete systems. Open these pages for everything you want to know about availability of products, evaluating concrete systems for homes and low-rise buildings, requirements for application, managing projects, and much more. Based on case histories, field research, and hands-on-the-hammer experience, and with more than 325 photos and illustrations, this one-stop resource shows and tells what you want to know. It's a huge time and money saver!</p><p>For each new concrete system for residences, you'll find: </p><ul><li>Properties and advantages</li><li>Logistics of construction</li><li>Connections to other concrete systems</li><li>Materials and labor costs of installation</li><li>Code and regulatory issues</li><li>Technical and testing information</li><li>Sources of additional information</li></ul></p><p><b>THE HOMEBUILDING MATERIAL OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM</b><br>Why Concrete? * What's Available? * Wall Systems * Floor and Roof Systems * Interior Decorative Applications * Exterior Finish Products * Landscape Products</p><br><b>Pieter A.VanderWerf, Ph.D., </b> has been researching concrete construction systems for eleven years, with an emphasis on systems used to construct homes and small buildings. He is lead author on the original Concrete Homebuilding Systems, and three later books on insulating concrete forms. He has written several articles on concrete wall and floor systems, and writes a regular column for Permanent Buildings and Foundations, a trade periodical covering small concrete buildings. He is the designer of several concrete products and systems for small buildings and consults regularly to manufacturers in the field. He received his Ph.D. in management of technological innovation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. <p> <b>Ivan S. Panushev</b> has researched concrete building systems and materials for six years. He has learned details of concrete construction first-hand by laboring on job sites. Among other projects, he headed a year-long study to establish guidelines for connections of steel subassemblies to concrete structural walls in small buildings. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers. He holds a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering and materials science and a masters degree in design technology and management, both from Harvard University. <p> <b>Mark Nicholson</b> is an experienced finish carpenter, cabinet and furniture maker, and ceramics designer. He has worked for several years on conventional construction projects. He has recently attended formal training in the construction of concrete homes and worked on a crew that built two houses. He holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from Alfred University. <p> <b>Daniel Kokonowski</b> has researched a wide range of concrete products and systems for over two years. He has received training and worked on crews for tilt-up, concrete masonry, and various other types of building construction. He is an accomplished graphic designer and is currently enrolled in the architecture program at the Boston Architectural Center.<br>McGraw-Hill authors represent the leading experts in their fields and are dedicated to improving the lives, careers, and interests of readers worldwide<br>
$98.00