Some of us think architectural monographs are vestiges of days gone by: now potential clients—perhaps the most important readers—along with students and colleagues, can just go to a website. Yet the monograph lives on. Its physical robustness seems to lend credibility to the work—especially if it is a weighty, glossy compendium bolstered by essays from leading historians such as Kenneth Frampton and Barry Bergdoll. Nevertheless, most publishers can’t afford the high costs of paper, printing, fees for photographers, writers, editors, and graphic designers, especially when the print run is not more than a few thousand copies. “Since monographs are expensive, publishers need financial support from the firms,” says Andrea Monfried, the senior commissioning editor of Images Publishing Group. So they often arrange for architectural offices to kick in with photos, writers’ stipends, and/or buy a number of copies, with some firms paying more than the list price per book. Gordon Goff, publisher of Oro Editions, calls the joint process “a collaboration” that can generate “experimental and beautiful books expressing the character of the practice.” With that in mind, RECORD presents a glimpse of selected monographs that arrived during the banner year of 2017.
2017 Architecture Monograph Roundup
Click through the slideshow to read brief reviews of each monograph.
Not Neutral: For Every Place, Its Story, by Rios Clementi Hale Studios. AMMO, 612 pages, $200.
The first question you might ask is “Why?” Why does this 16¼ by 12¼ inch book weigh 16 pounds? (The deep pink cover visually blimps it up a bit.) The architects say they wanted to make a statement about the firm’s “transdisciplinary” work created since its founding in 1985. This collaborative effort (many members of the studio wrote essays) features lively photos, sketches, and charts.
Renzo Piano: The Complete Logbook, 1966-2016, by Renzo Piano. Thames & Hudson, 420 pages, $70.
An impressively comprehensive book, this has room for large photos and a range of drawings (and a foreword by Kenneth Frampton). In case you wonder what buildings Piano completed between his breakthrough Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (finished 1977) with Richard Rogers, and his own Menil Collection in Houston (which opened in 1987), the answer is, not a whole lot. But he then made up for it in spades.
Ten Arquitectos/ Enrique Norten: Lines of Investigation, by Enrique Norten. Princeton Architectural Press, 320 pages, $60.
Enrique Norten’s clean-machine aesthetic is shown by photos of built and unbuilt cultural facilities in Mexico and the U.S. executed in the last decade or so. A conversation between Norten, Thom Mayne, and Liz Diller on design matters is supplemented with an essay by Barry Bergdoll about the influence of Mexico City and New York on Norten’s work.
Allied Works Architecture: Dwelling, by Brad Cloepfil and Joseph Becker. Rizzoli, 224 pages, $55.
Luscious photographs of country and city houses, which Allied Works completed between 2000 and 2012, qualify this as a picture book bar none. Firm founder Brad Cloepfil writes about his interest in craft, materials, and detail, and an essay by museum curator Joseph Becker provides a poetic overview.
Krueck + Sexton: From There to Here, by Krueck + Sexton Architects. Images Publishing, 272 pages, $75.
Large, seductive photographs unsullied by captions focus on selected work from the Chicago firm formed in 1981 by Ronald Krueck and Mark Sexton. An introduction by John Morris Dixon and other essays discuss the various formal strategies that evolved over the years, from use of rectangular geometries to both curved and faceted ones.
David Adjaye-Constructed Narratives, edited by Peter Allison. Lars Müller Publishers, 320 pages, $49.
In clear, unpretentious prose, Adjaye explains his views on topics such as architectural form, materials, and urban context. Selected projects are well illustrated—including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture—enhanced by Adjaye’s own backstories.
David Adjaye: Living Spaces, edited by Peter Allison. Thames & Hudson, 304 pages, $60.
In focusing on the private residence, Adjaye gives prominence to expansive photographs and simplified drawings, with text taking a background role. Nevertheless, his writings still address formal issues (scale and scalelessness, void, manipulation of the section) that are of interest to architects.
Ennead Profile Series 7, by Ennead Architects. Oro Editions, 260 pages, $40.
The box set of four booklets—each one devoted to a separate building designed by Ennead—may not jump off the shelves of the dwindling number of bookstores. But potential clients, colleagues, and students can find ample photos, drawings, and details—along with short, straightforward explanations.
WORKac: We’ll Get There When We Cross That Bridge, by Amale Andraos and Dan Wood. Monacelli Press, 360 pages, $50.
Lively, colorful graphics and an interesting, conversational writing style are combined with glossy photos of unbuilt and built work around the globe. Andraos and Wood take you from their first project—a doghouse—to a sustainable “green house,” and, most recently, a library in Queens.
Emilio Ambasz/ Emerging Nature: Precursor of Architecture and Design, essays by 11 authors. Lars Müller Publishers, 312 pages, $39.
Decades ago, before “living walls” were the rage, Ambasz incorporated vegetation into his architecture. He is still at it, as recent work shows. Also shown are the polymath’s industrial, graphic, and furniture designs, plus installation shots from his acclaimed MoMA exhibitions in the 1970s. Essayists include Kenneth Frampton and Barry Bergdoll.
The Work of MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects: Economy as Ethic, by Robert McCarter. Thames & Hudson, 416 pages, $70.
The rigorously crafted modernist architecture of Brian MacKay-Lyons and Talbot Sweetapple is illustrated by photos of their vernacular wood houses and straightforward public buildings in Nova Scotia—often shown against the spectacular coastal landscape. Essays by Juhani Pallasmaa, Kenneth Frampton, and McCarter add varied insights.
LOT-EK: Objects + Operations, by Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, with Thomas de Monchaux. Monacelli Press, 400 pages, $50.
LOT-EK founders Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano show a commitment to the industrial nonaesthetic with this book-as-manifesto. The bold type, brash color, and black-and-white photos underscore their partnership as “a design practice that believes in being unoriginal, ugly, and cheap.”
Koning Eizenberg Architecture: Urban Hallucinations, Part 1,2,3, text by Frances Anderton, Cana Cuff, and Alissa Walker, Oro Editions, 96 pages, $24.95.
Architects Hank Koning and Julie Eizenberg wanted a monograph that would reflect their design ethos, which embraces affordable housing and community facilities. Three tabloid-type publications packaged in a cardboard box convey the no-frills approach almost too well, even though color photos, drawings, and charts are informative.
The Complete Zaha Hadid, introduction by Aaron Betsky. Thames & Hudson, 320 pages, $40.
Beginning with Hadid’s early unbuilt projects (including the competition-winning scheme that thrust her into the spotlight—the Peak, in Hong Kong, of 1982–83)—this expanded and updated edition handsomely displays architecture, products, and furniture, and provides a detailed project list. The introduction brings in references to Walter Benjamin and Gilles Deleuze, for theoretical garnishing.
Zaha Hadid Architects: Redefining Architecture & Design, by Zaha Hadid Architects. Images Publishing, 284 pages, $75.
This collection of eye-popping work covers major buildings executed between 2010 and 2016—the year Hadid died—as well as a number of works in progress. The monograph shows the firm’s commitment to keeping the formidable founder’s flame alive with principal Patrik Schumacher’s manifesto defending formal architecture, and short profiles of the numerous directors and associates.
Hariri & Hariri Architecture: Leading Architects, introduction by Andrea Simich. Images Publishing, 256 pages, $65.
The lavish compendium of recent built and unbuilt houses and office towers by the sisters Gisue and Mojgan Hariri is supported by plans, sections, and details. The text is informative, and efficient; the introduction by the architecture chair at Cornell University discusses both the work’s rigor and its experiential qualities.
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