A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

I'll be on vacation for a couple weeks, enjoying some sun, sky and time with family, and therefore taking a break from my daily and weekly web pages. In the meantime check out my 33 favorites and the other quality links on the sidebar. Posts will resume in two weeks.

DSC_1431 , originally uploaded by bavadekar praveen . The Deshpande Center for Social Entrepreneurship in Hubli, India, 2009. If you know the architect of this building, please put it in a comment on this post. There are many more photos of the DCSE Building in bavadekar praveen's Flickr set . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

With the sidebar links growing every week, I've decided to add a category at the top with my current favorites, the web pages (primarily blogs) that I look to daily or almost daily, whatever the case may be. This list will definitely morph over time as my interests change, as pages fade away, or as other pages' tastes diverge from mine. Please don't take it personally if your page isn't there or if it falls off. It's a subjective list there to help those overwhelmed by the loooooong list below it. Why 33? Well, my aim at first was 20, but it was too difficult to limit myself to that number. Just over thirty seemed to work, and I'm a sucker for repetition and palindromes. So here's the list, also added to the top of my sidebar links. :: Arch Daily :: Archinect :: Architect's Newspaper :: ArchitectureMNP :: ArchNewsNow :: [the belly of an architect] :: BLDGBLOG :: Brand Avenue :: BUILD Blog :: City of Sound :: Coudal :: Design Observer :: dezain.net :: Edi...

Walking down Lexington Avenue in the Upper East Side earlier today, I came across Archivia Books , a newish (open since November, 2007) bookstore specializing in architecture, art, design, decorative arts, gardens, interiors. While small in terms of square footage, the shop packs plenty of books, with a very good selection of architecture books along one wall. The majority of architecture books are high-end, with the usual Phaidon and Taschen behemoths alongside various monographs, abundant regional titles (a lot focusing on Kentucky, for some reason), and a fair number of picture books of historical architecture, fitting the store's speciality. A few of the titles that caught my eye (below, l-r) were Contemporary Houses by Antonio Corcuera, Paradise Lost: Persia from Above by Georg Gerster, and New Prefab Architecture by Sergi Costa. My NYC Bookstores list has been updated, with Archivia Books tied for 11th.

Integrated Design in Contemporary Architecture by Kiel Moe, published by  Princeton Architectural Press , 2008. Hardcover, 208 pages. ( Amazon ) Integrated design is one of those terms, like sustainable design, that is susceptible to misuse and becoming vague buzz words that distance core ideas from the term's use. The former term is typically used in service of the latter one, but how that occurs is unknown by many, as it is a relatively new concern in the various professions that contribute to building design. Northeastern University's Kiel Moe helps define exactly what integrated design is, while providing abundant illustrations of projects that exhibit the process. Taking words from the dust jacket, it "provides th...

Seminar II in Olympia, Washington by Mahlum Architects The Evergreen State College is located near Olympia, Washington in a setting that befits its name. The lush green surroundings are a suitable match to the school's curriculum focused on enironmental and social concerns. Five new buildings, called Seminar II and designed by Seattle's Mahlum Architects , are the first to clearly illustrate the College's emphasis, as well as the first new facilities on campus in over thirty years. Featured in Integrated Design in Contemporary Architecture , Seminar II is a great example of how architects, engineers, clients and end-users can effectively work together towards better results. Sited to fit the buildings into their natural landspace, to preser...

_DSC0261 , originally uploaded by graceful.spoon . The Watercube - National Swimming Center in Beijing, China by PTW Architects , 2008. Previously on this blog. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

A Weird and Wonderful Guide to London , edited by Mat Osman, published by Le Cool Publishing, 2008. Hardcover, 252 pages. ( Amazon ) When I travel to a city I always bring a guidebook. In London over the Millennium New Year, for example, I had a pub guide and an architecture guide. Those definitely came in handy for finding bitters and buildings, but of course those were less than sufficient for experiencing the gamut that is London. If Le Cool 's Weird and Wonderful Guides were around back then I definitely would have taken their London guide with me. Geared more to residents that tourists, the book uncovers places seldom seen or heard, picked by locals for locals but nevertheless appropriate for adventurous travelers. The difference between this guide book and others is evident first in the maps, or deficiency in the case of Le Cool. One map is found at the beginning of the book, though it is more table of contents than navigating device, with the neighborhoods and pa...

