The purpose of this book is to show that portable buildings are eminently feasible, capable of a wide range of roles and economic to build and operate. They can also be subversive as well as sensitive, amusing as well as appropriate, energetic as well as economic.

This second edition includes work by two new design teams and seven new case studies to help further define the relevant characteristics of this important strand of contemporary building design.

The projects completed by the two new designers introduced in this edition have been included for very difference reasons. Architects Branson Coates designed Powerhouse::UK, a temporary British products design exhibition sponsored by the UK Department of Trade and Industry represents an establishment based endorsement of a portable building. Festo KG's 'Airtecture' hall uses inflatable technology and fundamentally could not be more different, it was not reported in the main stream press yet it won many industrial design awards.

Designers included in the first edition have continued to exercise their skills on new projects that are progressions from their former work. The nature of this book is that the case studies are primarily projects that have been taken to completion, however, it is of interest that several of the designers included here are currently involved in much more ambitious projects. The Millennium Dome is also discussed in the introduction as an example of large scale portable architecture and a high profile building in the UK.



Learn about the current and future developments in the field from the authority on portable architecture

Understand the technology behind high profile projects such as the Millennium Dome and Festo Exhibition Centre

Highly illustrated to give you full coverage of all the technical aspects in detail