A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Urban Grids: Handbook for Regular City Design Joan Busquets, Dingliang Yang, Michael Keller ORO Editions , March 2019 Hardcover | 8-1/2 x 11 inches | 680 pages | English | ISBN: 978-1940743950 | $60.00 Publisher Description : Urban Grid: Open Form for City Design is the result of a five-year design research project undertaken by professor Joan Busquets and Dingliang Yang at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. The research that is the foundation for this publication emphasizes the value of open forms for city design, a publication that specifically insists that the grid has the unique capacity to absorb and channel urban transformation flexibly and productively. Urban Grid analyzes cities and urban projects that utilize the grid as the main structural device for allowing rational development, and goes further to propose speculative design projects capable of suggesting new urban paradigms drawn from the grid as a design tool. Consisting of six major parts, it is divide...

The Structural Basis of Architecture, Third Edition Bjørn N. Sandaker, Arne P. Eggen, Mark R. Cruvellier Routledge , May 2019 Paperback | 8-1/4 x 11 inches | 560 pages | 566 illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-1138651999 | $39.95 Publisher Description : This is a book that shows how to "see" structures as being integral to architecture. It engages a subject that is both about understanding the mechanical aspects of structure as well as being able to relate this to the space, form, and conceptual design ideas that are inherent to the art of building. Analyzing the structural principles behind many of the best-known works of architecture from past and present alike, this book places the subject within a contemporary context. The subject matter is approached in a qualitative and discursive manner, illustrated by many photographs and structural behavior diagrams. Accessible mathematical equations and worked-out examples are also included so as to deepen a fundamental ...

Rene Gonzalez Architects: Not Lost in Translation Rene Gonzalez The Monacelli Press , June 2018 Hardcover | 9-1/4 x 12-1/2 inches | 288 pages | English | ISBN: 9781580934947 | $60.00 Publisher Description : As one of Miami’s most influential architects, Rene Gonzalez revolutionizes the way luxury buildings are equipped for climate change. Tactile, experiential, and holistic, the work of his namesake office demonstrates a belief in the inseparable connection between nature and architecture, creating spaces that are memorable and timeless. Surveying fourteen residential, commercial, and cultural projects in Florida, marking the first phase of his career, Rene Gonzalez Architects: Not Lost in Translation illustrates Gonzalez’s ability to distill the essence of place, distinguishing his work both in his home state of Florida and in the global landscape of contemporary architecture. Projects featured in the book include three Alchemist boutiques, the first of which won t...

Abstract 09/10 Scott Marble (Editor) with Jordan Carver and Jason Roberts Columbia GSAPP , December 2010 Paperback w/slipcase | 7-1/2 x 11 inches | 316 pages | English | ISBN: 978-1883584689 | $X.00 Publisher Description : Abstract is the yearly publication of student work from Columbia University’s GSAPP. The catalog is produced through the office of Dean Mark Wigley. The archive of student work, containing documentation of projects selected by faculty at the conclusion of each semester, is utilized in the making of Abstract. dDAB Commentary : As mentioned in my review of the most recent Abstract from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), the annual publication of student work has taken a different form depending on the dean. Both Bernard Tschumi (dean from 1988 to 2003) and Amale Andrao (dean since 2014) use(d) consistent formats, with the former relatively slim and modest by today's standards and the latter mark...

Abstract 2018 Amale Andraos, Shannon Werle (Editors) Columbia GSAPP / Actar , April 2019 Spira-bound paperback | 8 x 11 inches | 372 pages | English | ISBN: 978-1941332511 | $35.00 Publisher Description : Abstract is the yearly publication of work and research from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). Produced through the Office of the Dean Amale Andraos, the archive of student work contains documentation of exceptional projects, selected by faculty at the conclusion of each semester. dDAB Commentary : If any architecture school gives an excessive amount of attention to its year-end presentation of student work and the goings-on of the school, it's Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, best known as GSAPP ("Gee sap"). Long called Abstract , the publications this century are bold in format and design, each one different, or slightly different, from its predecessor...

Sun Seekers: The Cure of California Lyra Kilston Atelier Éditions, April 2019 Paperback | 7 x 9-1/4 inches | 192 pages | 60 illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-0997593587 | $29.95 Publisher Description : Sunlight was once considered medicinal, a substance that doctors prescribed and architects summoned indoors with bold new designs. Around the turn of the 20th century, sun-drenched locales like Southern California proved an ideal testing ground for unorthodox thinking about healthy living, from diet to fitness to housing. The region’s celebrated climate and untamed nature lured waves of newcomers—health-seekers, iconoclasts, dropouts—all seeking antidotes to physical and civilizational ailments. Their search led to remarkable curiosities like the “Health House,” a helio-therapeutic modern home; the world’s first raw vegan cafeteria; and a group of eccentric barefoot men who camped out in the hills and canyons, getting back to nature long before the 1960s. Lyra Kilston revis...