As I'm typing this post there are exactly 10,000 photos in the archidose Flickr pool . In honor of that milestone of sorts, here's some curves. [Central Los Angeles High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Los Angeles, California by Coop Himmelb(l)au | photograph by !architect4! ] [ Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, Canada by Frank Gehry | photograph by picturenarrative ] [Reichstag, New German Parliament in Berlin, Germany by Foster + Partners | photograph by prats. ] [ Ordrupgaard Museum Extension in Copenhagen, Denmark by Zaha Hadid | photograph by janorama ] To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

At MoMA's bookstore yesterday I came across Giacomo Costa: The Chronicles of Time , an image-drenched book on the Florentine photographer, with a foreward by Norman Foster. His fusion of photography and digital techniques is clearly fantastical, like a not-too-distant Hollywood future. What stood out most in the book and on his web page were cityscapes punctured by linear amorphous megastructures. [ATTO N.3, 2006 | image source ] [ATTO N.4, 2006 | image source ] [ATTO N.10, 2007 | image source ] [PERSISTENZA N.2, 2008 | image source ] The above seems to be various stages in time of such a megastructure and its surrounding fabric, apparently free of any habitation and upkeep. They are reminiscent of the images used to describe Alan Weisman's The World Without Us . Both the city and the alien structure are visible in various stages of deterioration, with buried infrastructure coming to the fore in ATTO N.10 and vegetation more prominent than buildings in PERSISTENZA N.2. Costa l...

Following on the heels of #296 , here's some more Portuguese architecture, photos of the Esplanade in the Garden in Matosinhos, Portugal by Guilherme Machado Vaz , 2005. Photographs are by z.z . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Just found out about the Scandinavian Conditions Magazine , "conceived in order to search for knowledge and predicaments of our continuously evolving society." Its first issue won't come out until May, but some abstracts and bios from that issue are already available online, illustrations of the magazine's focus on the conditions of architecture and urbanism. It appears that the initial distribution will be limited to 1,000 copies and only Scandinavia; hopefully this will expand and/or the online content will make content available to an international audience. Some details from the Conditions Magazine web site: Manifesto In opposition to ignorance and superficiality this magazine is conceived in order to search for knowledge and predicaments of our continuously evolving society. It is organized in a fluctuating network of agents reflecting the present globalized state of a dynamic society, economics, politics and culture which are the motivators of architecture. Th...

Green Roofs in Sustainable Landscape Design by Steven L. Cantor, published by  W. W. Norton , 2008. Hardcover, 320 pages. ( Amazon ) In this large-format book on the increasingly popular practice of green roofs in urban conditions, New York-based landscape architect Steven L. Cantor aims to provide basic information and instill in the reader the vocabulary and technology needed to understand and make decisions about such an undertaking. He splits the book into six chapters, presenting an overview of green roofs, details on plant selection and other technical aspects, green roof precedents in Europe (the book is written for an American audience, but Cantor acknowledges how advanced Europe is with green roof technology and de...

Double Class Villa in New Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China by Babel Architectures Text and images are courtesy Israel's Babel Architectures (Sharon Rotbard with Dan Hasson and Yuval Yasky), for their design of a villa for Ordos 100 in Inner Mongolia. The Double Class Villa's program was divided into two distinct volumes: a big villa for the owner and a small one for the worker. In order to preserve the notion of the villas as distinct, clear objects dominating their "property," and in order to reduce the neighborhood's density, all of the common and space-consuming elements of the program are located below the ground level. The foot print ratio of the built areas above the ground level is 15%. The private spaces of the villa's owner and the villa's worker are located in two distinct cubes juxtaposed side by side. The choice of this form stems from the logic of the master plan that designated the footprints of the villas as generic squ...

