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Humanise

A Maker’s Guide to Building Our World
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( 11 ratings, 2 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Humanise by Thomas Heatherwick explores the intersection of design and human nature, inviting readers to rethink how architecture and design impact daily living. The book delves into Heatherwick's innovative approach to creating spaces and objects that connect emotionally and functionally with people. Through engaging anecdotes and striking illustrations, the narrative underscores the importance of human-centred design in fostering environments that enhance wellbeing and community.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by the intersection of design, architecture, and human experience, as it explores how innovative ideas can transform the spaces we inhabit. It's perfect for those interested in understanding how thoughtful design impacts our daily lives and encourages a more connected and meaningful relationship with the world around us.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In this manifesto for change, one of the world's preeminent designers explores how buildings and cities around the world lost their soul - and what we can do about it.

Humanise is a masterwork. It's quietly furious, impassioned, rigorous and forensic in all the right doses. It leaves me very hopeful indeed about how things could go from here. ALAIN DE BOTTON

In this manifesto for change, one of the world's pre-eminent designers explores how buildings and cities around the world lost their soul - and what we can do about it.

Thomas Heatherwick shows how design has a profound effect on our mental and physical health, the climate, as well as the peace and cohesion of societies. He shows how a flawed idea of utility and 'efficiency' has engulfed our towns and cities and hardened into a form of bland minimalism. But it doesn't have to be this wayβ€”there are other ways to buildβ€”with the power to lift our spirits, engage and connect us.

Heatherwick draws on his own work, the ideas of other experts in the field, and recent advances in neuroscience and cognitive psychology to offer both a case against the inhumanity of modernist design and a rallying cry to everyone to imagine the world anew. Looking through his eyes, we take in places around the world, old and new, famous and obscure, that can sap the life out of usβ€”or nourish our senses and our psyche.

Humanise is a tautly argued provocation and an urgent call-to-arms to make the world around us a far better place for everyone to live.

This book is a super accessible guide as to why we shouldn't put up with soulless buildings and how we might change that. GRAYSON PERRY

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Humanise by Thomas Heatherwick is praised for urging a shift towards architecture that prioritises human experience and well-being over rigid designs. Reviews highlight the book's passionate critique of monotonous urban landscapes and its call for engaging, people-centred spaces. It offers a compelling vision for a future where cities are vibrant and sustainable, sparking a necessary conversation on the impact of architecture on society.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241389799

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 19 October 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Viking

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 42.0mm

Width: 132.0mm

Height: 200.0mm

Weight: 544g

Pages: 496

About the Author

Thomas Heatherwick is one of the world's most prolific designers, whose varied work over two decades is characterised by its originality, inventiveness and humanity. Defying conventional classifications, Heatherwick founded his studio in 1994 to bring together architecture, urban planning, product design and interiors into a single creative workspace. Led by human experience rather than any fixed dogma, the studio creates emotionally compelling places and objects with the smallest possible carbon footprint. From their base in London, Heatherwick's team is currently working on over thirty projects in ten countries, including Toranomon-Azabudai, a six-hectare mixed-use development in the centre of Tokyo, the new headquarters for Google in London and Airo, an electric car that cleans the air as it drives. The studio has also recently completed Bay View, Google's first ground-up campus and Little Island, a park and performance space on the Hudson River in New York as well as the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town; and Coal Drops Yard, a major new retail district in King's Cross, London.

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