Asymptote; Flux - Hardcover

Asymptote; Couture, Lise Anne; Rashid, Hani

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0714841722 ISBN 13: 9780714841724

Publisher: Phaidon Press, 2002

Synopsis

Asymptote, an award-winning New York-based architectural firm, expands the boundaries of traditional practice with work that ranges from buildings and urban design to computer-generated environments. Recognized internationally as both cutting-edge architects and virtual-reality artists, Asymptote partners Lise Anne Couture and Hani Rashid have designed and written the first book ever to document their 'real world' (as opposed to 'virtual') projects completed since 1995.

This body of work includes projects as diverse as the trading floor for the New York Stock Exchange, a multimedia research park in Kyoto, a modular furniture system for Knoll, and a centre for art and technology at the Soho Guggenheim Museum, New York. Rashid and Couture's work is highly intriguing because it draws inspiration from a wide range of sources not traditionally associated with architecture - among them the design of airline interiors, sporting equipment, organic systems such as seashells and honeycombs, and various means of communicating and disseminating information.

Asymptote presents a seamless trajectory of projects organized in a non-linear fashion and illustrated with installation photographs, collaged photographs, and computer-generated diagrams and environments. The projects are punctuated with descriptive text and the speculative writing for which Asymptote is known. Both partners combine architectural practice with teaching and this is strikingly evident in the accessible and thought-provoking result of Asymptote.

About this title

Review:

'Flux is a glossy overview of built projects, competitions and temporary installations, interspersed with short but dense essays written by Rashid and Couture. Republished magazine interviews give quick insights into the thinking behind Asymptote's projects and working processes and add a human touch to the book ... ' (Blueprint)
 
'Compiled by the co-founders of New York multi-disciplinary architecture firm Asymptote, this comprehensive and accessible book documents their diverse and interesting projects.' (Creative Review)

Synopsis:

In mathematical terms, the word "asymptote" is defined as a line that a given curve gets closer and closer to, but never touches, as it gets further from the origin towards infinity. In architectural terms, Asymptote is the Manhattan-based architectural design and research practice established by Lisa Anne Couture abd Hani Rashid in 1989. Rashid and Couture's work is intriguing because it draws inspiration from a wide variety of sources not traditionally associated with architecture - among them the design of airline interiors, sporting equipment and organic systems like seashells and honeycombs; and various means of communicating and disseminating information. Their projects are concerned as much with light, speed and traversing virtual boundaries as with "real-world" geometires and building systems. Rashid is one of the founding instructors in the "paperless studio" curriculum at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, a programme of study that emphasizes designing directly via computers and communications networks and encourages students to pursue investigations into the evolving possibilies of digital design and "placeless" environments.

Echoing Asymptote's approach, this text presents a seamless trajectory of projects organized in a non-linear fashion and illustrated with installation photographs, collaged photographs and computer-generated diagrams and environments, all in colour. Photographs of an installation might be followed by a spread of Asymptote's "scapes" - computer diagrams morphed into a variety of potential body forms or structures - followed in turn by images of a virtual environment. The projects follow one another in a panoramic, filmstrip fashion and are interspersed with descriptive text and the speculative writing that Asymptote is known for. This text is intended to be explored at random, without strict beginning or end.

About this edition

• Publisher: Phaidon Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0714841722
• ISBN 13: 9780714841724
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240