Transformations

Following almost 20 years in practice, comes Penoyre & Prasad's first monograph, Transformations. One of the UK's leading architectural practices, Penoyre & Prasad are renowned for buildings that are centred on people's experience, are green and visually striking. Transformations provides a comprehensive overview of the practice, their approach and their work, in their own words. With an introduction by Tom Muirhead, the book comprises eight essays written by Sunand Prasad: Purpose; Care; Art; Construction; Time; Limits; Learning and Context. Through these, Prasad details the positions and influences that have informed the practice's approach, reveals their way of working and their exchange with current and historic architectural culture. Interspersed throughout these essays are case studies that explore 25 key projects from the practice's wide ranging portfolio, including Rushton Street Medical Centre, The Millenium Centre at Eastbrookend Country Park, Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Moorfields Eye Hospital, The University of Portsmouth Library and Olney School. Written with clients and users in mind, Transformations strikes a balance between communicating to nonspecialists whilst retaining the depth of the subject of architecture. "Although increasingly enthused about architecture, much of the general public remains puzzled about just what is it that architects do, let alone why and how they do it. We should be able to explain the thinking behind the spaces and forms we devise, especially as our architecture has claims to being rooted in people's needs and experience. As our practice has grown we have articulated to each other more and more what our constantly evolving work is about and where it might go. These two intents come together in Transformations in which descriptions of our projects interweaved with an account of their origins." Sunand Prasad.