The Generic Sublime

"The Generic Sublime investigates the potential for the singular and extraordinary hidden in generic large-scale typologies--skyscrapers, airport hubs, industrial parks, gated communities, and high-rises. In this tome, various contributors consider the model of the once exploratory skyscraper taken to fantastical proportions to reimagine its possibilities for a quasi-utopian, post-urban development." --Metropolis Magazine "This book stems from a series of studios conducted at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in the departments of architecture, urban planning and design, and landscape architecture. International contributors analyze architectural models for large-scale architecture such as airport hubs, entertainment venues, theme parks, gated communities, and satellite cities. Part 1 explores describing, advocating, and challenging the theory of the generic sublime. Part 2 presents three taxonomies of forms and organizational models, with case studies. Part 3 presents an interview, a glossary, and a set of principles. The book's two-color layout features many illustrations, charts, and diagrams." --ProtoView Luxury condominiums, airport hubs, resort complexes, gated communities, satellite cities -- these are among the "extra-large" architectural typologies that have proliferated globally in recent years. In The Generic Sublime: Organizational "Models for Global Architecture, a new book edited by Ciro Najle and co-published by Actar and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, a series of essays explores these dominating edifices, investigating how the generic "holds the potential to become its very opposite: the singular, the irreducible, and the extraordinary."" --Archinect