A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

S AM 11 / Lookout. Architecture with a View by Hubertus Adam Christoph Merian Verlag , 2013 Paperback, 120 pages A lookout, as defined in the 2013 exhibition and catalog of the same name at the Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel, is a particular archetype that provides a "purpose-free view of the surroundings." Thereby not associated with military or other functions, lookouts didn't really come about until the late 18th century, undergoing something of a boom as towers in the following century, at least per the introductory and historical essays by Hubertus Adam. Lookouts in the 21st century are booming as well, often giving views of particular landscapes or urban sections, rather than of one's property as was the case over 100 years ago. Of course, there are precedents for today's predilection for embracing a natural or urban view, most notably the Eiffel Tower. But the 34 projects (32 of them built) assembled in these pages are not nearly as ...

Postmodernism Is Almost All Right: Polish Architecture After Socialist Globalization by Łukasz Stanek, published by Fundacja Bęc Zmiana, 2012. Paperback, 96 pages. ( Amazon ) S AM 10 / Building Images: Photography Focusing on Swiss Architecture by Hubertus Adam and Elena Kossovskaja, published by  Christoph Merian Verlag , 2013. Paperback, 196 pages. ( Amazon ) These two books—both born from exhibitions—paint a picture of the architecture from two European countries: Poland and Switzerland. But each one goes beyond the geographical and political boundaries of their respective countries to find relevance in a larger context. Postmodernism Is Almost All Right looks back to the 1970s and 80s to Polish architects working in other countries and continents; and S AM 10 tackles a subject—architectural photography—that applies to just about any country producing architecture today. The first book is the product of two exhibitions—2010's PRL Export Architect...