Synopses & Reviews
Why would an architect reach for a pencil when drawing software and AutoCAD are a click away? Use a ruler when 3D-scanners and GPS devices are close at hand? In Why Architects Still Draw, Paolo Belardi offers an elegant and ardent defense of drawing by hand as a way of thinking. Belardi is no Luddite; he doesn't urge architects to give up digital devices for watercolors and a measuring tape. Rather, he makes a case for drawing as the interface between the idea and the work itself. A drawing, Belardi argues, holds within it the entire final design. It is the paradox of the acorn: a project emerges from a drawing -- even from a sketch, rough and inchoate -- just as an oak tree emerges from an acorn. Citing examples not just from architecture but also from literature, chemistry, music, archaeology, and art, Belardi shows how drawing is not a passive recording but a moment of invention pregnant with creative possibilities. Moving from the sketch to the survey, Belardi explores the meaning of measurement in a digital era. A survey of a site should go beyond width, height, and depth; it must include two more dimensions: history and culture. Belardi shows the sterility of techniques that value metric exactitude over cultural appropriateness, arguing for an "informed drawing" that takes into consideration more than meters or feet, stone or steel. Even in the age of electronic media, Belardi writes, drawing can maintain its role as a cornerstone of architecture.
Synopsis
An architect's defense of drawing as a way of thinking, even in an age of electronic media.
Why would an architect reach for a pencil when drawing software and AutoCAD are a click away? Use a ruler when 3D-scanners and GPS devices are close at hand? In Why Architects Still Draw, Paolo Belardi offers an elegant and ardent defense of drawing by hand as a way of thinking. Belardi is no Luddite; he doesn't urge architects to give up digital devices for watercolors and a measuring tape. Rather, he makes a case for drawing as the interface between the idea and the work itself.
A drawing, Belardi argues, holds within it the entire final design. It is the paradox of the acorn: a project emerges from a drawing -- even from a sketch, rough and inchoate -- just as an oak tree emerges from an acorn. Citing examples not just from architecture but also from literature, chemistry, music, archaeology, and art, Belardi shows how drawing is not a passive recording but a moment of invention pregnant with creative possibilities.
Moving from the sketch to the survey, Belardi explores the meaning of measurement in a digital era. A survey of a site should go beyond width, height, and depth; it must include two more dimensions: history and culture. Belardi shows the sterility of techniques that value metric exactitude over cultural appropriateness, arguing for an "informed drawing" that takes into consideration more than meters or feet, stone or steel. Even in the age of electronic media, Belardi writes, drawing can maintain its role as a cornerstone of architecture.
Synopsis
What is a truffle? Some see it as the apotheosis of the mushroom; some cultures believe that thunderclaps produce the esteemed, delectable fungus. Having a rather uninviting appearance, it is probably most famous as a prized, luxurious ingredient in the kitchen. Scientists, despite having succeeded in sequencing the truffleand#8217;s genome, are still determining many aspects of its existence. The truffle has a powerful hold over us, is renowned for many features beyond taste, and is often used in perfume. But few know the history and origins of this coveted plant.
Zachary Nowak delves into the history and fame of the truffle in Truffle: A Global History, relating its journey from the Far East to European and American kitchens. He compares the truffleand#8217;s origins and history in the Old World to its growing prominence in the New World, along the way showing the growth and dynamism of modern Western cuisine and food cultures.
Synopsis
What is a truffle? Is it the and#252;ber-shroom, the highest order of fungal foods? Does it arrive, as some cultures feel, in the moment of a thunderclap? One thing is for sure: despite its unappetizing appearance, the truffle is without a doubt one of the most prized ingredients in the worldand#8217;s pantry. In this book, Zachary Nowak digs deep into the history and fame of this unlikeliest of luxury items, exploring the truffleand#8217;s intoxicating hold on our senses how its distinctive flavor has become an instant indication of haute cuisine.
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Nowak traces the truffleand#8217;s journey from the kitchens of East Asia to those of Europe and the Americas. Balancing cultural, historical, and scientific perspectives, he offers a thorough and complete portrait of this many-sided mushroom. By comparing the truffleand#8217;s history in the Old World with its growing prominence in the New World, he tells a larger story of the growth and dynamism of modern Western cuisine and food cultures. Featuring many instructive and surprising illustrations, and numerous recipes both historical and contemporary, this unique and fascinating book is a must-read for chefs, food historians, and anyone ever drawn by the truffleand#8217;s mysterious, rich, and savory allure.and#160;
About the Author
Paolo Belardi, an architect and poet, is Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Perugia. He has won numerous international prizes, including TECU Architecture Award and the Premio Internazionale di Architettura Andrea Palladio.Zachary Nowak is a graduate student in the doctoral program for American Studies at Harvard University and Associate Director for the Food Studies Program at the Umbra Institute, in the central Italian city of Perugia.
Table of Contents
Introduction: A Shy Fungus, the Jewel of Cuisine
1. Truffles in the Sand
2. The Fall and Rise of the Truffle
3. Mycological Diplomacy
4. France and Gastrochauvinism
5. The Wandering Truffle
6. The Future of Fungi
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Truffle Identification
Recipes
Select Bibliography
Websites and Associations
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index