A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

An Alphabet of Architectural Models Edited by Teresa Frankhänel, Olivia Horsfall Turner, Simona Valeriani, Matthew Wells Merrell , October 2021 Flexicover | 6-3/4 x 8-3/4 inches | 128 pages | 88 illustrations | English | ISBN: 9781858946979 | $37.95 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : For thousands of years, architects have used models to invent, experiment and communicate. A world in miniature, such models are even more varied in their purposes and materials than their full-scale counterparts. This elegant book explores the fascinating nature of the architectural model through 26 illustrated essays, one for each letter of the alphabet. Unbound by the practicalities of life-size construction, models allow architects the flexibility and freedom to think in three dimensions. Whether made for purely speculative exercises or to solve a specific problem, they are aids to the imagination. Equally, they can be used as detailed representations of particular places, either built or as yet unreal...

Château La Coste: Art and Architecture in Provence Robert Ivy, Alistair Hicks; photographs by Alan Karchmer Merrell Publishers , September 2020 Hardcover | Page Size inches | 256 pages | 180 illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-1858946818 | $70.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Château La Coste, near Aix-en-Provence, is a unique property that features sculptural artworks by leading contemporary artists alongside works by some of the world’s best-known architects, all within the grounds of a working organic vineyard. Since 2002 the estate, which occupies an ancient site, has been transformed into a remarkable plein-air museum, and the number of installations – most created in situ , especially for this location – grows every year. In this stunning new book, Robert Ivy and Alistair Hicks explore each artwork and structure in depth. Their insightful commentaries are accompanied by specially commissioned images by the acclaimed architectural photographer Alan Karchmer. Ivy's introd...

Alvar Aalto: Architect John Stewart, Richard Rogers (Foreword) Merrell , March 2017 Hardcover | 8-1/2 x 9-3/4 inches | 272 pages | 130 illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-1858946603 | $65.00 Publisher Description : Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) is universally recognized as one of the masters of Modernist architecture. While the remarkable buildings he designed have been much studied, the story of how a young architect from a village in western Finland achieved such international prominence is little known. This new biography of Aalto is the first to offer a comprehensive and objective survey of his life, from growing up in the Finnish provinces to finding global acclaim, and also covers all his projects, from early work in Jyväskylä in the 1920s to Finlandia Hall, completed in Helsinki in 1971. John Stewart draws on Aalto’s archive, the recollections of former employees and contemporaneous publications to fully explore Aalto the architect rather than simply his architecture. For th...

Architectural and Cultural Guide Pyongyang edited by Philipp Meuser, published by  DOM Publishers , 2012. Paperback, 2 volumes w/slipcase, 368 pages. ( Amazon ) Architecture 11: RIBA Buildings of the Year by Tony Chapman, published by  Merrell Publishers , 2012. Hardcover, 273 pages. ( Amazon ) These two books focusing on architecture halfway around the globe from each other may seem like an odd pairing for a book review, but each book -- unconventional guides, if you will -- shares the trait of boosting national identity through the presentation of architecture. One is a guidebook to a place that most people cannot or would not visit anytime soon (Pyongyang, North Korea), and the other is a collection of awards given out last year by a professional body (Royal Institute of British Architects -- RIBA ) of an island country (Great Britain). In architecture, the similarities end there. Architectural and Cultural Guide Pyongyang from DOM Publ...

New Architecture in Japan by Yuki Sumner and Naomi Pollock with David Littlefield, photography by Edmund Sumner , published by  Merrell , 2010. Hardcover, 272 pages. ( Amazon )   Many collections of contemporary architecture are authored by those unable to actually visit the places they write about. This is a fact that extends to similar online content, as well as magazines and newspapers that don't have the budgets to send writers around the globe to see the latest and greatest buildings in person. So with this state of affairs in mind, it's refreshing to find books born from personal experience, like this diverse collection of recent architecture in Japan. The travels of Edmund and Yuki Sumner, toddler in tow, can be seen as the backbone of the book, but it does not read like a guide; Edmund's skilled photography combine with Yuki and Naomi Pollock's thorough descriptions to create a snapshot of the country's current architect...