Form Follows Nature / Rudolf Finsterwalder

In Form Follows Nature, edited by Rudolf Finsterwalder, you are treated to “an outline of the history of the human examination of nature and presents a perspective for further possible lessons from nature.” Wilfried Wang, for examples, gives a particularly scathing review of the Enlightenment and it contributions. From these critiques and histories a base is built to demonstrate how the forms and process of nature can be used to generate form. The book stresses that copying nature is charlatanism and misses the point. Architects must understand the underlying principles and not the end product to achieve success.

Have a look inside after the break.

008-012 Preface
013-032 (Introduction) Form Follows Nature
033-042 Matters of Form. Music, nature and memory
079-112 The Inverse route. Interview with Frei Otto, March 28 and October 28, 2008
113-130 Nature – a test lab. Developing and constructing according to biological archetypes
131-150 Form Follows Nature?
151-166 Organic Architecture: 5 Projects by Finsterwalder Architekten

167-186 Funken
187-216 Nature’s Patterns
217-236 Crustaceans and Sea Urchins
237-272 Seifenblasen
273-288 The Japanese dwelling and nature
289-302 Domestic architecture of the primitive people
303-314 Building methods of living Nature
315-324 Animal structures. Between specialisation adaption
325-332 Constructions of non-living nature
333-348 Growing and dividing Pneus
349-362 Sandwich structures in the skull capsules of various birds. The principle of lightweight structures in organisms
363-380 Formative art of nature
381-394 Frank Lloyd Wright and his organic architecture
395-414 Star Show and Gridshell Construction. The Zeiss Planetarium Jena
415-422 Hermann Finsterlin. A fantastic architect
423-436 On spicules and spicular skeletons
437-464 Art Forms from nature
465-480 Strena. About the hexagonal snow
481-494 Perspectiva corporum regularium
495-512 Anhang

Hardcover: 512 pages
Publisher: Springer Vienna Architecture; 1st Edition. edition (November 1, 2011)
Language: German, English
ISBN-10: 3709108551
ISBN-13: 978-3709108550