CONTENTS Metals, Machines and Modernity 6 Optimization 12 London Eye 16 Millennium Bridge - London 22 Glasgow Tower 28 Gateshead Millennium Bridge 34 Mathematics and Materials 40 Guggenheim Museum - Bilbao 44 British Museum Great Court - London 50 Great Glass House - National Botanic Garden of Wales 56 Solferino Bridge - Paris 60 Alternative Concepts of Order 66 Chemnitz Sport Stadium 70 Mediatheque - Sendai 74 Central Library - Seattle 80 Hybrid Material Systems 84 Phoenix Central Library 88 Royal Albert Dock Regatta Centre - London 92 Millennium Dome - London 98 Eden Project - St. Austell 104 The Palpable Skin 110 Experience Music Project - Seattle 114 Weathering Steel House - Toronto 120 Signal Box - Zurich 124 Museum of American Folk Art - New York 128 Prada Tower - San Francisco 134 Acknowledgments 138 Selected Bibliography 139 Index of Names 142 Illustration Credits 143