{"product_id":"9781938922787","title":"The Future of the Skyscraper: SOM Thinkers Series","description":"\u003cp\u003eEngines of industry, expressions of ego or will, tall towers are nonetheless, when they pierce the shared skies, intensely public. We may ask of them artistic questions: what do we make of these things we make? What do these forms mean? But also, because architecture is forever tied to real life, we may ask of them questions of a political, economic and technological nature—as well as those, touching on the body and the mind and the soul, that we may simply call human. In this volume, Bruce Sterling describes four possible futures that might shape future towers, presenting a choose-your-own-adventure of potential futures for architecture, some of them terrifying in their nearness. We peer up at skyscrapers old and new, visit their highest floors, turn them this way and that to see them clearly through the psychology (Tom Vanderbilt) and physiology (Emily Badger) of living and working on high, and through the lens of policy in the low-rise counterexample of Washington, DC (Matthew Yglesias). Diana Lind tests the idea of tall against the more sprawling needs of those spatially mundane but transformative new economy industries that may well be the supertall clients of the future. Will Self looks back in literature, film and recent urban history to write forward toward a new understanding of the tower in the popular imagination. Dickson Despommier shares a comprehensive vision of an ecological future, in which towers, perhaps supertalls, would necessarily play a crucial role.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBruce Sterling\u003c\/b\u003e is an American science fiction author best known for his novels and his work on the \u003ci\u003eMirrorshades\u003c\/i\u003e anthology, a short story collection that helped to define the cyberpunk genre. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTom Vanderbilt\u003c\/b\u003e is an American journalist whose articles have appeared in \u003ci\u003eWired\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe London Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Financial Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eArtforum\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCabinet\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMetropolis\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePopular Science\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMatthew Yglesias\u003c\/b\u003e is the Executive Editor of \u003ci\u003eVox\u003c\/i\u003e and author of \u003ci\u003eThe Rent Is Too Damn High\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDiana Lind\u003c\/b\u003e is the Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of \u003ci\u003eNext City\u003c\/i\u003e, a non-profit quarterly magazine with a mission to inspire social, economic and environmental change in cities.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWill Self\u003c\/b\u003e writes a column for \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e and appears regularly on BBC radio and television. His ninth and latest novel, \u003ci\u003eUmbrella\u003c\/i\u003e, was a finalist for this year's Man Booker Prize.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEmily Badger\u003c\/b\u003e is a reporter for the \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e; she previously served as a staff writer for the online journal, \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic Cities\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDickson Despommier\u003c\/b\u003e is emeritus Professor of Microbiology and Public Health at Columbia University and the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Vertical Farm\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMichael Govan\u003c\/b\u003e is the director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Govan previously served as the director of the Dia Art Foundation in New York. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePhilip Nobel\u003c\/b\u003e is a New York–based architecture critic who writes for \u003ci\u003eMetropolis\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eArtforum\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eArchitectural Digest\u003c\/i\u003e, and is the author of \u003ci\u003eSixteen Acres: Architecture and the Outrageous Struggle for the Future of Ground Zero\u003c\/i\u003e. He also serves as the editorial director for SHoP architects.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Metropolis Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47033709723888,"sku":"9781938922787","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781938922787_p0.jpg?v=1763668073","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781938922787","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}