A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Key Houses of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections and Elevations Colin Davies W. W. Norton , October 2006 Paperback | 10 x 11-1/2 inches | 240 pages | English | ISBN: 978-0393732054 | $45.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : A companion to the popular Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century , this book includes classic residential works by such seminal architects as Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Alvar Aalto, as well as houses by more recent masters such as Tadao Ando, Rem Koolhaas, and Glen Murcutt. It provides accurate scale plans of every floor, together with elevations, sections, and site plans where appropriate, for each house. All have been specially drawn for the purpose and are based on the most up-to-date information and sources. Amplified with full-color views of the houses, a concise text explains the significant architectural features of each building and the influences it shows or generated. Cross-references to other buildings in the book highli...

The International Style Henry-Russell Hitchcock, Philip Johnson W. W. Norton , June 1995 Hardcover/Paperback | 6-1/2 x 8-1/2 inches | 269 pages | English | ISBN: 978-0393315189 (PB) | $22.95 (PB) Publisher Description : Initially produced as the catalog to accompany a controversial and groundbreaking 1932 Museum of Modern Art show of the then new architecture emerging in Europe and America, The International Style quickly became the definitive statement of the principles underlying the work of such giants as Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, and other pioneers. It might be said that Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson discovered as well as defined "the International Style," and over the decades their book has served as both a flashpoint for criticism and a frame for growth in the architectural profession. It has never been out of print in over sixty years. This new edition has been completely redesigned and reset, and it features a new forew...

Historic Preservation, Third Edition: An Introduction to Its History, Principles, and Practice Norman Tyler, Ilene R. Tyler, Ted J. Ligibel W. W. Norton , October 2018 Paperback | 7-1/4 x 9-1/4 inches | 384 pages | 192 illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-0393712971 | $39.95 Publisher Description : Historic preservation, which started as a grassroots movement, now represents the cutting edge in a cultural revolution focused on “green” architecture and sustainability. This book provides comprehensive coverage of the many facets of historic preservation: the philosophy and history of the movement, the role of government, the documentation and designation of historic properties, sensitive architectural designs and planning, preservation technology, and heritage tourism, plus a survey of architectural styles. An ideal introduction to the field for students, historians, preservationists, property owners, local officials, and community leaders, this thoroughly revis...

Art Parks: A Tour of America's Sculpture Parks and Gardens by Francesca Cigola, published by  Princeton Architectural Press , 2013. Paperback, 224 pages. ( Amazon ) Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes by Robin Lynn and Francis Morrone, with photography by Edward A. Toran, published by  W. W. Norton , 2013. Paperback, 288 pages. ( Amazon ) As I write this, summer—at least the months between the end of one school year and the beginning of another—is winding down. But it's not too late to get out and enjoy the outdoors in warm weather. These two guides, both focused on landscapes in different ways, are invitations to do just that. Art Parks calls itself "the first comprehensive guide to America's outdoor art spaces," and that seems long overdue. In a way, sculpture parks can be called the museums of the 21st century; they are art spaces that were prefigured by artists like Robert Smithson who transformed landscapes through large-scale earthw...

Grand Central: Gateway to a Million Lives by John Belle and Maxinne R. Leighton, published by  W. W. Norton , 2012 (reissue). Hardcover, 240 pages. ( Amazon ) On February 2 Grand Central Terminal celebrated its 100th birthday . The building looks a lot better than any people or other buildings from 1913, thanks to the restoration that was completed in 1998. For those who never saw the terminal before that year (like me), the building looks like what it must have been when it first opened. But the restoration—like any work of preservation—is equal parts creativity and cleaning. It removed the clutter that blocked windows, made spaces cramped, and otherwise detracted from the Beaux Arts architecture, but it also added elements and reconfigured others to give the terminal hopefully another 100 years of use. This book—originally published in 2000 but recently reissued by W. W. Norton—is authored by John Belle , architect of the restoration (with Beyer Blinder Bel...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. New York Neon by Thomas E. Rinaldi, published by  W. W. Norton , 2012. Paperback, 192 pages. ( Amazon ) New York Nights by James T. and Karla L. Murray, published by  Gingko Press , 2012. Hardcover, 276 pages. ( Amazon ) November saw the release of two books documenting New York City in the hours between sunset and sunrise, when the glow of artificial lighting adds color to the city's sidewalks. While each book sets its sight on old establishments (you won't find Times Square in these titles), and the names New York Neon and New York Nights even confuse matters, the differences between the two are nevertheless great, as will be seen. Nevertheless, beyond the obvious overlap in subject matter and format (photography books), the books share an appreciation of New York City's ever-changing streetscapes as evidenced in early att...

