Author Description

As a typology conceived in the twentieth century, the office building is often the architectural manifestation - not only of global capital, but also of technological might and mass production. But when we think of these buildings, we often think more of objects than of space; more of appearance than of atmosphere. In A-Typical Plan, Jeannette Kuo offers a reversal of the experience, starting from the inside out, and prioritizing space over symbol. In particular, the book reconsiders the deep plan within the European context for a discussion on density, economy and, not least, sustainability. Featuring buildings by architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Kenzo Tange, Giuseppe Terragni, Le Corbusier, SANAA, Herzog & de Meuron, Toyo Ito, Christian Kerez, and many others, A-Typical Plan presents a collection of projects through history that have attempted to bring character to the deep plan as a spatial experience for the workspace. The work features essays by renowned authors, including Iñaki Ábalos, Pier Vittorio Aureli, Andrea Bassi, Florian Idenburg, Jeannette Kuo, Freek Persyn, and Antoine Picon. A conversation with Inès Lamunière and a graphic essay by Jimenez Lai round out the diverse perspectives. A final chapter presents the work of students at the EPFL, with whom this research began. Succinct and beautifully illustrated, A-Typical Plan is a reminder that even buildings created for quotidian uses can be spatially and experientially rich.