Bibliography

Philosophy:

A Thousand Plateaus, Gilles Deleuze et Felix Guattari

A series of essays by a philosopher (deleuze) and a psychoanalyst (Guattari) written in 1980. They describe the many new concepts such as the “Rhizome” and “Deterritorialization” in society which is strangely similar to the way the Internet redefines connections between people.

Gaia, James Lovelock

James Lovelock puts forward his theory, which sees the evolution of life and the evolution of the Earth as a single, tightly-coupled process from which the self-regulation of the environment emerges. It is not contrary to Darwin’s great vision of evolution by natural selection but a natural development of it. Gaia is the account of a journey through space and time in search of evidence to support his new and radically different view of our planet and its inhabitants.

Ecology/Technology:

Cradle To Cradle, Michael Braungart and William McDonough

An exciting, simple, groundbreaking new vision. With clear, accessible – even humorous – arguments, celebrated chemist Michael Braungart and inspirational architect William McDonough challenge the notion that human industry must damage the world. Instead, they look to nature and find a production system which mimic’s nature’s model to our commercial and environmental advantage, a system in which waste equals food.

What Technology Wants, Kevin Kelly

Kevin Kelly, one of the most respected thinkers of our time invites us to see modern technology as a living system whose origins go all the way back to the beginning of life. What Technology Wants projects a dozen trajectories for technology in the coming decades, showing us how we can align ourselves with it and capture its immeasurable potential.

Out of Control, Kevin Kelly

This is a book about how our manufactured world has become so complex that the only way to create yet more complex things is by using the principles of biology. Kevin Kelly’s book presents itself as an entertaining and accessible overview of the influence of natural systems on ‘cutting edge’ scientific research into artificial life, the Net, computing, the biosphere etc.

Massive Change, Bruce Mau

Massive Change is an ambitious project that humbly attempts to chart the bewildering complexity of our increasingly interconnected (and designed) world. Massive Change is not about the world of design; its about the design of the world.

Architecture:

Urbanism:

E-topia, William. J. Mitchell

A thought provoking vision of the future. Discussion of the effect that technological development is having on the places we inhabit, including cities, the home and the workplace.

The Gaia Atlas of Cities, Herbert Girardet

The Gaia Atlas of Cities is a vital source book of innovative ideas and strategies for making our cities ecologically sustainable, aiming to generate discussion of new ways of living and managing our lives in cities. Cities are perceived as problem centres; over-consuming, congested, and polluted. But they need not be. We have the know-how to make our cities better places and reduce their impact on the planet. This book shows how – with facts, ideas and over 80 case studies.

Hungry City – How Food Shapes Our Lives, Carolyn Steel

‘Hungry City examines the way in which modern food production has damaged the balance of human existence, and reveals that we have yet to resolve a centuries-old dilemma – one which holds the key to a host of current problems, from obesity, the inexorable rise of the supermarkets, to the destruction of the natural world. Carolyn Steel follows food on its journey – from the land (and sea) to market and supermarket, kitchen to table, waste-dump and back again – exploring the historical roots and the contemporary issues at each stage of food’s cycle. She shows how our lives and our environment are being manipulated but explains how we can change things for the better. Original, inspiring and written with infectious enthusiasm and belief, Hungry City illuminates an issue that is fundamental to us all.’

Novels:

Business:

Wikinomics – How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams

‘The knowledge, resources, and computing power of billions of people are self-organizing into a massive new collective force. Encouraging consumers, employees, suppliers, partners and competitors alike to share information and ideas, mass collaboration marks a profound change in the way business is conducted and radically alters the future of corporate architecture, strategy and management. “Wikinomics” is the definitive investigation into how small businesses can achieve success by using a dynamic ecosystem of partners to co-create and peer-produce value in this newly-emerging, networked economy.’

Software:

The Nature of Code, Daniel Shiffman

“How can we capture the unpredictable evolutionary and emergent properties of nature in software? How can understanding the mathematical principles behind our physical world help us to create digital worlds? This book focuses on the programming strategies and techniques behind computer simulations of natural systems using Processing.”