This publication on the work of John Ronan Architects explores the firm’s spatial-material approach to architecture and the underlying themes of its typologically diverse output. Out of the Ordinary introduces a different approach to architecture which is based on spatial narrative rather than form and influenced by literature rather than appropriations from the world of art world. It advocates for architecture which privileges space over form, experience over image, and narrative over authorship. In previous decades, architectural production was constrained by the limits of technology; architects pushed on the boundaries imposed by technology and it gave them common purpose. Those limits are gone. Over the preceding two decades it has been demonstrated that with enough technology (and money) anything is possible. What does an architect do when anything is possible? This is the question which confronts architects today, who now operate within a professional landscape where all is possible, but little has meaning. The “anything goes” mentality which currently prevails has resulted in innumerable self-referential “object” buildings which engage only with their architect’s ego, often resulting in an urban fabric of autonomous formal objects comprised of arbitrarily-applied design tropes which celebrate formal invention for its own sake. But what do architects leave society once the novelty of form has worn off? In this architectural age of arbitrary shape-making, devoid of context or meaning, Out of the Ordinary proposes an architecture of innovation rising from ordinary concerns, about relationships not form, which exposes new spatial relationships with diagrammatic clarity in a process of distillation what seeks to lay bare meaningful relationships between essential building elements.
John Ronan Architects' award-winning Gary Comer Youth Center was designed specifically to support the activities of Chicago's South Shore Drill Team; however, during the design process, the function of the space continued to evolve along with the client's goals, resulting in an architectural program that grew from a simple gym into a multifunctional space supporting a range of community and educational services. Explorations also features fully documented design processes for the recently completed Poetry Foundation in Chicago; the transformation of Washington, D.C.'s historic Yale Steam Laundry building into condominiums; the Urban Model High School, a new prototype school developed for the Public Building Commission of Chicago; and Precast Chapel, an economical concrete chapel for promoting interfaith dialogue and religious understanding. Ronan's ability to deliver adaptability along with a sense of identity and place renders his work both timely and destined to age with grace and dignity--meaningful additions to their environs that hold significant value to both building clients and end users. Explorations features a foreword by Toshiko Mori, chair of the department of architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design; an essay by highly respected Chicago-based architect Brad Lynch; and a Q & A with John Ronan conducted by Robert McAnulty.
The general theme of this book, and a number of its individual poems, is that love and language create community. There is little self- reference and confession. Set in Gloucester, New York, or Paris, in Panama or Newtown, the poems come from a commitment to civic poetry, a poetry of social place and witness. Civic poetry is poems written for the public on community topics; poetry accessible to an attentive, general audience. And since it is often meant to be read in public, civic poetry relies on sound and familiar forms: rhyming tricks, assonance, consonance, regular rhythms, refrain and stanza, couplets, etc. And of course, civic poetry, like all poetry, is insightful, well-crafted and fresh, never talks down, and is never watered down. Besides accessibility, sound, rhythm, and freshness, there is another necessary ingredient in civic poetry: hope. Not innocent or immature hope, nothing naive. It may be a battered hope, even diminished, but is not cowed or faint, remains brassy, unabashed. Civic poetry makes no apologies for believing in our stressed and distorted, but wonderful national experiment.
Following the cataclysmic Great Sundering, the infamous magi known as Ronan have dwindled to near-extinction. Those left have faced imprisonment and exile for over half a century. However, Magrados is a power that cannot be denied - and two Ronan children, born half a world apart, must learn to survive in a cruel society out for their blood.
Magrados has been Awakened, and the tides of fate have been beckoned forth. As old magic stirs, the Ronan enter an elder branch of Prophecy that risks all, be it for wrath, ruin, or salvation... The Ronan: Heir to Magrados continues the epic tale that began in The Ronan Awakening... After Awakening to his magic and escaping the ashen hell of Inee, Aritian has finally freed himself of his chains -- but at what cost? Plagued by the turbulent power within, and haunted by the words of the Oracle, Aritian must travel farther south to seek out the mysterious Ancient One. But when he discovers a terrible secret, Aritian must decide which is greater: the battle within or those who threaten the very survival of humanity? Devaney has fled the wrathful Ordu with the help of the Changeling, but is shadowed by the prophecies of her Awakening. Fleeing all she has ever known, and with the fate of the very world in her hands, she must forge a blazing path through her tangled web of visions to save Magrados. However, once immersed in the perilous Ronan Court, she discovers that her power alone is not enough -- and true power can only belong to those who take it. Caethe's consciousness has endured for six centuries in Umbrael with his physical body encased in amber and displayed before the greatest temple of Ordu. Fate, however, seems to have finally granted him succor. After surviving Devaney's Awakening, Caethe must journey the frightful path to salvation that begins in the realm of Avalon. But can he master his ambitions when the path to success grows more insidious than he could have ever imagined?
The fifth edition of this bestselling textbook has been thoroughly revised to provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive coverage of the legislation, administration and management of construction contracts. It now includes comparisons of working with JCT, NEC3, and FIDIC contracts throughout. Introducing this topic at the core of construction law and management, this book provides students with a one-stop reference on construction contracts. Significant new material covers: procurement tendering developments in dispute settlement commentary on all key legislation, case law and contract amendments In line with new thinking in construction management research, this authoritative guide is essential reading for every construction undergraduate and an extremely useful source of reference for practitioners.
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