A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

For the fifteenth and last time on this blog, I'm highlighting my favorite books of the year , selected from the many books I reviewed or featured as "Book Briefs" on this blog, and the few titles that I reviewed at World-Architects. From the 86 books I featured in 2023, 15 (or 16) books made my list of favorites, organized into three categories: history, monographs, and exhibitions (the books are alphabetical by title within each category). As in previous years, not all of these books were published this year, given how slow I can be at digesting books and my departure from the annual spring/fall cycle of publishers. This last aspect, the timing of the books I draw attention to, will change next year, as I shutter this blog and transition it into something else — details on that will be announced next month. Until then, warm holiday wishes!  6 HISTORY BOOKS: Chicago Skyscrapers, 1934-1986: How Technology, Politics, Finance, and Race Reshaped the City  (2023) by Thomas Le...

For this last post of 2022 I looked back at the dozens of books I reviewed or featured as "Book Briefs" on this blog, and the ones I reviewed on World-Architects. From those books I gathered just over a dozen favorites, grouping them into some common themes that happened to come to the fore: places, architects, and books/writers; they are listed below with brief commentary and links to my original reviews. Although these are my favorite books from 2022, not all of them were published this year (I'm often slow at getting around to books so I don't always follow the annual spring/fall cycle of publishers). As such, I've listed at bottom some recent and forthcoming books I'm looking forward to reading and (hopefully) reviewing in the new year. Until then, warm holiday wishes!  4 Books on 4 Places: Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City  by Jorge Almazán + Studiolab, published by ORO Editions (2022)  — A beautifully illustrated analysis of various "sp...

This year I featured nearly 200 architecture books on this blog, placing them into one of six day-of-the-week categories: Monograph Monday , Technical Tuesday , World Wednesday , History/Theory Thursday , Free-for-all Friday , and Wayback Weekend . Setting aside the last so I can focus on recently published books, here are my 21 favorite reads from this year, categorized as they were when I reviewed them and listed in order of the books' publication dates, indicated in parentheses. MONOGRAPHS: The Architecture of Point William: A Laboratory for Living by Kenneth Frampton and Michael Webb, published by ORO Editions (02/2021) Carlo Scarpa ("Classic format") by Robert McCarter, published by Phaidon (04/2021) Sigurd Lewerentz: Architect of Death and Life edited by Kieran Long and Johan Örn, published by ArkDes/Park Books (08/2021) OMA NY: Search Term by Shohei Shigematsu and Jason Long, published by Rizzoli (10/2021) TECHNICAL: Pisé – Rammed Earth. Tradition and Potential...

In 2020, the second year for A Daily Dose of Architecture Books, I featured more than 150 books in six day-of-the-week categories:  Monograph Monday  (30 books),  Technical Tuesday  (13),  World Wednesday  (28),  History/Theory Thursday  (28),  Free-for-all Friday  (32), and  Wayback Weekend  (27). Rather than picking one favorite in each category, as I did last year , I'm creating two Top-10 lists from those 158 books: Books published in 2020 Books reviewed this year but published before 2020 Below are the lists, with books in alphabetical order by title and links to my original reviews. With this post I'm taking a two-week break, resuming reviews on January 4, 2021. Happy holidays to all! Favorites published in 2020: Eileen Gray, Designer and Architect edited by Cloé Pitiot and Nina Stritzler-Levine, published by Bard Graduate Center Eyes That Saw: Architecture After Las Vegas edited by Stanislaus von Moos and Martino Stier...

In 2019, the first year for A Daily Dose of Architecture Books (dDAB), I featured nearly 200 books in six day-of-the-week categories: Monograph Monday , Technical Tuesday , World Wednesday , History/Theory Thursday , Free-for-all Friday , and Wayback Weekend . With the year drawing to a close, I've decided to take a look back at all these books and pick my favorite in each category. This is not a "Best of 2019" list, though, since the books I reviewed in 2019 weren't necessarily released in 2019 (obviously this is the case with the Wayback Weekend books). Below are my favorite books reviewed on dDAB in 2019, with just minor commentary provided for each. Reviews on dDAB will resume the second week of 2020. Monograph Monday ( 31 books ): Studio 804: Design Build. Expanding the Pedagogy of Architectural Education by Dan Rockhill with David Sain (Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers, October 2018)  This long-overdue monograph covers the first 25 years of Studio 804, the ...

