Experimentation and invention

The focus of this monograph on Spanish-born Felix Candela (1919–1997) is on modern Mexican architecture and its international influence. Conducting daring structural experiments with materials such as reinforced concrete and experimenting with shell vaulting to find new methods to save costs and material in building, Candela not only succeeded in putting his engineering knowledge into high quality constructions but also into high quality architecture. Geometry marks his impressive sculptural work, not only in the industrial buildings but also in churches, restaurants, university buildings, and sport facilities. With this book, readers are invited to discover how construction problems result in poetic and bizarre forms, and how advances in engineering can lead to expressionist architecture.

About the Series:
Every book in TASCHEN's Basic Architecture Series features:

* approximately 120 images, including photographs, sketches, drawings, and floor plans
* introductory essays exploring the architect's life and work, touching on family and background as well as collaborations with other architects
* the most important works presented in chronological order, with descriptions of client and/or architect wishes as well as construction problems and resolutions
* an appendix including a list of complete or selected works, biography, bibliography and a map indicating the locations of the architect's most famous buildings



About the author:
Enrique X. de Anda Alani's received his PhD in art history from the National University of Mexico. He is an architect and has been a researcher of the history of architecture for over two decades. He works also in the preservation of the 20th Century Architecture Heritage.