A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

MOS: Selected Works by Michael Meredith, Hilary Sample, published by  Princeton Architectural Press , 2015. Hardcover, 288 pages. ( Amazon ) In early 2013, MOS Architects released their first book, Everything All at Once . Those eager for a full-blown monograph on the small yet highly inventive practice of Michael Meredith and Hilary Sample were probably disappointed, since, as the subtitle of that book attests, it comprised only the "Software, Videos, and Architecture of MOS." The architecture in that book was limited to temporary structures and pavilions, so buildings were missing alongside the software and videos. This meant a more traditional monograph would follow soon enough. While  Selected Works  can be seen as that missing piece, it's still far removed from a traditional monograph, which collects projects through photographs, drawings, models and descriptive text, putting them alongside an essay or two by outside critics. These ingredients are all here,...

Here are some photos of Sentient Chamber (2015) by Philip Beesley Architect and the Living Architecture Systems Group, installed at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC (photographs by Mark Andre ). To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool To contribute your Instagram images for consideration, just: :: Tag your photos  #archidose

"Book Briefs" are an ongoing series of posts with two- or three-sentence first-hand descriptions of some of the numerous books that make their way into my library. These briefs are not full-blown reviews , but they are a way to share more worthwhile books than I'm able to review. From top to bottom in the photo above: Air Structures  by Will McLean and Pete Silver | Laurence King | 2015 |  Amazon Part of Laurence King's "Form & Technique" series (other titles include Deployable Structures and Generative Design ), this little book's release was timely, coming just after Frei Otto's passing and him winning the Pritzker Architecture Prize last year. Although his projects are nowhere to be found in the book, his influence permeates throughout. Along with R. Buckminster Fuller, Otto pioneered doing less with more. And he looked to nature – soap bubbles, spider webs – to figure out how to do it. With air as their primary "building material...

I'll admit I'm a bit late in posting about Mark Foster Gage Architects' West 57th Street Tower (aka "The Khaleesi"). Perhaps this is because I have a hard time taking the project seriously, no matter how much discussion about contemporary ornament and computer-controlled fabrication can be thrown at it. According to a press release, MFGA was hired to design the 102-story tower on the Midtown Manhattan street that is now known as Billionaire's Row . Even with a (unknown) client, I have a hard time seeing the tower joining those designed by Christian de Portzamparc, Rafael Viñoly, SHoP, AS+GG and BIG. Nevertheless, I have a harder time resisting an oversized rendering of a skyscraper (see also my "World's Tallest Blog Post" on AS+GG's Kingdom Tower): [Elevation of West 57th Street Tower by Mark Foster Gage Architects | image source ]

It's been almost two years since I stopped writing stories (aka Ideabooks) for Houzz. Even though comments on my stories – like just about everything on the Internet – petered out within a few days of going online, I continue to get email notifications about comments on my stories as Houzz has expanded and translated some of those stories into foreign languages. The latest expansion of the immensely popular site is Houzz TV , which has about 40 short videos to date. Of those, the subjects of a couple of my pieces have made the leap to video. Meet the Gamble House, a ‘Symphony in Wood’ : ( My original story ) Reinvigorating a Gable Eichler for a Family : ( My original story )

Wiel Arets-Bas Princen edited by John Bezold, published by  Hatje Cantz , 2015. Hardcover, 164 pages. ( Amazon ) The two names in this book's title indicate it is not a run-of-the-mill monograph. Instead, it is as much about artist/photographer Bas Princen as it is about architect Wiel Arets . It follows two other atypical books on the Dutch architect: Stills (2011), which compiles Arets's numerous essays and interviews alongside some photographs of projects; and Autobiographical References (2012), which features mainly interviews between Arets and author/educator Robert McCarter. Those books are heavy on words and theory, perhaps paving the way for this book's almost total reliance on photographs by Princen. Photos in the coffee table book are full-page, with the occasional full-spread photo. To give each photo the utmost attention, the full-page photos are accompanied by a blank white page — as the spreads here attest, there is never another photo to distract....

Here are some photos of  Labyrinth (2015) at C-Mine in Genk, Belgium, by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh , photographed by Joris D'Haese . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool To contribute your Instagram images for consideration, just: :: Tag your photos  #archidose