A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

This year's roundup of books to give to discerning architects for the holidays is presented in pairs. While at least one book in each pair is new, the other one isn't necessarily so — new, old, or not-so-old, it is related to the first in some manner, as explained in my descriptions. A few of these books will receive longer reviews next month. In the meantime, with this lengthy post and Thanksgiving coming up later this week, I'll be taking next week off, resuming regular posts the first week of December. HEADY STUFF FOR BRAINY ARCHITECTS AND ARCHITECTURE HISTORIANS: Architecture after God: Babel Resurgent  by Kyle Dugdale, published by Birkhäuser, February 2023 ( Amazon  /  Bookshop ) Inhabited Machines: Genealogy of an Architectural Concept  by Moritz Gleich, published by Birkhäuser, February 2023 ( Amazon  /  Bookshop ) Exploring Architecture  is a new series of books from Birkhäuser that are focused "on thematic subjects [in architectural history a...

A review of a new book released this week: The Japanese House Since 1945  by Naomi Pollock, published by Thames & Hudson, November 2023 ( Amazon  /  Bookshop ) What makes modern and contemporary Japanese houses so appealing? Much of it stems from the novelty of residential designs, which can be traced to a litany of factors, including a cultural acceptance of demolition and renewal that creates a constant stream of new architecture; a litany of legal requirements pushing architects — both young and established — to be formally creative; and let's not leave out the clients willing to take risks. Most of the houses that spark jealousy in architects outside of Japan are found in Tokyo and other urban areas where money, zoning, and architects converge to fuel unexpected creations. One factor, the country's exorbitant inheritance tax, leads many families to cut up their properties into smaller parcels to pay for the tax; the resulting, awkward pieces of land then require a...

The recent publication of two books prompted me to ponder the future of cities and do a write-up of them together: Implementing Urban Design: Green, Civic, and Community Strategies  by Jonathan Barnett, published by  Routledge , June 2023 ( Amazon  /  Bookshop ) Renewing the Dream: The Mobility Revolution and the Future of Los Angeles  edited by James Sanders, published by  Rizzoli Electa , September 2023 ( Amazon  /  Bookshop ) Implementing Urban Design is the latest of many books about urban design and planning by Jonathan Barnett, whose career and CV span around fifty years. Over that time he has served as an architect, planner, educator, and an advisor to cities in and beyond the US, including Charleston, South Carolina, Omaha, and New York City, where he was Director of Urban Design in the Department of City Planning. When I received  Implementing Urban Design , one of the first things I did was scour my bookshelves for other books by B...