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. Sourcebook of Scandinavian Furniture: Designs for the Twenty-First Century by Judith Gura, published by  W. W. Norton , 2012. Paperback, 304 pages. ( Amazon ) Using the word "timeless" is always problematic, because no human creation is truly timeless. Everything is created at a certain time, be it a particular day, month, year, or even decade, and therefore exhibits certain traits of that time. But it's hard not to describe Scandinavian furniture as timeless, because many of the chairs and other furnishings coming from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden don't age as quickly as designs from other countries; they don't immediately recall a particular time. Or to put it another way, Scandinavian design's balance of traditional crafts and industrial production—both working together to create beautiful, usefu...

Portfolio Design, Fourth Edition by Harold Linton, published by  W. W. Norton , 2012. Hardcover, 224 pages. ( Amazon ) Harold Linton's Portfolio Design was first published in 1996. I remember referencing it as I assembled my portfolio after graduating from undergraduate architecture school the same year. A lot has changed in the last decade and a half, much of which has influenced the shape and form of portfolios. Design work is produced in the computer, rather than by hand; images are modified and portfolio pages are laid out with Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) or other software; and prospective employers would rather look at PDFs or websites before considering somebody for a position, after which they can look at a print portfolio during an interview. These are not hard and fast rules, of course, but advances in computer technology, and their influence on the production of architectural design, have necessitated three new editions ...

Garden Guide: New York City, Revised Edition by Nancy Berner and Susan Lowry, with photographs by Joseph de Sciose, published by  W. W. Norton , 2010. Paperback, 424 pages. ( Amazon ) Memorial Day Weekend in the United States is traditionally the unofficial start of summer, a three-day weekend when people hit the road to nearby places of interest. With rising gas prices and a growing environmental responsibility people may opt to stay near home on that and subsequent weekends, instead heading outside to parks and other green spaces in town. Living in New York City, there is no shortage of these types of spaces, even though many outsiders may only see the city as acres of concrete around Central Park. But as the city turns old industrial waterfronts to parks and entrepreneurs create gardens in the sky, the choices are much more varied and geographically dispersed. This guide to the city's gardens is a great little companion (only 5.8 x 4.4 x 1.2 inches) for the summer mont...

Greening Modernism: Preservation, Sustainability, and the Modern Movement by Carl Stein, published by  W. W. Norton , 2010. Hardcover, 296 pages. ( Amazon ) Towards Zero-Energy Architecture: New Solar Design by Mary Guzowski, published by  Laurence King Publishing , 2010. Hardcover, 208 pages. ( Amazon ) With the buzzwords "energy" and "sustainability" dominating any discussion on the present and the future, how these rarely defined terms are dealt with in books on architecture is increasingly important. All too often considerations of energy and sustainability in architecture are subject to "greenwashing" or a dose of hyperbole, such that buildings that do little beyond the minimum are embraced as models for our sustainable future. At a time when many believe action is needed more than thought, the opposite may be the case, so that movement forward can be theoretically grounded to best deal with dwindling resources, climate change, and t...

American Art Museum Architecture: Documents and Design by Eric M. Wolf, published by  W. W. Norton , 2010. Hardcover, 272 pages. ( Amazon ) When I received this book "exploring the intersections of art, architecture, and design, at both renowned institutions and cutting-edge contemporary collections," I first thought it was simply a coffee table book. The paper size (11x10.4") is quite large, numerous photographs and other illustrations are included, and even the font size is fairly large (not bordering on the "large type" category, though). But delving into the text on museums in New York City ( Frick , Whitney , MoMA ), Chicago ( Art Institute ), Houston ( Menil ) and Sante Fe, New Mexico ( Georgia O'Keefe ), it's apparent that the book is a serious study of how these institutions have created buildings over time for their singular collections and approaches to presenting art. Eric M. Wolf is Head Librarian at the Menil Collection, ...

