A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

February was Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. Below is a recap of the " 28 in 28 " series, which featured a different book every day of the month. Key Buildings from Prehistory to the Present: Plans, Sections and Elevations by Andrew Ballantyne A Guide to Archigram 1961-74 by Dennis Crompton Evidence: The Work of Robert A. M. Stern Architects by Robert A.M. Stern Le Corbusier Redrawn: the Houses by Steven Park Sourcebook of Scandinavian Furniture: Designs for the Twenty-First Century by Judith Gura West Coast Modern by Zahid Sardar with photographs by Matthew Millman Qualities of Duration: The Architecture of Phillip Smith and Douglas Thompson by Alastair Gordon Construction and Design Manual: Townhouses by Hans Stimmann Dutch Architecture in 250 Highlights edited by Netherlands Architecture Institute From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes edited by Peggy Tully Understanding Architecture by Juhani Pallasmaa and Robert McCarter ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Detail in Contemporary Concrete Architecture by David Phillips and Megumi Yamashita, published by  Laurence King Publishing , 2012. Hardcover, 224 pages. ( Amazon ) Previously I've reviewed a couple of Laurence King's Detail in Contemporary ... series, both by Virginia McLeod: ... Residential Architecture and ... Glass Architecture . Those books varied from each other in terms of what they emphasized, but also in how they were presented; the former grouped details of the 100 houses into chapters (walls, floors, roofs, etc.), while the latter presented each project with its details, one after the other. I can see the value in both approaches, but just like a set of working drawings, as long as cross-referencing is considered the titles will work; they will have value in educating architects and students about details, and allowing t...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Best Highrises 2012/13: The International Highrise Award 2012 edited by Michaela Busenkell and Peter Cachola Schmal, published by Edition Detail, 2012. Paperback, 128 pages. How should a tall building be judged? Is it a matter of height, how much closer it gets us to scraping they sky? Or is it based on the form of a building in terms of aesthetics and performance? If the International Highrise Award 2012 —administered by Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) and DekaBank, both of Frankfurt—is any indication the second takes precedence over the first, but sustainability, public amenities, and usability are paramount. The winning tower at 1 Bligh Street in Sydney, Australia, is shorter than surrounding buildings, but one that stands out for its elliptical form and inviting public spaces on the tall ground floor. Inside is a stunning 30-story atrium...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Cycle Space: Architectural and Urban Design in the Age of the Bicycle by Steven Fleming, published by  nai010 Publishers , 2012. Paperback, 176 pages. ( Amazon ) On page 20 of Cycle Space Steven Fleming admits, "By reading this book, you're indulging my bike-centric worldview that says walking is tiresome and boring." It's funny to think that a book promoting bikes in cities would find an issue with walking, rather than setting its sights squarely on the automobile (which it does at times), but this rather humorous comment starts to get at the gist of Fleming's book: The qualities that make biking a desirable thing need to be recognized in order to be considered spatially in an appropriate manner. Fleming discusses the usual reasons to opt for a bike over a car, or even walking—cutting carbon emissions, getting in sha...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Understanding Architecture by Juhani Pallasmaa and Robert McCarter, published by  Phaidon , 2012. Hardcover, 448 pages. ( Amazon ) Readers of this website probably know I'm a big fan of Juhani Pallasmaa 's books. They theorize architecture primarily in terms of how buildings shape embodied experiences. While his writings can be lumped into a phenomenological approach, they defy easy categorization in terms of style and other means. He is for architecture that creates meaning through the prioritization of human experience; he is not for modern architecture, or traditional architecture, or this or that strand in between. That variety can be found in the selection of 72 buildings that make up this architectural primer he wrote with Robert McCarter, an architect, professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and a capable a...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes edited by Peggy Tully, published by  Princeton Architectural Press , 2012. Hardcover, 160 pages. ( Amazon ) In 2008 the Syracuse University School of Architecture held the From the Ground Up design competition, asking participants to "provide a new model for formerly vital, urban residential neighborhoods throughout the United States through the creation of sustainable, affordable housing." Seven finalists were chosen from the more than 50 entries, and three of them were built—the R-House designed by ARO and Della Valle Bernheimer, COOKFOX's Live/Work/Home, and the TED House designed by Onion Flats. This book primarily serves to present the three houses as completed and now occupied, while also sharing the other four finalists, getting input on the process from then dean Mark Robbin...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Dutch Architecture in 250 Highlights edited by Netherlands Architecture Institute, published by  nai010 Publishers , 2012. Hardcover, 304 pages. ( Amazon ) The 250 Dutch highlights of the book's title are culled from the archives of the Netherlands Architecture Institute ( The New Institute as of the first of this year) in Rotterdam. The drawings, models, and photographs that date from the early 1600s to the recent past are split into six chapters: Experimental, Restrained, Curious, Together, Makeable, and Open. Not all are self-explanatory, like the chapter on experiments in form and technique. Restrained refers to rational and business-like design; Curious documents overseas travels and inspiration; Together is about the creation of community at various scales; Makeable deals with grand urban plans; and Open focuses on public building...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Construction and Design Manual: Townhouses by Hans Stimmann, published by  DOM Publishers , 2011. Hardcover, 300 pages. ( Amazon ) When I was taking a virtual tour of Berlin's blurry buildings last year, little did I know that the row of townhouses I honed in on is home to DOM Publishers , headed by architect Phillipp Meuser . Since 2005 the imprint has released book after book of helpful and well-made architectural guides and construction and design manuals , among other types of titles. Falling into the construction and design manual category is this book on townhouses, a topic that DOM and Hans Stimmann should be familiar with, given the former's location within the blurry Friedrichswerder ensemble (the longest chapter in the book) and the latter's role as Berlin's Senate Building Director for Urban Development for 15 ye...