Holiday Roundup of Architecture Books 2019
Click through the slideshow to read brief reviews of each monograph.
Collective Intuition, by Snøhetta. Phaidon, 256 pages, $80.
For its 30th anniversary, the Oslo- and New York–based firm members reflect upon their oeuvre rather than merely showcasing it. Select projects are grouped into three sections that highlight Snøhetta’s ethos: the integration of disciplines, the production of new types of political space, and the promotion of collective ownership in the built environment. There is overlap with the firm’s two previous books—from 2009 and 2015—such as the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet and the Biblioteca Alexandrina, though, here, the essays that accompany each project describe the works in terms of the human encounters they foster.
Site: Marmol Radziner in the Landscape, by Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner; foreword by Mona Simpson. Princeton Architectural Press, 312 pages, $65.
With this lush coffee-table book, the architects exhibit original built work rather than their restorations of residences by midcentury architects such as Richard Neutra and John Lautner. Their rectilinear houses, many prefab, do not stray far from the modernist vein. Materials, including stone, concrete, wood, and metal, reflect the hues and textures of each building’s natural site—from vast desert land to dense forest. Large photographs highlight the connection between the works and their striking landscapes.
Justice Is Beauty: MASS Design Group, by Michael Murphy and Alan Ricks; foreword by Chelsea Clinton. Monacelli Press, 384 pages, $60.
The nonprofit design group celebrates 10 years with this volume, comprising case studies that include absorbing photos of recently completed facilities, mostly in developing countries. Drawings, conversations with the architects and designers, and some heartfelt words from the former First Daughter round out this collection, which is focused on architecture’s ability to address inequality. Among the projects featured are the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, and Butaro District Hospital in Rwanda.
Buildings and Almost Buildings, by Eric Bunge and Mimi Hoang. Actar, 400 pages, $40.
From the founders of New York–based nArchitects, this book explores what it means for architecture to be complete—or not. By the same token, this book is not quite a monograph, although it does include myriad images of the firm’s works, such as the 2016 Brooklyn design center A/D/O. For those unfamiliar with nArchitects, the scattered presentation of its portfolio—punctuated by academic essays that communicate the duo’s wider philosophical quest to understand and embrace ambiguity in their own design process—might make it difficult to grasp the essence of each project.
Sean Godsell: Houses, by Sean Godsell; foreword by Philip Goad. Thames & Hudson, 252 pages, $85.
Indulge in the gorgeous simplicity of Sean Godsell’s magnificently crafted houses—all located in his native Australia—in this new volume, which includes cogent essays by critic Philip Goad and by the architect himself. Through his work, Godsell merges “Australian toughness” with “Japanese reverence for the imperfect.” The book’s alluring photography calls attention to his masterful blending of both raw and natural materials. Godsell’s buildings—characterized by sweeping verandas, linear fluidity, and skins of thin vertical slats that promote natural ventilation and connections to the outdoors—sit humbly in their landscapes, and evoke the work of Glenn Murcutt.
The Theatre of Work, by Clive Wilkinson. Frame, 280 pages, $43.
South African architect Clive Wilkinson merges a selection of his work—office interiors for corporate creative businesses, including Disney and Google—with a thorough examination of the evolution of the workplace. Packed with quotes from cultural thinkers like Walter Benjamin and Malcolm Gladwell as well as urbanists, filmmakers, and advertising executives, Wilkinson traces a sociological history that begins with the rise of humanism. Such referential abundance makes his story a bit unwieldy at times, but this well-researched book, nevertheless, gives strong credence to his philosophy and projects, presented in 14 case studies.
Projects and Their Consequences, by Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto. Princeton Architectural Press, 320 pages, $60.
The book, by Umemoto and Reiser, a protégé of John Hejduk and Aldo Rossi, contains over three decades’ worth of projects (many unbuilt, such as the 1998 East River Waterfront Plan), chronicled in assiduously footnoted text. Interspersed are interviews, film stills, and essays, as well as the duo’s compelling black-and-white collages and sculptural models, which color and inform the descriptions. Designed to be stumbled upon rather than read through, the volume beautifully illustrates the firm’s approach to architecture as a cultural form rather than as a product of “laws, codes, performance criteria, and regimes of compliance.”
Fullness, by Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake. Monacelli Press, 608 pages, $60.
The authors’ Philadelphia- based firm, KieranTimberlake, is known for embracing research and technology to create understated buildings that also reveal a commitment to craft. This smart box set consists of two volumes: All In is a hardbound formal chronological presentation of 17 of the firm’s diverse works, spanning a decade. The book allows readers to immerse themselves in each project with sumptuous photography and pithy text. The softbound In All plays back-of-house to its companion, illuminating the process behind each building’s design and construction, with context, drawings, diagrams, and fabrication photos. Produced with great restraint, the compilation underscores the firm’s commitment to architecture as the integration of science and art.
Plagued by Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright, by Paul Hendrickson. Knopf, 600 pages, $35.
