A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

The Work: Architecture, Urban Design, Drawings and Sculptures by Rob Krier Birkhäuser , August 2021 Hardcover (2 volumes) | 10 x 12 inches | 1,344 pages ( The Work I : 712 pages; The Work II : 632 pages) | 3,000 illustrations | English | ISBN: 9783035622799 | €128 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : As an architect, urban planner and sculptor, Rob Krier has created a multifaceted oeuvre which is presented here in a comprehensive manner for the first time. After graduating, Krier first worked with O. M. Ungers and Frei Otto before setting up his own studios in Vienna and Berlin. He later taught at the Vienna University of Technology from 1976 to 1998 and as a visiting professor at Yale University in 1986. Drawing on a wealth of historical models and archetypal patterns, he developed new typologies of streets and public squares as an architect and urban planner, and was responsible for numerous urban development projects throughout Europe. These included the perimeter block development on...

MAD Dinner by MAD.exe office (Ma Yansong, Yosuke Hayano, Dang Qun); edited by Brendan McGetrick, Chen ShuYu Actar Publishers , July 2008 Paperback | 8 x 9-1/2 inches | 520 pages | English/Chinese | ISBN: 9788496954212 | $49.95 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : MAD DINNER is the first book by MAD office, Beijing-based architectural office. Organized around the metaphor of dinner table conversation, the book is a collection of ideas and opinions about topics ranging from politics to ecology to fame to the future. The dinner’s “guests” include people from all levels of Chinese society: a government official, hairdresser, migrant laborers, a doctor, a taxi driver, and a developer are all brought together to offer their views in an atmosphere of openness and exchange. MAD’s work is embedded in a series of extended conversations with international advisors, including the Swiss curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, British writer Ian Buruma, filmmakers Zhang Yimou and Jia Zhangke, and the artist Ai We...

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 ...

Contemporary House India by Robert Gregory, with photographs by Edmund Sumner Thames & Hudson , November 2021 Hardcover | 9-1/4 x 11-3/4 inches | 272 pages | 355 illustrations | English | ISBN: 9780500021330 | $75.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : India has a long, diverse history of remarkable architecture. This stunning overview of contemporary residential architecture in India features over twenty houses from across the country, designed by leading firms such as Samira Rathod Design Associates and Architecture Brio, as well as emerging architects such as Martand Khosla. Beginning with a helpful essay, Contemporary House India is divided into four thematic chapters, each opening with a contextual introduction. Included with each featured home are detailed drawings and plans, specially commissioned photographs of the interiors and exteriors by leading architectural photographer Edmund Sumner, and accompanying text based on interviews with the architects by author Rob Gregory...

MAD Rhapsody by Ma Yansong Rizzoli Electa , November 2021 Hardcover | 10-1/4 x 12-1/2 inches | 288 pages | English | ISBN: 9780847869626 | $75.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Conceived and designed by Ma Yansong, founder of MAD Architects, MAD Rhapsody documents the buildings of this avant-garde architecture firm and traces the development of their ideas through associated practice including art, research, and exhibition projects. With photographs, drawings, and models, the book highlights 23 projects from the past six years, both built and in process. Known for their “organic and dreamlike architecture” that creates a dialogue with nature, earth, and sky, MAD projects reach all over the globe.   At age 46, Ma Yansong is one of China’s best-known architects. His curvilinear, free-form, and futuristic designs are often compared to those of his mentor, Zaha Hadid. Ma’s greatest inspiration is nature; his opera house in the northern Chinese city of Harbin resembles a snow-capped mo...