‘Way Beyond Bigness’ is a design-research project that studies the Mekong, Mississippi and Rhine river basins, with particular focus on multi-scaled, water-based infrastructural transformation. The book proposes a simple, adaptive framework that utilizes a three-part, integrative design-research methodology, structured as: Appreciate + Analyze, Speculate + Synthesize, and Collaborate + Catalyze. To do such, Way Beyond Bigness realigns watersheds and architecture across multiple: scales (site to river basin), disciplines (ecologists to economists), narratives (hyperbolic to pragmatic), and venues (academic to professional). The research critiques and recasts Oxford Dictionary’s two very different definitions for a “watershed”: 1) “An area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas” and 2) “An event or period marking a turning point in a situation in a course of action or state of affairs” and its two very different definitions for “architecture”: 1) “The art or practice of designing and constructing buildings” and 2) “the complex or carefully designed structure of something.” The book highlights the author’s comprehensive work of over more than a decade, including in depth field research across the Mekong, Mississippi and Rhine, along with a diverse body of academic and professional collaborations, ranging from the speculative to the community-based.

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[Link to the book page: https://appliedresearchanddesign.com/product/way-beyond-bigness]

Axiomatic Editions is a publishing platform that focuses on the intersection of art, architecture, and design. We believe that books and other publications can elevate cultural discourse. Our first set of titles will be released in 2025.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the upcoming titles:

• Architects in Memories by Toshio Nakamura.
• Mies van der Rohe: the Centric and the Peripheric by Randall Ott.
• Drawing Proper/Drawing Improper by Kevin Hirth.
• Photography Book About the Evolution of Representation in Renaissance and Baroque Italian Ceiling Frescoes by Arthur Becker.
• Landscapes for Adaptation: Evidence from China by Charles Waldheim with Boya Zhang.
• Turenscape Landscape Architecture by Kenneth Frampton and Ashley Simone.

We are excited to share these important works with the world and to continue to advance architecture and design culture.

Learn more about Axiomatic Editions and our upcoming titles on our website.

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