Transnational Buildings In Local Environments (Design And The Built Environment)

Presas argues that office buildings were once constructed to local standards of environmental sensitivity, whereas those designed and built for multinational corporations can serve as models for environmentally responsible policies and structures within local communities. She describes how the globalization of trade, information, and awareness of environment has transformed cities' approach to place and function, how urban office buildings are being environmentally restructured to meet the resulting expectations, and how globalization has affected ecological modernization. She offers case studies from Amsterdam, Sao Paulo, and Beijing, and closes by describing "glocalization," a process in which transnational corporations and their structures inform urban environments at the local level. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)