Chris Abel

"I have always enjoyed the writings of Chris Abel. They are full of surprising insights and provocative connections between such diverse issues as history, technology and ecology"

Norman Foster, Founder, Foster + Partners

"Chris Abel is a nomad in the intellectual as well as the geographical sense. The result is always unconventional and challenging, and sometimes impressively prescient"

Colin Davies, The Architectural Review

"Abel does the work of a horde of architectural critics writing all at the same time from all over the globe’

Ken Yeang, Hamzah & Yeang

"For anyone interested in actually understanding the radical responses of architecture to the changing times, Abel offers a powerful perspective built over many years of reflection that is more relevant than ever"

Anthony Burke, University of Technology Sydney

"‘Having been taught by Chris I can testify to his passion and knowledge. VAST is amongst the very best in advanced tall building studios internationally"

Antony Wood, Executive Director, CTBUH

"This exhibition and book come at a crucial moment in the development of our cities…not because such approaches are the ultimate expression of the Modernist project or of a particular aesthetic, but because they can help to solve the problem of the growth of our cities"

Norman Foster, Founder, Foster + Partners

"It really makes me look at nearly everything I do with a critical eye; everything from the products I consume, to my design choices. It has added an entirely new dimension to the way I analyse architecture and lifestyles"

Student Andrews, on a climate change seminar, UNL

Studios

In the course of a long career teaching architecture students to explore new design approaches, Chris Abel has created many experimental design studios, explaining his aims and methods and illustrating students' projects in his writings. Whether exploring the significance of tacit knowing in the design process, the creative exchanges between local and international approaches in regional architecture, or the impact of new technologies of production, Chris has encouraged his students to treat design as a form of research, the ultimate aim of which is to improve the quality of the built environment. Depending on the nature and scope of the projects, students also commonly work together in these studios in small teams, developing the kinds of collaborative skills they will need in practice.

The Vertical Architecture STudio (VAST) exemplified this experimental and collaborative tradition, providing a focus for research in high-rise architecture and sustainable urban design. Beginning with a studio project for a "Tropical Tower" at the University of Nottingham in 1994, the program was further developed at the University of Sydney (USYD) in 2006. Since then, Chris has also run VAST programs at the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL), 2008, and the University of New South Wales (UNSW), 2009 and 2010, the results of which have been widely published in Australian, American and Chinese journals. A broad selection of VAST project designs, a few of which are shown here, is also displayed on the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) website.