Building Additions in Steel: The Architecture of Vertical Extensions

Since the introduction of steel as a building material in the early twentieth century, its superior performance has challenged conventional wisdom about construction, enabling designs of surprising lightness and span. Steel offered the opportunity to significantly expand buildings vertically and thus emerged as a symbol of the conflict between technological progress and the architectural ideal. More recently, the use of exposed steel elements in modern architecture ushered in a rediscovery of buildings' metamorphoses.

Building Additions in Steel looks at the largely ignored topic of steel additions in architecture and engineering, documenting an ambitious, interdisciplinary research project by architects, engineers, teachers, and students at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Constructive Design. The book offers basic theoretical and technical information on a selection of outstanding steel additions alongside more than 100 illustrations, including plans and photographs.

With contributions by Jürg Conzett and Roger Diener, Lorenzo De Chiffre, Yves Dreier, Patric Fischli-Boson, Patric Furrer, Matteo Iannello, Daniel Meyer, François Renaud, Astrid Staufer, Daniel Stockhammer, and Martin Tschanz.