A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Donald Judd Spaces: Judd Foundation New York and Texas Judd Foundation (Editor) Prestel , March 2020 Hardcover | 9 x 12 inches | 416 pages | 350 illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-3791359540 | $75.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Filled with newly commissioned and previously unpublished archival photographs alongside five essays by the artist, this book provides an opportunity to explore Judd’s personal spaces, which are a crucial part of this revered artist’s oeuvre. From a 19th-century cast-iron building in Manhattan to an extensive ranch in the mountains of western Texas, this book details the interiors, exteriors, and lands surrounding the buildings that comprise Judd’s extant living and working spaces. Readers will discover how Judd developed the concept of permanent installation at Spring Street in NYC, with artworks, furniture, and decorative objects striking a balance between the building’s historic qualities and his own architectural innovations. His buildings in Marfa, ...

Lina Bo Bardi: Habitat José Esparza Chong Cuy, Julieta González, Adriano Pedrosa, Tomás Toledo (Editors) MASP/MCA Chicago/Fundación Jumex/ DelMonico Books / Prestel , June 2020 Paperback | 8 x 11 inches | 352 pages | 398 illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-3791359649 | $60.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Lina Bo Bardi is regarded as one of the most important architects in Brazil’s history. Beginning her career as a Modernist architect in Rome, Bo Bardi and her husband emigrated to Brazil following the end of WWII. Bo Bardi quickly resumed her practice in her adopted homeland with architecture that was both modern and firmly rooted in the culture of Brazil. In 1951 she designed “Casa de Vidro” (“Glass House”), her first built work, where she and her husband would live for the rest of their lives. She also designed the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (São Paulo Art Museum), a landmark of Latin American modernist architecture which opened in 1968. It was for this museum she created the i...

Tall Wood Buildings: Design, Construction and Performance Michael Green, Jim Taggart Birkhäuser , March 2020 (Second Edition) Hardcover | 8-1/2 x 11 inches | 200 pages | 320 illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-3035618853 | $68.99 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Tall wood buildings have been at the foreground of innovative building practice in urban contexts for a number of years. From London to Stockholm, from Vancouver to Melbourne timber buildings of up to 20 storeys have been built, are under construction or being considered. This dynamic trend was enabled by developments in the material itself, prefabrication and more flexibility in fire regulations. The low CO2 footprint of wood - often regionally sourced - is another strong argument in its favour. This publication explains the typical construction types such as panel systems, frame and hybrid systems. An international selection of 13 case studies is documented in detail with many specially prepared construction drawings, demo...

Where Today Meets Tomorrow: Eero Saarinen and the General Motors Technical Center Susan Skarsgard Princeton Architectural Press , October 2019 Hardcover | 9-1/4 x 12 inches | 256 pages | English | ISBN: 978-1616897697 | $60.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Long before Microsoft or Apple occupied their legendary corporate campuses, there was the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. Completed in 1956 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2014, this icon of midcentury design was celebrated modern architect Eero Saarinen's (1910-1961) first major commission completed independent of his father, Eliel Saarinen, and its story offers a unique perspective on his work. Longtime GM designer Susan Skarsgard weaves a detailed insider's account of the early days of General Motors, the initiation of the technical center project under Eliel Saarinen, its design and construction under Eero Saarinen, and the enthusiastic acclaim the campus received upon its opening....

Ellsworth Kelly: Austin Texts by Carter E. Foster and Simone J. Wicha Radius Books /Blanton Museum of Art, January 2020 Hardcover | 10 x 14 inches | 180 pages | 113 illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-1942185567 | $65.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Envisioned by Ellsworth Kelly as a site for joy and contemplation, Austin is a cornerstone of the Blanton Museum of Art’s permanent collection and a new icon for the city in which it stands. This comprehensive book provides a thorough look at the project, from its inception to its current position as one of the artist’s most important and enduring works. Though mostly abstract, Kelly’s work is deeply rooted in his love of nature and his close observation of the world around him, and Austin’s design elements are no exception.  An essay by Carter E. Foster, Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Blanton Museum of Art, sheds light on how Austin fits with Kelly’s wider practice. REFERRAL LINKS : ...

A Chronology of Architecture:  A Cultural Timeline from Stone Circles to Skyscrapers John Zukowsky Thames & Hudson , January 2020 Hardcover | 9 x 10-1/2 inches | 272 pages | 300+ illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-0500343562 | $29.95 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius defined architecture’s characteristics to include firmitas, utilitas, and venustas—essentially, structural integrity, usefulness, and beauty. Amazingly, all three Vitruvian characteristics can be found one way or another in most buildings and constructions from antiquity through the present. A Chronology of Architecture is a groundbreaking survey that examines—together—engineering and architectural accomplishments. Sites are arranged within a sociocultural timeline that examines them in terms of historic events and trends, social change, economic developments, and technological innovations—factors that all helped shape architecture and engineering design solutions over millenni...