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Reviews

Architectural Record editors and critics review the latest books, films, and exhibitions about architecture and design.

ARTICLES

The Co-Editor of ‘Inscriptions’ Offers a Spirited Counter to RECORD's Review

Andrew Holder

February 1, 2023

2 Comments

Andrew Holder's rebuttal follows a review of his book ‘Inscriptions: Architecture Before Speech’ published in October 2022.

A New Volume Provides Food for Thought on Metabolist Architecture in Japan

Review: Digesting Metabolism: Artificial Land in Japan 1954–2202 by Casey Mack

Naomi Pollock, FAIA

January 30, 2023

No Comments

As opposed to Modernism’s swapping of old for new, Metabolism promoted “replacement as an ongoing process.”

Back in Print, Second Edition of 'African Modernism' Surveys Architecture Across the Continent

Review: 'African Modernism. The Architecture of Independence: Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Zambia,' edited by Manuel Herz with Ingrid Schröder, Hans Focketyn, and Julia Jamrozik

David Adjaye

January 26, 2023

No Comments

Reread David Adjaye’s thoughtful review of the compendium, originally published in Architectural Record in October 2015.

G.B. Piranesi, Influencer Across Centuries

Review: "Piranesi and the Modern Age" by Victor Plahte Tschudi

Izzy Kornblatt

January 24, 2023

No Comments

A new book shows how Piranesi helped to define modernity—and how modernity in turn defined Piranesi.

A Round-Up of New Design Monographs

RECORD Editors

December 15, 2022

No Comments

A handful of new books document practices across the globe, covering a range of cultural and civic projects and urgent ecological and societal issues.

Jorge Almazán and Studiolab's New Book Spotlights Spontaneous Urban Design in Tokyo

Review: 'Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City' By Jorge Almazán + Studiolab

Daniel Brook

November 18, 2022

No Comments

The Spanish-born architect and educator offers an insightful study of his adopted home, countering the claim of Tokyo’s "only-in-Japan" urban origin myth.

Moshe Safdie’s Life as an Architect

Review: 'If Walls Could Speak' by Moshe Safdie

Christopher Hawthorne

November 17, 2022

No Comments

In his new memoir, Safdie fills the pages with stories about his career and personal life, from his childhood in Israel to his time at Harvard GSD.

Excerpts from the Life and Work of One of the Nation's Most Talented, if Overlooked, Architectural Photographers

'G.E. Kidder Smith Builds: The Travel of Architectural Photography' By Angelo Maggi; Foreword by Michelangelo Sabatino

October 20, 2022

No Comments

Twenty-five years after his death, the first book dedicated to the work of architectural photographer G.E. Kidder Smith explores his impact on architectural appreciation in the U.S.

In 'Inscriptions,' a Flawed Theory of the Contemporary

Review: 'Inscriptions: Architecture Before Speech,' edited by K. Michael Hays and Andrew Holder

Izzy Kornblatt

October 5, 2022

No Comments

A new volume edited by K. Michael Hays and Andrew Holder argues that contemporary architecture is unified by the notion of "inscription."

Radical Pedagogies Explores Teaching Lessons from the Past

Review: 'Radical Pedagogies,' By Beatriz Colomina, Ignacio G. Galán, Evangelos Kotsioris, and Anna-Maria Meister

Eric Höweler, FAIA

September 6, 2022

No Comments

A dossier of 1960s and ’70s pedagogical experiments from around the world, a new book collects accounts of teaching techniques and organizational models that resonate today.

IMAGE GALLERIES

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Three Books on Frank Lloyd Wright

In celebration of the architect's 150th birthday, RECORD reviews three new books on Frank Lloyd Wright's life and work:

The Guggenheim: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Iconoclastic Masterpiece, by Francesco Dal Co
An Organic Architecture: The Architecture of Democracy, by Frank Lloyd Wright, with a new introduction by Andrew Saint
Travels with Frank Lloyd Wright: The First Global Architect, by Gwyn Lloyd Jones

Scroll through the slideshow below to read a mini-review of each.