The Hawkins\Brown architectural firm in London, founded in 1988 by Roger Hawkins and Russell Brown, is one of the up-and-coming offices on the international architecture scene. The spectrum of the firm’s works ranges from residences and interior design by way of office buildings and various public buildings such as theaters and university buildings all the way to urban planning, such as designs for squares and subway stations. Hawkins\Brown strives to come to an optimal result in a process that integrates all of the players. Hawkins\Brown has received numerous awards for various projects, such as the RIBA Award for its Wysing Arts Centre (2008), the New Chemistry Building of the University of Oxford (2009), and the New Art Exchange art center in Nottingham (2009) and the BREEAM Award for Eltham Hill Technology College (2008). This book documents some twenty-five buildings from the past five years. The projects presented include the Tottenham Court Road Underground Station, one of the busiest Tube stations in London with a hundred thousand passengers daily (to be completed in 2011); the Stratford Regional Station in London, an access platform for one of the major sites for the Olympic Games (to be completed in 2010); Park Hill, the master plan for a neighborhood in Sheffield (to be completed in 2011), and the Dubai Arts Pavilion in the United Arab Emirates.

According to Tim Abrahams, One World Trade Center, designed by David Childs, reconciles New York’s delirious art deco past with its monumental future. It proves, he argues that architecture, unlike other art forms, can be present in our daily lives and that this building in its restatement of the principles of Manhattan, is life-affirming proof that, as Rossi said, ‘the city has primarily itself as an end’.


The Greatest Buildings of the 21st Century series is not simply an attempt to celebrate the best in contemporary architecture although it is very much that. It is also a platform for architectural critics to explore in depth their craft through a building they admire. It asks one obvious question, "what is a great building?"but poses another more a complex one: "how should architecture be judged?"

This series is about style.

Philosopher Georg Lukacs described the style of a piece of work as the attempt to reproduce one's view of the world within it. Looked at in this way, he says, style ceases to be a formalistic category but rather, “it is rooted in content; it is the specific form of a specific content.” After all, style is not technique, but ought to convey an intention. Sociologist Georg Simmel said that style is the aesthetic attempt to provide a “unifying encompassing context”.

This series is about the content and context of style.

Undoubtedly, it will irritate and enthuse but it is intended to be a fillip for our contemporary era in which style is often equated with fashion - where style can be dismissed in order to avoid dealing with its essence. Therefore these essays are not style over substance, but the very substance of style.

The De Stijl manifesto of 1918 argued that the liberal arts should engage in a dialogue to create a new “wisdom of life”. The robustness of these essays suggests that such an ambition still resonates. Such an exchange can still appear vital and captivating.

Each Style: In Defence Of… confronts us with new ideas for contemplation and critique. We hope that minds might be open to critically engage with each of these polemical bulletins. In so doing, we might reasonably formulate what we stand for.

The Soviet boycott of the 1984 Olympic Games is explained as the result of a complex series of events and policies that culminated in a strategic decision to not participate in Los Angeles. Using IR framework, D'Agati developes and argues for the concept of surrogate wars as an alternative means for conflict between states.

Who reprimanded Hitler during the 1936 Olympic Games?
When did the Olympic event "shin kicking" get banned?
Which Shakespearean play refers to the Olympic Games?
Who was the first official cheat in 388BC?

Find the answers to these and many other intriguing aspects of the Olympic Games in this absorbing collection of stories and trivia.

Amazing & Extraordinary Facts: The Olympics reveals the beguiling stories behind the well-known history of the Games. It delves into the ancient origins in Greece, the modern predecessors to the Games from the 17th century onwards, and the little-known facts behind the Olympics in the modern era. As the "Greatest Show on Earth" graces the City of London, it is the time to swot up on the hidden history and unusual facts behind the Olympic Games, past and present.

The Games of the XXIII Olympiad, Los Angeles 1984, reimagined the Olympic Games and reinvigorated a troubled Olympic movement. Its innovations included the following: a nationwide torch relay that yielded millions for children’s charities; an arts festival that surpassed any prior efforts; the first Opening Ceremony featuring a professional theatrical extravaganza; new sports disciplines, such as distance races for women, windsurfing, synchronized swimming, heptathlon, and rhythmic gymnastics; an army of volunteers; vast increases in sponsorship and television revenue while avoiding commercialization and keeping expenses low using existing facilities; and a financial surplus of over $232 million, which has endowed sports for youngsters in the Los Angeles area to this day—all through a privately financed organizing committee without government contributions.

According to Tim Abrahams, One World Trade Center, designed by David Childs, reconciles New York’s delirious art deco past with its monumental future. It proves, he argues that architecture, unlike other art forms, can be present in our daily lives and that this building in its restatement of the principles of Manhattan, is life-affirming proof that, as Rossi said, ‘the city has primarily itself as an end’.


The Greatest Buildings of the 21st Century series is not simply an attempt to celebrate the best in contemporary architecture although it is very much that. It is also a platform for architectural critics to explore in depth their craft through a building they admire. It asks one obvious question, "what is a great building?"but poses another more a complex one: "how should architecture be judged?"

The Hawkins\Brown architectural firm in London, founded in 1988 by Roger Hawkins and Russell Brown, is one of the up-and-coming offices on the international architecture scene. The spectrum of the firm’s works ranges from residences and interior design by way of office buildings and various public buildings such as theaters and university buildings all the way to urban planning, such as designs for squares and subway stations. Hawkins\Brown strives to come to an optimal result in a process that integrates all of the players. Hawkins\Brown has received numerous awards for various projects, such as the RIBA Award for its Wysing Arts Centre (2008), the New Chemistry Building of the University of Oxford (2009), and the New Art Exchange art center in Nottingham (2009) and the BREEAM Award for Eltham Hill Technology College (2008). This book documents some twenty-five buildings from the past five years. The projects presented include the Tottenham Court Road Underground Station, one of the busiest Tube stations in London with a hundred thousand passengers daily (to be completed in 2011); the Stratford Regional Station in London, an access platform for one of the major sites for the Olympic Games (to be completed in 2010); Park Hill, the master plan for a neighborhood in Sheffield (to be completed in 2011), and the Dubai Arts Pavilion in the United Arab Emirates.

This series is about style.

Philosopher Georg Lukacs described the style of a piece of work as the attempt to reproduce one's view of the world within it. Looked at in this way, he says, style ceases to be a formalistic category but rather, “it is rooted in content; it is the specific form of a specific content.” After all, style is not technique, but ought to convey an intention. Sociologist Georg Simmel said that style is the aesthetic attempt to provide a “unifying encompassing context”.

This series is about the content and context of style.

Undoubtedly, it will irritate and enthuse but it is intended to be a fillip for our contemporary era in which style is often equated with fashion - where style can be dismissed in order to avoid dealing with its essence. Therefore these essays are not style over substance, but the very substance of style.

The De Stijl manifesto of 1918 argued that the liberal arts should engage in a dialogue to create a new “wisdom of life”. The robustness of these essays suggests that such an ambition still resonates. Such an exchange can still appear vital and captivating.

Each Style: In Defence Of… confronts us with new ideas for contemplation and critique. We hope that minds might be open to critically engage with each of these polemical bulletins. In so doing, we might reasonably formulate what we stand for.