Even in the crowded FLW market, prodigious research by a respected journalist and biographer, emanating from a venerable publisher, promises to be a worthwhile read. It is—but mainly for architects who lament not being famous. They can be relieved they are not Frank Lloyd Wright. They won’t have their private lives subjected to tedious scrutiny. Reading frothy speculation about Wright’s possible homoerotic relationships or obsessive detail about the murder of his lover convince us we are in the age of TMI. And even if architects are the subjects, it’s only about them, not their work.
Lina Bo Bardi, Drawings, by Zeuler R. M. de A. Lima. Princeton University Press, 140 pages, $45.
Throughout her lifetime, Italian-born, Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi produced thousands of drawings, from whimsical creations in colorful media to formal design presentations in pencil. Written and compiled by Lima, an architect, artist, and professor, this beautifully illustrated anthology is said to be the first publication to offer a glimpse of these varied works, and it does so with thoughtful insight into the woman who created them.
Paul Rudolph: Inspiration & Process in Architecture, edited by Eugenia Bell; introduction by John Morris Dixon. Princeton Architectural Press, 144 pages, $25.
“You have to understand that I’m not too much interested in what other people are doing,” said Paul Rudolph in 1986. The sentiment succinctly sums up the self-confidence revealed by the heroic modern architect’s drawings and sketches, captured here in a compact Moleskine notebook. Although his built work could be controversial, the impressive designs, such as the unrealized Lower Manhattan Expressway, along with other evocative proposals, result in a handsome compendium of the architect’s contributions.
A Chronology of Architecture: A Cultural Timeline from Stone Circles to Skyscrapers, by John Zukowsky. Thames & Hudson, 272 pages, $30.
This concise volume presents an entertaining PechaKucha that spans major architectural movements and structures within the context of history, noting influential social, political, and technological events along the way. Opening with a brief introduction that explains his premise, author and architectural historian John Zukowsky organizes the book into five chapters that travel through time—from highlights of ancient and medieval eras to works built between the early days of the cold war and the present—stuffing it with enough interesting facts and trivia to appeal to readers outside the profession.
Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Houses, by Dominic Bradbury. Phaidon, 500 pages, $150.
During the 1950s and ’60s, a single-family residence was a plum commission for architects experimenting with new materials and technologies for changing lifestyles. This book showcases the evolution of this typology through that period, starting with the linear, pavilion-like edifices that came to epitomize the midcentury style, and encompassing daring cantilevering structures and prefab assemblies. Included are the greatest hits, from Farnsworth to Chemosphere, but also lesser-known examples like the quirky Mushroom House in Israel by Haim Heifetz. With 400 houses across the globe built between 1945 and 1974, this encyclopedic book is a great reference, but includes only a very brief synopsis of each structure, with a key to its current condition and use.
Breaking Ground: Architecture by Women, by Jane Hall. Phaidon, 224 pages, $50.
This book seeks to present an “architectural history of buildings through a female lens.” Organized alphabetically, the book highlights the contributions of an assemblage of women designers that spans generations, from Julia Morgan to Fernanda Canales, and includes the famous and lesser known, from Zaha Hadid to Nathalie Rozencwajg. Each architect is represented by a single photo of one or a few of her projects as well as a caption that touches on her biography and design philosophy. A quick survey of the wide-ranging influence of women in the field, the book is a good jumping-off point that prompts deeper exploration.
NYC Walks: Guide to New Architecture, by John Hill; Photography by Pavel Bendov. Prestel Publishing, 223 pages, $20.
“New” is the operative word in this concise, easily transportable Baedeker by New York–based architecture journalist John Hill. Unlike the authors of the heftier AIA Guide to New York, Hill narrows his field to notable works built over the past 25 years throughout the five boroughs, arranged in 10 walkable or commutable routes. This strategy makes it a great reference for locals as well as for visitors curious about the city’s changing neighborhoods. Supported by brief but solid background notes, and illustrated with photos by Pavel Bendov and easy-to-follow maps, the routes range from a car-free jaunt in Lower Manhattan to a ferry tour of buildings flanking the East River.
Single-Handedly: Contemporary Architects Draw by Hand, by Nalina Moses; foreword by Tom Kundig. Princeton Architectural Press, 256 pages, $50.
Architect Moses stepped back from her CAD existence to reconsider the art of drawing by hand—for pleasure and professionally. This prompted her to solicit similar works from colleagues worldwide via an open call, resulting in this beautifully curated collection from the contributions of 43 international architects. A celebration of thought, observation, and skill, Single-Handedly is a compelling study of how the physical act of putting pen or pencil to paper generates and benefits the creative process.
Herman Miller: A Way of Living, edited by Amy Auscherman, Sam Grawe, and Leon Ransmeier. Phaidon, 614 pages, $90.
Arranged chronologically by milestones (molded plywood furniture, 1946; The Herman Miller Collection catalogue, 1948, etc.), this scrapbook captures the company’s 100-year history of work culture and design. Its over 2,000 graphic images include advertisements and historic museum exhibitions. The book’s editors worked for the company, so it’s a bit promotional in places, but that doesn’t diminish the impact of its picture-heavy pages. A must for the furniture buff.
RECORD’s editors each chose books from a wide range of monographs, manifestos, and histories. While some publications are more suited to practicing professionals and students, and others to clients and interested laypeople, these commentaries are meant to guide readers in their choices. Click through the slideshow above to read about each selection.
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