January.

The notion of sustainability, of the need for humankind to try and evolve some kind of harmony with the natural world becomes ever more imperative. Architecture has a crucial role to play in striving to attain this equilibrium, but it is clear that attitudes must change and technology evolve if the vision of a pragmatic and sustainable future is to be realized. In January, we look at how architects and engineers are beginning to evolve new ways of handling space and natural forces to generate innovative forms of buildings which both conserve energy and offer a rich potential for human experience.

Renzo Piano's ongoing investigations into how technology can be reconciled with nature have always had a compelling relevance to wider issues of ecology and sustainability. We examine his new design centre for Daimler Benz at Sindelfingen, which aims to minimize energy use and provide a humane yet efficient working environment. In Germany, green sensibility is perhaps at its most evolved and is manifest in a constant flow of innovative and exemplary buildings. We also look at Bothe Richter Teherani's factory for Tobias Grau near Hamburg and Brenner & Partner's Max Planck Institute in Dresden.

In Prague, Eva Jiricna has designed a new greenhouse structure in the grounds of the historic castle that reinterprets archetypal forms and traditional methods of environmental control. In Cape Town, new visitor facilities for Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden by David Lewis form a discreet intervention in a precious landscape. And as part of a series of occasional articles on building technology, Mark Whitby of engineers Whitby & Bird considers recent advances in photovoltaics. All this plus the usual stimulating mixture of Interior Design, View, Delight, House and Design Review. Start the new millennium by obtaining this plus II other equally enlightening issues by completing the enclosed subscription form or from: www.arplus.com