A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Preparing for this post I counted roughly one hundred books in my library that are related to exhibitions. Surprisingly, given that I tend to buy catalogs and other companion books to exhibitions I visit, only a quarter of those hundred are exhibitions I have seen in person. Granted, a fair number of them are classics that predate my existence, such as  The International Style , the book version of MoMA's Modern Architecture: International Exhibition from 1932, or are from exhibitions that happened on the other side of the world, including two of the exhibition catalogs featured here. The fact I have so many catalogs that do not function as souvenirs to exhibitions I visited points to their enduring value: They are permanent records of temporary displays and, as such, expose the research and contents from exhibitions to considerably more people than who attended. Not all books coming out of architectural exhibitions are the same. Many of them function like art catalogs and have a ...

On the Duty and Power of Architectural Criticism  edited by Wilfried Wang, published by Park Books and University of Texas at Austin, 2022 ( Amazon  /  Bookshop ) Who Is the City For?: Architecture, Equity, and the Public Realm in Chicago  by Blair Kamin with photographs by Lee Bey, published by University of Chicago Press , 2022 ( Amazon  /  Bookshop ) In her contribution to On the Duty and Power of Architectural Criticism , "Critical Influence: The Influence of the Popular Architecture Critic on Architectural Decision-making," Kristen Harrison starts with a quote by Michael Sorkin: "I don't mean to trivialize either the function or the concept of criticism but — just like architecture — it must also be judged by its effects." I'll address that statement over the course of this post, but first I wanted to point out its origin. Sorkin said those words at the Architectural Association in London in February 2014, on the first day of a two-day symposium,...

Sigurd Lewerentz—Pure Aesthetics: St Mark’s Church, Stockholm Concept and photography by Karin Björkquist and Sébastien Corbari Park Books , October 2021 Hardcover | 7-3/4 x 10-3/4 inches | 352 pages | 235 illustrations | English | ISBN: 9783038602439 | $75.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : St Mark’s Church in Björkhagen, one of Stockholm’s southern districts, is one of Sigurd Lewerentz’s (1885–1975) key designs. But unlike Lewerentz’s other famous church, St Peter’s in Klippan, no book has been published to date that constitutes a fitting tribute to this masterpiece of brick brutalism. This opulent new building monograph now fills this gap. Some two hundred new color photographs and explanatory plans, alongside essays by distinguished authorities on Lewerentz’s architecture, turn this book into a visual feast. It demonstrates the exquisitely atmospheric St Mark’s Church both as a stand-alone object and in the context of its surrounding urban landscape. Moreover, it picks out many ...

Sigurd Lewerentz: Architect of Death and Life Kieran Long, Johan Örn (Editors) ArkDes/ Park Books , August 2021 Hardcover | 9 x 11-3/4 inches | 712 pages | 756 illustrations | English (also available in Swedish ) | ISBN: 9783038602323 | $150.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Sigurd Lewerentz (1885–1975) is one of the most highly revered—as well as one of the most heavily mythologized—protagonists of modern European architecture. Arguably Sweden’s most distinguished modernist, he is more influential for architects around the world today than he was during his lifetime. Countless architecture lovers from around the world visit his buildings. Stockholm’s woodland cemetery Skogskyrkogården, his most significant contribution to landscape design, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This authoritative new monograph on Sigurd Lewerentz is based on extensive research undertaken at ArkDes, Sweden’s national center for architecture and design, where his archive and personal library are kept. It f...

Archetypes David K. Ross; Edited by Reto Geiser Standpunkte / Park Books , August 2021 Hardcover | 8-1/4 x 11 inches | 112 pages | 40 illustrations | English | ISBN: 9783038602217 | $49.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Archetypes features a recent series by Canadian artist David K. Ross, who works at the interface of photography, film, and installation. His images of architectural mock-ups, staged at night with dramatic lighting that isolates structures from their surroundings, demonstrate how these objects have become a charged form of proto-architecture. They also change how we view the practice of architecture by documenting and framing unseen aspects of its emergence. Built at full scale, these architectural fragments—to be removed from construction sites as buildings near completion—ensure that a project can be executed exactly to design, and they provide clients with a simulation of a building that leaves little space for speculation. The task of mock-up documentation is usu...

21BB—Model Region Berlin-Brandenburg: Analyses and Visions for the 21st Century Barbara Hoidn and Wilfried Wang (Editors) Park Books , in cooperation with The University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture; February 2021 Hardcover | 16-1/2 x 11-3/4 inches | 176 pages | 358 illustrations | English | ISBN: 9783038602002 | $75.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : How should a diverse metropolitan region such as the German capital Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg reinvent itself, while preserving its character, nurturing its attributes, and simultaneously preparing for climate change? 21BB—Model Region Berlin-Brandenburg offers an analysis of these important strategic questions, along with constructive solutions.   As a comprehensive survey of the entire Berlin-Brandenburg region, this book presents essays, striking visualizations, maps and graphics, and projects in a large-format atlas. Its findings are based on extensive research at University of Texas at Aus...

Modersohn and Freiesleben―Reality: Buildings and Projects 2000–2020 Antje Freiesleben, Johannes Modersohn (Editors) Park Books , February 2021 Hardcover | 6-3/4 x 9-1/2 inches | 216 pages | 320 illustrations | German/English | ISBN: 9783038602156 | $45.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : When Antje Freiesleben and Johannes Modersohn opened their own Berlin-based firm Modersohn & Freiesleben Architekten in 1994, the city, which had been divided until 1989, needed to be repaired and reunited. The Potsdamer Platz train station and the office block in the Beisheim Centre on Ebertstrasse are two significant projects that were designed by the firm in the prevalent spirit in those years of urban renewal.   After the millennium, the architects further honed their approach: whether in the city or the countryside, Modersohn & Freiesleben consistently develop the character of their projects in terms of the site, the materials, the construction, and the lives of their clients. Their deli...