Detail Kultur: If Buildings Had DNA: Case Studies of Mutations by Christoph a. Kumpusch
Aadcu, 2016
Hardcover, 1030 pages

[All images courtesy of detail-kultur.com]

Even without the overused quote attributed to Mies van der Rohe, "God is in the details," architects would understand the importance of details, the way in which a building's success hinges on how its materials and assemblies are treated. In terms of books on the subject, they range from practical, technical guides to conceptual explorations, as in the exhaustive work of Edward R. Ford. Architect and Columbia GSAPP professor Christoph a. Kumpusch attempts to blend these two approaches, resulting in a massive, layered volume born from his PhD dissertation at the Universität für Angewandte Kunst - Wien.
Even before cracking open the thick chip board cover of Detail Kultur, it's clear this is a special book, a product of much time, energy, and passion. Additionally, the cover and its notched end pages spell out the structure of the book, specifically the ten themes (what Kumpusch call "lenses") explored by the baker's dozen projects listed on the front. The 13 projects are actually noted as "12+1 projects," since one of them ? the Light Pavilion that Kumpusch worked on with Lebbeus Woods ? inhabits Steven Holl's Sliced Porosity Block, one of the projects.

[Spread with Steven Holl's Sliced Porosity Block]

Even before the reader gets to the introduction, the author has pr...