Detailing Worlds:a Conceptual History of Architectural Detail

Hailed as "a feast" (Washington Post) and "a modern-day bestiary" (The New Yorker), Stephen Asma's On Monsters is a wide-ranging cultural and conceptual history of monsters–how they have evolved over time, what functions they have served for us, and what shapes they are likely to take in the future. Beginning at the time of Alexander the Great, the monsters come fast and furious…

Hailed as "a feast" (Washington Post) and "a modern-day bestiary" (The New Yorker), Stephen Asma's On Monsters is a wide-ranging cultural and conceptual history of monsters—how they have evolved over time, what functions they have served for us, and what shapes they are likely to take in the future. Beginning at the time of Alexander the Great, the monsters come fast and furious—Behemoth and Leviathan, Gog and Magog, Satan and his demons, Grendel and Frankenstein, circus freaks and headless children, right up to the serial killers and terrorists of today and the post-human cyborgs of tomorrow.

* Why are buildings detailed the way they are?
* Why do architects and engineers seem to come to the same kind of solutions to their detailing problems?
* Are we satisfied with such a situation?
With environmental concerns so high on designers' agendas, the answer to this third question has to be 'no'. Collectively architects, engineers and specifiers need to revisit how they detail the built environment, and address the most important and potentially difficult area of the joint between materials and components.

* Why are buildings detailed the way they are?
* Why do architects and engineers seem to come to the same kind of solutions to their detailing problems?
* Are we satisfied with such a situation?