Guang Yu Ren

A visually stunning guide to architectural drawing from the RIBA Collections for students and those wanting to understand how to develop their graphic and representation skills. Illustrated exclusively with drawings from the world's largest and most prestigious architectural drawing collection, it features an international span of works ranging from the Palazzo Porto Festa by Andrea Palladio to the Viceroy’s House in New Delhi by Edwin Lutyens; from the illustration of Altun Kupri, Iraq, by Charles Felix Marie Texier to a coastal housing scheme by Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi. The book delves into the reasons behind why we draw and the various methods used, covering the entire design process – from nurturing the earliest ideas to aiding construction, as well as surveying, recording, communicating, and representing architecture in spatial, structural, and material terms. Focusing primarily on drawing techniques, it showcases a rich variety of different graphic styles, types, and modes of representation, presented thematically, offering a comprehensive overview. This primer elevates the acquisition of practical drawing skills into a pleasurable experience, acquainting students with some of the most exquisite and accomplished graphic representations in the world.

Unlocking the history of the British home, this book reveals how its layout has evolved from the Stone Age to the present day. From modest ancient dwellings and medieval merchants' houses to imposing stately mansions and modern urban estates, the book explores the forces that have shaped these homes. Each chapter brings these ideas to life by focusing on buildings that are accessible and open to the public. Featured homes include: the Tudor mansions of Cowdray and Burghley House; and the grand Georgian terraces of London, Bath and Brighton.

Asmara, the capital of the small East African country of Eritrea, bordering the Red Sea, is one of the most important and exciting architectural 'discoveries' of recent years. Built almost entirely in the 1930s by the Italians, who transformed it into a hotbed of radical architectural innovation, Asmara has one of the highest concentrations of Modernist architecture anywhere in the world. This superb building-by-building survey, illustrated with previously unpublished archival material and specially commissioned photography, chronicles the colonial past and remarkable survival of a city that has evocatively been described as "the Miami of Africa".