Architourism

This sumptuously illustrated book looks at why the world's most interesting buildings are becoming the hottest destinations for today's travelers.

In the last decades architecture has become a major focus for travelers, rather than merely a part of a larger itinerary. Illustrated with nearly one hundred color photographs, this series of provocative essays by leading scholars, critics and architects, explores the role of architecture in the contemporary tourist imagination.

From Mont Saint Michel and the Taj Mahal to Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum and the Blur Building in Switzerland's Lake Neuchatel, the authors focus on how certain iconic buildings have found their way into the cultural consciousness. At the same time they offer insights as to why other buildings, such as Minnesota's Mall of America and the faux architecture of Las Vegas, have become integral to their regions' tourist economy—and postulate how this success will influence architecture of the future.