From Bruno Taut’s glass house to the Crystal Palace, geodesic domes to the Millennium Dome, this lavishly illustrated exploration of lightness in architecture explains how and why the movement began, and shows where it will take us in the future.
Architecture has been moving towards lightness since the beginning of the twentieth century. As new building materials become available, and as land disappears, architects have focused on efficiency, impermanence and flexibility in structures. Illustrating the achievements of the most visionary architects of the past and present, Featherweights traces the evolution of lightness in architecture from the fantastic glass structures of the early twentieth century to the latest hi-tech materials for the third millennium. Covering everything from pre-fab houses to inflatable buildings, utopian architecture to virtual cities, this fascinating exploration illustrates the ongoing dialogue between shelter and society and offers exciting glimpses into a future in which gravity is optional.