Rematerial: From Waste to Architecture by Alejandro Bahamón and Maria Camila Sanjinés, published by  W. W. Norton , 2010. Paperback, 340 pages. ( Amazon ) In my neck of the woods (New York City) a lot of attention is being lavished upon MoMA's latest exhibition Small Scale, Big Change and the "eleven architectural projects on five continents that respond to localized needs in underserved communities." A number of the projects utilize local labor, vernacular construction, and common and/or natural materials, but very few (overtly) recycled materials were integrated into the their design and construction. So as I revisited one of Alejandro Bahamón's recent books and I couldn't help think that a number of the case studies would be fitting additions to MoMA's show. These include the Azkoitia Municipal Library in Spain by Estudio Beldarrain (made from wooden railroad ties); Millegomme Cascoland in Cape Town, South Africa by REFUNC.NL (shelters ...

The Architecture of Patterns by Paul Andersen and David Salomon, published by  W. W. Norton , 2010. Paperback, 144 pages. ( Amazon ) The recent resurgence of patterns, according to Paul Andersen and David Salomon , is in need of some serious theorizing in order to utilize their capabilities to the fullest. A couple examples of this resurgence include Norman Foster's Swiss Re Tower in London and OMA's Seattle Public Library, both presented in this book alongside lesser known and unbuilt works of architecture. For the authors patterns are ideally multifunctional (structural, thermal, visual, etc.) and flexible (regular but variable in response so certain conditions), the results stemming from both considerations. One can find this in traditional patterns, but those tend to be small-scale, such as weaving, rather than architectural enclosures. The computer's role in today's resurgence is obvious and is the overt genearator of t...

Great Public Squares: An Architect's Selection by Robert F. Gatje, published by  W. W. Norton , 2010. Hardcover, 224 pages. ( Amazon ) At a time when architecture books tend to focus on buildings, the objects that inhabit cities, it's refreshing to see a book squarely focused on public space, pardon the pun. Robert F. Gatje, a former partner of both Marcel Breuer and Richard Meier, has assembled plans, photos, stats and descriptions on forty squares, most in Europe. Inspired by Camillo Sitte and other authors of books on urban spaces, the CAD-generated plans are rendered consistently (per the cover) and at the same scale, accompanied by dimensions, areas and other data in an effort to make the book a comparative study. Lest the book get bogged down in top-down views of city plans, the photos and descriptions go a long way towards giving readers a sense of what each space is like, while also providing historical information on the mostly old spaces (the most...

The Future of the Past: A Conservation Ethic for Architecture, Urbanism, and Historic Preservation by Steven W. Semes, published by  W. W. Norton , 2009. Hardcover, 272 pages. ( Amazon ) The apparently irreconcilable gulf between Modernists and Classicists, progressives and traditionalists, comes to the fore when architectural proposals contrast with old, appreciated buildings. Think Hearst Tower , Soldier Field , Morgan Library , all recent examples of modern glass and metal buildings atop or next to old stone structures. Basically following "party lines," each intervention has been embraced by modernists and derided by classicists. (Soldier Field's expansion by Wood + Zap...

Negotiated Terrains edited by Nina Rappaport with Heather Kilmer, published by W. W. Norton , 2009. Paperback, 144 pages. ( Amazon ) In 2001 the Louis I. Kahn Visiting Assistant Professorship at the Yale School of Architecture was established as "an opportunity to infuse Yale with new ideas and new voices," according to Dean Robert A.M. Stern. The professorship, which is earmarked for young architects and can be seen as an antidote to Stern's reactionary views, has been documented so far in two books, 2007's Layered Urbanisms and this year's Negotiated Terrains . The first documents the studios of Gregg Pasquarelli ( SHoP ), Galia Solomonoff ( SAS ), and Mario Gooden ( Huff + Gooden ), and the second presents the studios directed by Jeanne Gang ( Studio Gang ), Sumil Bald ( studio SUMO ), and Mark Tsurumaki ( LTL ). Documentation includes an interview with the architects, their studio description, the project's program, and the student projects broken d...

Corporate Architecture: Building a Brand by Alejandro Bahamón, Ana Cañizares and Antonio Corcuera, published by  W. W. Norton , 2009. Hardcover, 504 pages. ( Amazon ) A couple months ago this web page featured a book showcasing the architecture (among other secondary creations) of a fashion house well aware of the power and importance of the images their buildings convey. The coffee table book captured a number of recent architectural gems, though this awareness is hardly a newfound condition. The middle of last century saw glass box headquarters in Manhattan and elsewhere bearing the names of their corporate clients, and the ensuing postmodern skyscrapers continued the trend of using the latest style ...