The end of the calendar year means best-of lists, and for this blog that means architecture books. Unlike traditional publications that limit their lists to books, buildings, or some other output released or completed between January 1 and December 31, I lean toward the way film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum would include only movies he saw and reviewed during the year (so if a film opened in NYC around Xmas to be eligible for an Oscar but didn't play in Chicago that year he didn't consider it) and therefore have limited my list to books I reviewed on this blog at some point in 2018. In turn, half of these dozen books were published this year but the other half came out last year. Accordingly, the alphabetical list is split into two based on the years the books were released, with links to my reviews or "briefs." 2018 Dimensions of Citizenship  edited by Nick Axel, Nikolaus Hirsch, Ann Lui, Mimi Zeiger The Divided City: Poverty and Prosperity in America  by Alan ...

This last post of 2017 looks back at some highlights from this year: books I read and reviewed, exhibitions I saw, buildings I visited, and news I covered. I've tried to limit the list to a few in each category, and in some cases I've included one item from this year that I've yet to blog about but am looking forward to next year. It was a busy year for me – among other things,  two books I wrote  ( 100 Years, 100 Landscape Designs  and  How to Build a Skyscraper ) came out – and therefore one with fewer posts than usual. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of good things to look back upon. Books // Easily the most unexpected and engrossing book I reviewed in 2017 is Keith Krumwiede's Atlas of Another America: An Architectural Fiction , published by Park Books. He combines architectural theory, old paintings, and, of all things, builder plans by the likes of the Toll Brothers into a poetic critique of the American way of living on the land. // One book I retu...

To wrap up this calendar year, I'm doing a week of posts that look back at other posts during 2016. This last one lists my six (five was too difficult) favorite books that I reviewed or "briefed" in 2016. Note that while these books were featured on my blog this year, they weren't necessarily published in 2016. Adjaye Africa Architecture by David Adjaye, edited by Peter Allison Aldo van Eyck: Seventeen Playgrounds by Anna van Lingen, Denisa Kollarova Austere Gardens: Thoughts on Landscape, Restraint, & Attending by Marc Treib A Field Guide to American Houses, The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America's Domestic Architecture by Virginia Savage McAlester Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston by Mark Pasnik, Michael Kubo, Chris Grimley Manual of Section by Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, David J. Lewis

This list of notable books for 2014 is broken into three sections of seven books each, listed in alphabetical order by title. Note that books reviewed or noted were not necessarily released in 2014. Covers link to Amazon, with links to reviews and my other blog included when appropriate. Seven favorites from the 50 books I read and reviewed in 2014 (titles are linked to reviews): Chicagoisms: The City as Catalyst for Architectural Speculation   edited by Alexander Eisenschmidt with Jonathan Mekinda, published by Park Books, 2013 Manhattan Atmospheres: Architecture, the Interior Environment, and Urban Crisis  by David Gissen, published by University of Minnesota Press, 2014 The Nature of Urban Design: A New York Perspective on Resilience  by Alexandros Washburn, published by Island Press, 2013 OASE #91: Building Atmosphere  edited by Klaske Havik, Hans Teerds and Gus Tielens, published by nai010 Publishers, 2013 Torre David: Informa...

Below are, in alphabetical order, my 10* favorite books that I reviewed on this blog , on my weekly page , on Designers and Books , or on Houzz at some point in 2013. Keep in mind that the books weren't necessarily released in 2013, just that I read and reviewed them during the year. My favorite projects will be posted next week. *The list is actually 11 books, considering that one title consists of two volumes. Building Seagram Phyllis Lambert Yale University Press My review on my weekly page . Deventer Matthew Stadler nai010 Publishers My review is  at Designers and Books . Encounters 1 and 2 – Architectural Essays Juhani Pallasmaa, edited by Peter MacKeith Rakennustieto Publishing My review is  on my weekly page and at Designers and Books . From Camp to City: Refugee Camps of the Western Sahara Edited by Manuel Herz Lars Müller Publishers My review is  on my weekly page . Hand-Drying in America: And Other Stories Ben Katch...

Here are a dozen of my favorite books from the 71 that I reviewed in 2012 on my weekly and daily pages, listed in chronological order. Note, these books weren't necessarily released in 2012; for my list of Notable Books that were released in 2012, with some overlap below, see my list at Designers and Books .