A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Broadway: From the Battery to the Bronx Carin Drechsler-Marx, Richard F. Shepard Harry N. Abrams , 1988 Spiral-bound paperback | 5-3/4 x 10 inches | 160 pages | 200+ illustrations | English | ISBN: 0810907453 | $19.95 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : An entertaining guide to the people, culture, and history of 293 New York City blocks. Photography by  Carin Drechsler-Marx ; text by Richard F. Shepard . REFERRAL LINKS :   dDAB COMMENTARY : A few days ago, I featured Walking Broadway , a guidebook to "Thirteen Miles of Architecture and History" by William J. Hennessey. In my review I mentioned that the new book is not alone in focusing on Manhattan's most famous street; many books came before. One of them is Broadway: From the Battery to the Bronx , which features photography by Carin Drechsler-Marx and text by Richard F. Shepard. Although it has a map at the back and the chapters move in the preferred south-to-north route of books about Broadway, this 32-year-old book...

The Central Park: Original Designs for New York's Greatest Treasure Cynthia S. Brenwall Harry N. Abrams , March 2019 Hardcover | 11-1/2 x 9-3/4 inches | 230 pages | 250 illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-1419732324 | $50.00 Publisher Description : Drawing on the unparalleled collection of original designs for Central Park in the New York City Municipal Archives, Cynthia S. Brenwall tells the story of the creation of New York’s great public park, from its conception to its completion. This treasure trove of material ranges from the original winning competition entry; to meticulously detailed maps; to plans and elevations of buildings, some built, some unbuilt; to elegant designs for all kinds of fixtures needed in a world of gaslight and horses; to intricate engineering drawings of infrastructure elements. Much of it has never been published before. A virtual time machine that takes the reader on a journey through the park as it was originally envisioned, The Central Park ...

New York City Brick by Brick: The Art of LEGO Construction Jonathan Lopes Abrams , May 2019 Hardcover | 7-1/2 x 9-1/2 inches | 192 pages | 100 illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-1419734687 | $24.99 Publisher Description : New York City Brick by Brick is the ultimate exploration of the architecture and history of New York City through the creative medium of LEGO. Expert builder Jonathan Lopes presents iconic structures of his own design, including the Flatiron Building, the Woolworth Building, the Manhattan Bridge, Grand Central Terminal, Junior’s Diner, brownstones, fire houses, and much more! Each model has been beautifully photographed with full-scale views and close-up details, as well as brief instructional breakouts. Lopes’s masterful constructions will inspire builders of all ages. dDAB Commentary : If there were ever a toy destined to be loved by architects, it's LEGO, the plastic construction toy first created in Denmark in 1949. After all, what are the buildi...

Over: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point Alex S. MacLean Abrams , October 2008 Hardcover | 9 x 13-1/2 inches | 336 pages | 300 color photos | English | ISBN: 978-0810971455 | $50.00 Publisher Description : For more than 30 years, Alex MacLean's aerial photographs have captured the evolution of the American landscape and the complex relationship between its natural and constructed environments that contribute to climate change. Over: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point is an ambitious and visually breathtaking catalogue of the extraordinary patterns and profound physical consequences brought about by natural processes and human intervention. The book allows readers to visualize climate change and our culture's excessive use of resources and energy, which account for our oversized carbon footprint. It demonstrates the extent to which the human ecosystem, and our economic and social well being, are dependant upon our wise use of land and its resource...

The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale by Steven Guarnaccia, published by  Abrams , 2010. Hardcover, 32 pages. ( Amazon ) In the oft-told tale where three little pigs build their own houses of straw, sticks and bricks, it's clear which house withstands the hungry wolf attempts to "blow your house in." But what if the houses were more complex in their design, more modern, and were designed by famous architects, who would prevail? Steven Guarnaccia retells the story with Frank Gehry, Philip Johnson and Frank Lloyd Wright as the pigs, again striking out on their own "to make their way in the world." The results are no less surprising, but the journey in this carefully illustrated version is a good deal of fun for children and their parents alike.   Within the architects', I mean pigs' houses are artifacts of modern design, be it a chair, rug or even coffee pot. These and many other designs ...

Blur: The Making of Nothing by Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio, published by  Harry N. Abrams , 2002. Paperback, 384 pages. ( Amazon ) Serving as a document of the 3.5-year struggle to "make nothing," this book will find more favor with architects, those familiar with the difficult process to build anything. Those unfamiliar with the design and construction processes might be enlightened, though they'll have to dig through dry correspondence, architectural drawings, shop drawings, and so forth. Regardless, I found the documentation fascinating, almost as fascinating as the project itself, a fog cloud hovering 75 feet above the waters of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, part of Expo.02 . ...

StyleCity New York by Alice Twemlow, published by  Harry N. Abrams , 2003. Paperback, 192 pages. ( Amazon ) Part of a series that also features Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Paris, San Francisco, and Sydney, Style City New York is a profusely illustrated guide to the, you guessed it, most stylish bars, restaurants, cafes, shops, museums, galleries and other places worth visiting. Split into two parts, the first half presents places by neighborhood, while the second half focuses on the best in sleeping, eating, drinking, shopping, and retreating (to distant places like the Catskills and East Hampton). The mix of well- and lesser-known sites is refreshing, though the albeit wonderful images vague relationship to the text ...

Le Corbusier: Architect of the Twentieth Century by Kenneth Frampton, published by  Abrams , 2002. Hardcover, 208 pages. ( Amazon ) The prolific architectural historian and professor Kenneth Frampton published two book about the great architect Le Corbusier in as many years. 2001's Le Corbusier , part of the World of Art series, took the author's typical critical stance, but last year's book, featured here, is a coffee table book with large color and b/w photographs by Roberto Schezen. The book starts with a short introduction and ends with a chronology of realized projects. In between, brief descriptions accompany the 17 buildings included with plans and sketches to help i...