"Concrete's structural strength and visual variety combined with the particulars of place and culture have allowed Tadao Ando (Osaka), Ricardo Legorreta (Mexico City), Antoine Predock (Albuquerque, USA) and Wiel Arets (The Netherlands) to realize progressive and seminal forms. The buildings of these four lauded architects sensitively respond to their environments, while nevertheless functioning as monumental symbols that transcend their immediate surroundings." "Although they have established large international practices, the approaches of the four architects have enabled them to forge an architectonic language that is both solid and meaningful. From Predock's sensitive interpretations of America's southwest desert to Ando's graceful intervention in natural and urban contexts, from Legorreta's bold representations of Mexico's rich pre-Columbian heritage to Arets's cool 'second-modernist' forms, each architect's highly individual vision has created unique buildings for people and their environments." "In one sense the result of local conditions, the buildings in Concrete Regionalism also seem to exist out of time and place, constant reminders that there persists in architecture a search for enduring form."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved