Intention & Design

Intention and Design: The Life and Practice of an Architect is the illustrated exposition of a 30 year personal journey. The prototypes, projects and buildings illustrated in this monograph spring from and manifest the architect’s social, political, economic, technological, ecological and spiritual intent. Design as an intent driven ideogram is illustrated and explained in a case study format.

Intention and Design, by Francis Loetterle, illustrates a realistic and compassionate lifetime of developing humanist architectural principles and objectives, design strategies and building systems. His hindsight perspectives are insightful and the breath of architectural opportunities for holistic thinking portrayed in case studies is marvelous. Mr. Loetterle has crafted an important book which illustrates, with beautiful minimalism and plane spoken rationalism a vast array of project types each with social, political, economic, technological, ecological, or spiritual insights that today’s young architects should try to understand early if they are to sense the breadth, depth, complexity, and paradox of the real design and planning issues we face today. A number of buildings have issued from Francis Loetterle's drawings but the diversity and abundance of the un-built work is a testament to his passion to envision architectural realities of beauty, hope and social benefit. Intention & Design is an inspiration to anyone who wants to design buildings that address real world problems in their wholeness and the courage to keep trying.

Francis Loetterle is an architect and author of three previous monographs: Poverty Free: A Nicaraguan Social Business, 2010; Utilitarian Minimalism and Modular Design, 2004 and Mass Housing Design Principles and Prototypes, 2000. He lives in Oakland, California.