Is the present obsession with the icon and the promotion of image over substance symptomatic of a general trend in contemporary architecture? Arup Associates provides the alternative: unified design. This straightforward, critical reflection on contemporary architecture -- a manifesto of sorts, polemical in parts, philosophical; and determined to set an honest agenda -- is divided into three sections. First, an explanation of unified design. Next, a demonstration of the sustainable agenda that is a the heart of this practice. Finally, a complementary series of essays by respected commentators outside of the practice place the vision of people-focused design in the context of other critical social thought.

Paul Brislin is a principal at Arup Associates, the London-based architectural design studio of Arup Group, the multinational consulting engineering company. Arup Associates is internationally renowned for its multidisciplinary approach to design: architects work alongside structural and environmental engineers in integrated teams.?

The book includes contributions from: Jonathan Glancey, the architectural correspondent of The Guardian; Jay Merrick the architectural correspondent of The Independent; architectural authors Juhani Pallasmaa and Leon van Schaik; as well as from Mike Bevan and Declan O'Carroll, principals of Arup Associates.