A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Formgiving: An Architectural Future History BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group Taschen , December 2020 Paperback | 6-1/2 x 9-3/4 inches | 736 pages | English | ISBN: 978-3836577045 | $50.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Formgiving. An Architectural Future History , the new book by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), is a visionary attempt to look at the horizon of time. The Danish word for “design” is “formgivning,” which literally means to give form to that which has not yet taken shape. In other words, to give form to the future. Using our power to give form, rather than allowing the future to take shape, is more important now than ever, as humankind’s impact on the planet continues to increase and pose ever greater challenges to all life forms. Architecture plays a special role by proposing spaces for our lives that are fragments of the future in the making. William Gibson’s words embody architecture’s role perfectly: “The future is already here—it’s just not evenly distributed.” With Formgiving ...

Inside North Korea Oliver Wainwright Taschen , August 2018 Hardcover | 8-1/4 x 10-3/4 inches | 240 pages | 200 illustrations | English/German/French | ISBN: 978-3836572217 | $60.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Erased by bombing during the Korean War, North Korea’s trophy capital of Pyongyang was entirely rebuilt from scratch from 1953, in line with the vision of the nation’s founder, Kim Il Sung. Designed as an imposing stage set, it is a place of grand axial boulevards linking gargantuan monuments, lined with stately piles of distinctly Korean flavor, to be “national in form and socialist in content.” Under the present leader, Kim Jong Un, construction has ramped up apace—“Let us turn the whole country into a socialist fairyland,” declares one of his official patriotic slogans. He is rapidly transforming Pyongyang into a playground, conjuring a flimsy fantasy of prosperity and using architecture as a powerful anesthetic, numbing the population from the stark reality of his autho...

Countryside, A Report AMO, Rem Koolhaas Guggenheim/ Taschen , March 2020 Paperback | 4 x 6-1/4 inches | 352 pages | English | ISBN: 978-3836583312 | $25.00 Publisher's Description : The rural, remote, and wild territories we call “countryside”, or the 98% of the earth’s surface not occupied by cities, make up the front line where today’s most powerful forces—climate and ecological devastation, migration, tech, demographic lurches—are playing out. Increasingly under a ‘Cartesian’ regime—gridded, mechanized, and optimized for maximal production—these sites are changing beyond recognition. In his latest publication, Rem Koolhaas explores the rapid and often hidden transformations underway across the Earth’s vast non-urban areas. Countryside, A Report gathers travelogue essays exploring territories marked by global forces and experimentation at the edge of our consciousness: a test site near Fukushima, where the robots that will maintain Japan’s infrastructure and agriculture ...

BIG. HOT TO COLD. An Odyssey of Architectural Adaptation by Bjarke Ingels, published by  Taschen , 2015. Paperback, 712 pages. ( Amazon ) [Wraparound cover – All images courtesy of Taschen] If Bjarke Ingels' Yes Is More from 2009 didn't reinvent the monograph, it at least injected some new life into it. The BIG helmsman used a comic book format to explain the Danish firm's projects, particularly how those mountainous and curling forms came about. Much has happened in the six years since – BIG has expanded to New York and other offices; Ingels has become a common name and face, given appearances on CNN, TED and other venues with a wide audience; and the firm has produced lots of works, some of it built, some under construction, and some to never be. So 2015 is a fitting time for BIG to put out another monograph, one that accompanies their first U.S. exhibition, also called HOT TO COLD , now at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. [W57 "courtscraper...

Project Japan: Metabolism Talks by Rem Koolhaas and Hans Ulrich Obrist, published by  Taschen , 2011. Paperback, 720 pages. ( Amazon ) If any living architect is masterful at exploiting the potential of the book, it is Rem Koolhaas . His Delirious New York made a name for the visionary architect, and it is considered one of the greatest architecture books of the 20th century. Fifteen years later, when he finally had some buildings under his belt, Koolhaas redefined the architectural monograph with the behemoth S,M,L,XL , which he produced with Bruce Mau. These are the two most influential titles among many books he has authored or edited, including a number generated from his design studios at Harvard GSD. Likewise, if any curator is masterful at compiling interviews with, among others, architects and artists, it is Hans Ulrich Obrist . He has reportedly amassed over 2,000 hours of interview recording, 24 of which happened in one marathon session with Koolhaa...

Yes is More by Bjarke Ingels Group , published by DAC/ Taschen , 2009. Paperback, 400 pages. ( Amazon ) The monograph has become a fairly predictable format for architecture books, varying, it seems, only in terms of how much content is presented and what the page looks like. Collecting photographs of finished buildings, renderings of unbuilt or soon-to-be-built projects, conventional architectural drawings, descriptive text, essays by admirers, and sometimes more, the clear goal of monographs is product, not process. Certain exceptions to this unwritten rule exist, most notably OMA/Rem Koolhaas's influential S,M,L,XL and later Content , but the effort and potential risks associated with undertaking such preclude more in their ilk, meaning the tried-and-true prevails. Many monographs do attempt different ways of arranging the content and/or expanding it to include process as well as product, but for a full understanding of why a particular design looks the way it does one is ...

Tadao Ando: Complete Works by Philip Jodidio, published by Taschen , 2004. ( Amazon ) If there's an architect worthy of a gargantuan coffee table book, slightly smaller than the Phaidon Atlas , it's Tadao Ando. One of the most consistent architects in terms of quality of output as well as in his use of materials and geometry, the large-format photographs and drawings here are a suitable expression of his buildings, outside of the possibility of seeing them in person. Ando is known for his reliance on concrete, a heavy and thick material that he is able to manipulate in unfathomable ways. As a bearer of light, the concrete surfaces don't so much call attention to themselves as the space they contain, an indication ...

Scandinavian Design by Charlotte & Peter Fiell, published by Taschen , 2003. ( Amazon ) As the publisher so rightly admits, "Scandinavians are exceptionally gifted in design." While this guide to Scandinavian furniture, glass, ceramics, textile, jewelry, metalware and industrial design may not be "all you need" it definitely hits all the high points, as well as covering lesser-known personalities and designs. The authors' introduction is a good overview that's followed by descriptions of each country's design history. Coverage on 200+ designers and design-led companies follows, and although the text is a bit dry - reading like resumes in paragraph f...

Architecture of the World: Japan by Tomoya Masuda with series editor Henri Stierlin, published by  Taschen , 1994. Paperback, 191 pages. ( Amazon ) Over four chapters, Masuda attempts to illuminate the general history of Japan, its architectural history, the structures and techniques of its buildings, and Japan's urbanism, from the Jomon Period (B.C.) to the late 19th century. Impressive black-and-white photographs by Yukio Futagawa fall between the chapters, relating to the text both before and after. Unfortunately this simple format does not yield simple results, as the text falls shy of the images in creating excitement about traditional Japanese architecture. Most of the problem resides in language. Those with even a little kn...

Content edited Rem Koolhaas, published by  Taschen , 2004. Paperback, 544 pages. ( Amazon ) The sequel to Rem Koolhaas and OMA's 1997 tome S,M,L,XL is almost anything but its predecessor. At 544 pages, Content is 800 pages less, taking the form of a small format magazine - a "boogazine" - with occasional advertisements lowering its price below $20, compared to the XL price of $75 for its precursor. Instead of using scale as an organizational means, Content 's only apparent consistency across its assortment of pages is a geographical movement from Los Angeles easterly to Japan, reiterated by the words "GO EAST" present on most pages. This movement sums up the present situation for OMA (and its offshoot AMO) as it eyes the enormous ...