A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Architecture Concepts: Red Is Not a Color by Bernard Tschumi, published by  Rizzoli , 2012. Hardcover, 776 pages. ( Amazon ) On page 741 of this hefty 7-pound tome spanning five decades of Bernard Tschumi 's architecture and writing comes a new essay, "Architecture Concepts." In it the architect writes, "Concepts are what allow us to apprehend reality," and, "Inventing a new concept always starts by determining the right architectural question." Those familiar with Tschumi's theoretical work will not be surprised by his starting point; a 1990 book with some of his writings is even called Questions of Space (Architectural Association). But readers who have journeyed through the first 740 pages of the book will have grasped it as well, given that Tschumi begins each project's presentation with one or ...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. a+t 39-40: Reclaim Remediate Reuse Recycle edited by Aurora Fernandez Per and Javier Mozas, published by  a+t , 2012. Paperback, 312 pages. ( Amazon ) One of the most distinctive things about a+t magazine is the way it presents recent architecture in themed series. Most recent was the Strategy series ; before it Hybrids , Civilities , and so forth. These topics (focusing on landscapes, large buildings, and public buildings, respectively) respond to trends in the world of architecture while also taking critical positions toward them. Choosing to look at buildings that hybridize housing, offices, recreation, and other uses, for example, is a way to present projects like Steven Holl's Sliced Porosity Block , but the act also takes a position on how the city should evolve—taking into account a mix of uses, demographics, and other features th...

Here are a few photos of "Four cubes to contemplate our environment" (2011) at Château la Coste in Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, France, by Tadao Ando. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos  archidose

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Beyond Zuccotti Park: Freedom of Assembly and the Occupation of Public Space edited by Ron Shiffman, Rick Bell, Lance Jay Brown and Lynne Elizabeth, with Anastassia Fisyak and Anusha Venkataraman, published by New Village Press, 2012. Paperback, 432 pages. ( Amazon ) You can't evict an idea whose time has come. The above words were written when New York City police were evicting Liberty Square (aka Zuccotti Park) and the Occupy Wall Street encampment in November 2011. The statement attempts to maintain the momentum that OWS had gained since taking over Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan on September 17 of the same year. But it also implies that the idea is more important than the physical occupation of (semi-)public space, and therefore the latter is not as important or not integral to the movement. Given that OWS is nowhere to be found in...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Wiel Arets: Autobiographical References edited by Robert McCarter, published by  Birkhäuser , 2012. Paperback, 536 pages. ( Amazon ) In Spring 2010 Dutch architect Wiel Arets served as Ruth & Norman Moore Visiting Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, directing the " A Wonderful World " studio with Professor Robert McCarter . His visits to the Sam Fox School for the studio also involved lectures, in-studio debates, and interviews with McCarter that were recorded for this wonderful book on Arets and his architecture. As the title makes clear, the book is as much an autobiography as a monograph. Like Stills: Wiel Arets, A Timeline of Ideas, Articles and Interviews 1982-2010 , Autobiographical References is more text than image, and the majority of the words are transcripts of interviews with McCarter. These ar...

Podčetrtek Traffic Circle in Podčetrtek, Slovenia, by ENOTA, 2012 Podčetrtek is a small town in eastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia. Although only a few thousand people call Podčetrtek home, the town features a surprising amount of striking contemporary architecture, thanks to Ljubljana's ENOTA . Previously the office of Dean Lah and Milan Tomac designed and realized the Termalija (2004), Hotel Sotelia (2006), and Orchidelia (2009), all run by Terme Olimia , a thermal spa that bills itself as "a popular destination for those who want more than just to experience the beneficial effects of thermal water." Terme Olimia touts the place's history and the benefits of the hot springs for treating certain diseases and conditions, such as rheumatic diseases and arterial disorders. Terme Olimia is "witnessing a very successful development of health tourism," and with that success comes increased traffic, something that spurred the spa to com...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. New York Neon by Thomas E. Rinaldi, published by  W. W. Norton , 2012. Paperback, 192 pages. ( Amazon ) New York Nights by James T. and Karla L. Murray, published by  Gingko Press , 2012. Hardcover, 276 pages. ( Amazon ) November saw the release of two books documenting New York City in the hours between sunset and sunrise, when the glow of artificial lighting adds color to the city's sidewalks. While each book sets its sight on old establishments (you won't find Times Square in these titles), and the names New York Neon and New York Nights even confuse matters, the differences between the two are nevertheless great, as will be seen. Nevertheless, beyond the obvious overlap in subject matter and format (photography books), the books share an appreciation of New York City's ever-changing streetscapes as evidenced in early att...

Here are a few photos I took of the Greenwich Academy - Upper School in Greenwich, Connecticut, designed by SOM (2002). The glass entrance structure features a light installation by James Turrell . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos  archidose

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Post-Ductility: Metals in Architecture and Engineering edited by Michael Bell and Craig Buckley, published by  Princeton Architectural Press , 2012. Hardcover, 272 pages. ( Amazon ) One of Columbia University GSAPP's " flagship projects " is the Materials Project , which consists of conferences and subsequent publications on concrete, glass, metals, and plastics, with light supposedly forthcoming. When I reviewed Engineering Transparency , the book on the glass conference, I noted that "the symposium and book are equal parts architecture and engineering, theory and practice, eye candy and data." The same can be said for Post-Ductility , keeping with conference chair Michael Bell's organization of the conferences into a symbiotic mix of the theoretical and the technical. (This extends to the pl...

