Books

Books : reviews

Eugene Tsui.
Evolutionary Architecture: nature as a basis for design.
Wiley. 1999

Looking to nature as the source of some of the strongest and most efficient structural forms known to mankind, Eugene Tsui’s evolutionary architecture offers stunningly original alternatives to the uninspired cut-and-butt, post-and-beam constructions that dominate our architectural landscape today.

This extraordinary book uncovers the guiding principles behind Tsui’s evolutionary approach to explore the many design lessons that can be learned from nature and share the impressive results of their application to architectural projects. Examining nature’s forms, materials, and structures from an architectural and scientific perspective, Tsui provides an exciting glimpse of the world through his eyes, a fantastic world in which termite towers, bird’s nests, fish bubble homes, and common snail shells are just some of nature’s creations that harbor a hidden universe of design possibilities and problem-solving ideas.

With compelling flare and conviction, Tsui shows how his evolutionary architecture comes to life in projects that range from a residential remodel featuring hinged dragonfly roof ventilation wings to a two-mile city based on a termite’s nest with spiderweb-like, crisscrossing steel cables. More than 300 photographs of natural structures and Tsui’s most intriguing projects bear witness to the sheer power and scope of his conceptual and design invention.

Combining strikingly imaginative designs with practical lessons from a truly visionary architect, Evolutionary Architecture is a fresh and captivating idea resource for anyone interested in environmentally-influenced design and break-out-of-the-box architectural thinking.