Total Performance Architecture

The premise of this book is that the architect should approach each new design with an open mind, a clean slate, and embrace its full range of possibilities. The only absolutes are the values that should drive all architecture, and which Booth Hansen has reduced to four “first principles.” They include focus on the objective, dialogue with the past, innovation in solving problems, and stewardship of the environment. Values inspire new ideas. They help refine existing ones. They also strike a tone of common goals among collaborators in the architectural enterprise. The sharing of these values, the values of creative architecture, enhance the likelihood of an economical, functional, and beautiful building.