CATEGORY

In its latest issue, Conditioning, the groundbreaking and visually engaging architecture "boogazine" (It's a book and a magazine!) Verb investigates the ramifications of architectural signification. As our ability to control the production of form and the creation of environments begin to parallel that of natural processes, architecture is not only conceived as a platform for the development of human activity, but more and more as its generator and possibly also its limiting framework. To investigate these bracing notions, Verb spans the globe, exploring the entertainment recreations of a Las Vegas casino and the hermetic communities of Biosphere 2 and Grimshaw's Eden project as well as the experimental environments of Enric Ruiz-Geli (Villa Nurbs) and Makoto Yokomizo's soap bubble inspired Tomihiro Hoshino Museum, a square containing 20-odd cylindrical spaces. As in other industries ranging from computer applications to car manufacturing, mass-customized theming in architecture infiltrates the way buildings are conceived and used. If this trend is inevitably linked to commercial success, how will that affect the discipline? The thoughtful, cutting-edge Verb Conditioning will keep you on your architectural toes.