True Green Home by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin, published by National Geographic, 2008. Paperback, 144 pages. ( Amazon ) The latest book in National Geographic's True Green series focuses on architecture and the domestic realm. Authored by the director and deputy chair of Clean Up the World and Clean Up Australia , the book promises to be a valuable addition to sustainable literature, especially combined with the reputation of National Geographic. While a decent introduction to the subject, the results unfortunately do not meet up to the potential. Obviously from the book's title, the reader is presented with 100 ideas for making their house or apartment more environmentally responsible. The ideas run from large-scale (siting and orientation) to the small (selecting cleaning and other household products), with many applicable to those renting and who can't make the large-scale changes. A number of books on residential sustainability neglect the fact that most people...

Just found out that the Prairie Avenue Bookshop in Chicago is having a Spring Sale , with 25% savings on lots and lots of books until March 20. Click the image for more information and to browse the store's site. "25% off all titles published in 2007 or earlier! Promotion runs 3/12/2009 - 3/20/2009. Book must have a publication date of 2007 or before. Promotion only applies to items currently in stock. No rain checks. All sales final. Please use the code 'Spring09' in the comments when ordering online. We will email you with an updated receipt reflecting the sale prices!"

In 2004 I posted about the sale of Sears Tower , asking if the tallest building in the United States will keep its name. Now exactly five years later Crain's reports that the tower will be renamed Willis Tower. Say what? Back in 2004 I thought the name recognition would trump any marketing coming from renaming the building, but apparently I was wrong. [ Sears Willis Tower during an air show | photo from Chicago Tribune ] From Crain's : The insurance broker announced Thursday morning that it will move to the Sears Tower and that the building will be renamed Willis Tower. London-based Willis Group Holdings said it will consolidate five local offices into more than 140,000 square feet in the 110-story building at 233 S. Wacker Drive. Almost 500 employees will move into the building, Willis said. ... Willis is the largest new tenant to move into Sears Tower since the 2001 terrorist attacks. In recent years, the building has suffered several big tenant losses, including its larges...

The Graduate Program in Urban Design School of Architecture, Urban Design & Landscape Architecture City College of New York is pleased to announce the sixth annual Lewis Mumford Lecture on Urbanism. Paul Auster: City of Words Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 6pm at The Great Hall of Shepard Hall, CCNY Convent Avenue at 138th Street, New York, NY The lecture is free and open to the public. No reservations are necessary. From the CUNY Newswire : “Paul Auster is the quintessential urban novelist. His novels are about different ways of reading the city and different ways in which urban spaces can be characterized,” said Michael Sorkin , Distinguished Professor and Director of the Graduate Urban Design Program at CCNY, who organizes the lecture series. Professor Sorkin noted that Mr. Auster’s novels are “amazing popular among architects. There is something in his writing that speaks to the way architects formulate space.” About Paul Auster Mr. Auster is the author of 15 novels, five screenp...

Porto, Biblioteca Infantil. Paula Santos , originally uploaded by z.z . Children's Library in Porto, Portugal by Paula Santos , 1998. Be sure to check out z.z's interactive Google Map of Arquitectura no Porto for many more photos of buildings in the area. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism edited by Bryan Bell and Katie Wakeford, published by  Metropolis Books , 2008. Paperback, 288 pages. ( Amazon ) Through the act of building...marginalized people can come back into the community and reassert their role, their position, their political right. - Sergio Palleroni This quote is found in the last of 30 essays on architects and architecture devoted to a broader public not typically considered in the profession and in schools: the poor, the homeless, the disabled, the individuals, families and organizations not affected by architecture and its upper-class private clients and exclusive institutions. By the time the reader confronts these words by Palleroni, one of the founders of the BaSiC Initiative , there is little doubt in his or her min...

Brochstein Pavilion in Houston, Texas by Thomas Phifer & Partners Photographs are by Scott Frances . Thomas Phifer & Partners is the recipient of two of the five 2009 AIA New York Architecture Honor Awards , one for the Millbrook House in upstate New York and one for the Susan and Raymond Brochstein Pavilion at Rice University . The latter has received other awards since opening last Spring, and it's no surprise to see why: A simple building for a simple program is elevated by a finely detailed, generous trellis with lively skylights punctuating the enclosed space. It is a 21st-century glass box, one that doesn't ignore considerations of climate and place. The most striking aspect of the design is its contrast with its Central Quad context, both the natural and human-made. Rice's bountiful trees mark a significant contrast with the white steel and glass of the Pavilion, as does the...