DOM Publishers

Construction and design manual; theatres and concert halls.

Schmolke is a freelance architect and author based in Stuttgart, Germany. For this volume she prepared two essays — on the history of theater architecture, and on designing theaters — and selected 32 extraordinary buildings as examples. Each is presented with a full-page color photo, several pages of drawings, and text describing challenges, features, and innovations. The selections are all in Europe, they were all built since the year 2000, and their seating space ranges from 200 to 2,000. A brief foreword is provided by actor-director Uwe Eric Laufenberg. The volume measures 9x11.25 inches. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Contemporary green buildings in China; art and architecture for sustainability 2000-2020.

A German-Chinese collaboration (organized by the Goethe-Institute Shanghai), the World Expo 2010 conference had as its theme: "Better City — Better Life." This book represents an exhibition associated with that conference. Four essays — one each by the German minister of transport, building, and urban development; an architect and planner affiliated with Tongii U., Shanghai; a German diplomat involved with culture and education; and the director of a Shanghai art museum — are presented in three languages (German, Chinese, and English) as are the extended captions that accompany full page photos of buildings and projects. Included are 40 projects in China that exemplify best practices as well as artists' contributions to the exhibition, and plans for future projects. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)