Chris Abel’s earliest writings were published in the Architectural Association Quarterly whilst he was still a student at the AA School of Architecture. He has kept up a steady stream of publications ever since, covering several books and well over a hundred papers and essays, most of them in international journals or monographs on leading architects. The latter include keynote essays and numerous other contributions to all six volumes of the definitive series on Norman Foster by Prestel, as well as the author’s own book on an early design by the architect. The author’s principal works, including the Prestel series, are listed below. Extracts from selected essays and other publications may also be viewed by clicking on the marker above.
Norman Foster and Chris Abel, Prestel.
"In text and illustrations, this book shows what makes the International Terminal of the Beijing Airport a standard for all others to follow."
Architectural Press, 268 pages.
"Drawing upon a wide range of knowledge and disciplines, the author argues that underlying technological changes in the process of architectural production are of fundamental importance to the way we think about machines and the world we live in."
Prestel
"Norman Foster: Works' is a comprehensive, multi-volume survey of a remarkable career, which explores the evolution of the Foster studio, decade by decade, from its formation in 1960 to the present…..Bringing together contributions from noted commentators on architecture alongside essays and observations from Norman Foster and his colleagues in the practice, Norman Foster: Works provides the definitive account of an exceptional body of work."
Royal Academy of Arts, 120 pages.
"Published to accompany ‘Sky High’, a skyscraper show curated by Norman Foster within the RoyalAcademy’s Summer Exhibition, this striking book traces the evolution of vertical architecture around the world. An incisive text and numerous colour illustrations survey early iconic skyscrapers in America, the changing skylines of the Pacific Rim and the most recent energy-efficient towers in Europe, examining how attitudes towards tall buildings are changing."
Images Publishing.
"Many of the houses will be familiar to older generations of architects who graduated in the 1950s and 60s and who eagerly devoured Seidler’s designs as part of modernism’s essential repertoire of domestic architecture. However, to younger designers around the world who are now shaking off the worst excesses of postmodernism, these houses will come as a revelation: products of an earlier, alternative modernism that was respectful of its locality as well as expressive of its time. As such, both Seidler’s work and career demand renewed and close examination."
China Architecture and Building Press, 320 pages
Architectural Press (2nd edition), 288 pages.
"This edited collection of essays brings together the author’s key writings on the cultural, technological and theoretical developments reshaping modern architecture into a responsive and diverse movement for the twenty-first century."
Architectural Press. 264 pages.
"Chris Abel approaches the subject of architecture and its relation to social and cultural identities from a wide range of knowledge, including cybernetics, philosophy, new human science and development planning, as well as his experience as a teacher and critic on four continents."
Academy Editions, 80 pages.
Architecture Design and Technology Press, 60 pages.
"This monograph is a uniquely detailed and authoritative record of the Renault Centre, produced by Chris Abel from the Foster Associates’ archives, and photographed and drawn under his supervision. Its illustrated essay, portfolio of large-format photographs (many in full colour), 24 pages of specially drawn technical details, and fact-sheets and bibliography are unlikely ever to be surpassed in a single publication."