This fascinating sourcebook presents the most remarkable, beautiful, and innovative building fa ades in contemporary architecture. A building's fa ade sets the aesthetic tone for its entire design while serving a variety of functions, from regulating light and protecting against the elements to providing insulation for temperature and sound. This absorbing book details hundreds of examples of interesting and progressive fa ades from around the world.Presented in colorful double-page spreads, each fa ade is photographed from different angles and includes engaging texts that describe their significance. Readers can learn how traditional mashrabiyas in Abu Dhabi are being engineered to respond to light and to regulate heat, how a hospital in Mexico City has been constructed with "smog-eating" tiles, and how a "bio-adaptive" fa ade in Germany uses algae to generate energy and provide shade. Informative and accessible, this compendium is a highly useful resource for architects, engineers, and designers.