Here are a few photos I took of the Tallwoods Road House in Armonk, New York, designed by Arthur Witthoefft in 1957 and restored by Todd Goddard and Andrew Mandolene in 2007 . More information can be found at Dwell and DOCOMOMO US/NY Tri-State . Update: The above struck-out text refers to a nearby house also designed by Arthur Witthoefft, not this one. Thanks to Julie for the correction. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos  archidose

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. BIM in Small-Scale Sustainable Design by François Lévy, published by  Wiley , 2011. Hardcover, 312 pages. ( Amazon ) At its core BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a pretty simple idea: A 3-dimensional virtual model is embodied with data that can be used to generate drawings, spreadsheets, and other relevant output. But the complexities are many, partially due to the fact that the shift from CAD to BIM is a much greater one than the shift from hand drafting to CAD. The earlier transition from paper to digital still involved the drawing of plans, sections, elevations, and so forth via lines, but BIM dispenses with drawing (for the most part, at least) in favor of the modeling of systems (walls, windows, doors, roofs, etc.). On top of that fact is learning BIM software, determining how to integrate BIM into an office's and project...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis: Intensities by Paul Lewis, Mark Tsurumaki and David J. Lewis, published by  Princeton Architectural Press , 2013. Paperback, 192 pages. ( Amazon ) LTL Architects is very particular about the names of their monographs. Their first—the 21st in the Pamphlet Architecture series—is called Situation Normal... ; it is the beginning of the acronym SNAFU (the rest is All F@*!ed Up), which describes a "normal" state where things are a little bit off (their project for a putting green/smoker's lounge on the window-washing armature of the Seagram Building is a good case in point). Ten years later they followed up with Opportunistic Architecture , what they describe as "a design philosophy that transforms the typically restrictive conditions of architectural practice—small budgets, awkward spaces, strict zoning...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Architecture: The People, Places, and Ideas Driving Contemporary Design , Design Bureau Special Edition ALARM Press, 2012 Paperback, 448 pages It was one year ago that I got my first look at Design Bureau , a magazine out of Chicago that presents various facets of design: architecture, interior design, product design, and some fashion. Back then I reviewed the "Renegade Architecture" issue, which has a good helping of architecture alongside the other realms of design. Architecture again rises to the fore in DB's first Special Edition on "the people, places, and ideas driving contemporary design." The sizable collection of 100 projects follows the magazine's recipe, for good and bad. What I appreciate most about DB is the editors' knack for finding really good design that is not limited to what is brand new...

Here are some photos of the Glass Farm (2013) in Schijndel, Netherlands, by MVRDV , photographed by Klaas Vermaas . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos  archidose

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Everything All at Once: The Software, Videos, and Architecture of MOS by Michael Meredith and Hilary Sample, published by  Princeton Architectural Press , 2013. Paperback, 176 pages. ( Amazon ) A visit to the website of New York City's MOS reveals six projects tagged Software , six as Video , six as Buildings , six as Installations , and four as Pavilions . These categories start to get at the process and output of the duo of Michael Meredith and Hilary Sample; they also hint at why their first monograph is called Everything All at Once . The title's double entendre describes the book's presentation, which color codes the software, videos, and architecture of MOS but overlaps and merges them together. More importantly it refers to their working process, in which the three parts of the subtitle are treated to an equal extent, suc...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Japan Architectural Guide by Botond Bognar, published by  DOM Publishers , 2013. Paperback, 552 pages. ( Amazon ) Taiwan Architectural Guide by Ulf Meyer, published by  DOM Publishers , 2012. Paperback, 268 pages. ( Amazon ) In a recent review of a "construction and design manual" on townhouses, I mentioned that DOM Publishers has been releasing well made architectural guides since the Berlin-based imprint started business in 2005. Their geographical subjects are not always obvious, such as their two-volume guide to Pyongyang, North Korea. These two recent guides to Japan and Taiwan extend the publisher's interest in Asia. Japan is an obvious choice, given the high quality and popularity of architects in the country and the large number of cultural institutions that have built stunning buildings well outside of Tokyo. Tai...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Modern Views Assouline , 2010 Hardcover, 200 pages For the month of February I'm hosting a debate at Glass House Conversations on traditional versus modern architecture. My participation prompted me to flip through my copy of the companion book to Modern Views , a 2010 project that benefited Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House and Philip Johnson's Glass House , both operated and maintained by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  For Modern Views, "One hundred contemporary artists, architects, and designers created and donated works of art and written statements, capturing their inspiration about these iconic buildings and the architects who created them." Beyond the National Trust connection, the two buildings are obviously linked by their form (rectangular boxes), material (glass), and timing (1949 for...

Not too long ago I was giving an architectural walking tour in the Madison Square Park area when somebody asked me "what's going on with the Commodore Criterion building?" If you've been by the park you've probably seen the building at the intersection of Fifth Avenue, 25th Street, and Broadway with its name fixed atop the tall stone parapet. I had no answer to the question, except that the Christmas display over the front door had not come down in years, meaning the building was most likely vacant. What I did not know at the time was that Spanish tile/kitchen/bath company Porcelanosa bought the building last summer . Since my tour I've also learned that Porcelanosa hired Foster + Partners to transform the six-story building into their US/NYC flagship showroom. [All images courtesy of Foster + Partners and Porcelanosa] The building at 202 Fifth Avenue, which dates back to 1918, has already been gutted, ready for the insertion of a public showroom on the ...