Architecture

Inspiration and Tools for Architects

These firms are pushing new limits with designs that celebrate Argentine culture while responding to the country's breathtaking landscape.

The post 25 Best Architecture and Design Firms in Argentina appeared first on Journal.

These annual rankings were last updated on September 19, 2025. Want to see your firm on next year’s list? Continue reading for more on how you can improve your studio’s ranking. From its conserved colonial architecture to its contemporary craft, Argentina’s built environment is colorful and individual. Cities like Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Mendoza have been heavily influenced by European architecture. From Spanish colonial to Art Nouveau to Neoclassical design, the architecture of Argentina offers unique translations of similar programs in 19th-century Europe. In the 1930s, Argentine architects looked to the work of Le Corbusier, and many began to adopt a rationalist sensibility. The nation’s urban fabric began to shift: the ornate edifices from decades prior were now paired beside geometric and clean-lined designs. Decades later, skyscrapers began to dominate the skylines of Argentine cities, signaling a generation of designers who embraced modern techniques yet maintained a similar aesthetic to their predecessors. And today’s architects continue to push new limits through designs that respond to the country’s breathtaking landscape and celebrate Argentine culture. With so many architecture firms to choose from, it’s challenging for clients to identify the industry leaders that will be an ideal fit for their project needs. Fortunately, Architizer is able to provide guidance on the top design firms in Argentina based on more than a decade of data and industry knowledge. How are these architecture firms ranked? The following ranking has been created according to key statistics that demonstrate each firm’s level of architectural excellence. The following metrics have been accumulated to establish each architecture firm’s ranking, in order of priority: The number of A+Awards won (2013 to 2025) The number of A+Awards finalists (2013 to 2025) The number of projects selected as “Project of the Day” (2009 to 2025) The number of projects selected as “Featured Project” (2009 to 2025) The number of projects uploaded to Architizer (2009 to 2025) Each of these metrics is explained in more detail at the foot of this article. This ranking list will be updated annually, taking into account new achievements of Argentina architecture firms throughout the year. Without further ado, here are the 30 best architecture firms in Argentina: 25. Claudio Walter Arquitectos © Ramiro Sosa - Fotografía de Arquitectura WALTER Arquitectos is above all a team. The studio, founded in 1992 and led by Claudio Walter, produces rigorously contemporary architecture committed to the responsible use of natural resources . Its coherence is based on its own work methodology, deliberately avoiding the development of a style or formalisms. Each project is a specific search, with clients and technology as inalienable references . The response to program, context, budget and time is necessarily unique. The WALTER arquitectos team pays special attention to the construction process in order to give the highest quality to the project. In this work, those responsible for the different areas are involved, in the design and development of architectural projects. Some of Claudio Walter Arquitectos’ most prominent projects include: BL783, Rafaela, Argentina B928, Rafaela, Argentina PINGÜINO III, Rafaela, Argentina The following statistics helped Claudio Walter Arquitectos achieve 25th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 3 24. Nicolás Fernández Sanz © Javier Agustín Rojas Nicolás Fernández Sanz is an architect based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His specialty includes cultural, commercial and retail architecture. Some of Nicolás Fernández Sanz’s most prominent projects include: Art Gallery in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina SlyZmud, Buenos Aires, Argentina María Lee, Buenos Aires, Argentina The following statistics helped Nicolás Fernández Sanz achieve 24th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 3 23. Najmias Office for Architecture NOA © Najmias Office for Architecture NOA Najmias Office for Architecture [NOA] offers a wide range of professional services related to the built environment; ranging from new buildings and master plans to small interventions in existing buildings. The common denominator in this diverse portfolio is our experience that is based on finding the balance between an innovative and strong identity with the level of customer expectations and the overall quality of projects. Our experience, with both public and private clients, has given the team the flexibility to meet customer requirements and needs, while maintaining tight cost control. In NOA we formulate solutions that create a unique architectural identity, optimizing costs and maximizing the value of the project while considering the social, emotional and intellectual implications both to the environment and users we serve. Some of Najmias Office for Architecture NOA’s most prominent projects include: Playa Ferroviaria Colegiales, Buenos Aires, Argentina FRN House, Buenos Aires, Argentina Loft34, Buenos Aires, Argentina Tribal The following statistics helped Najmias Office for Architecture NOA achieve 23rd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 4 22. Nicolas Pinto da Mota Photo: Eduardo Moras, Arq. - © Nicolas Pinto da Mota Nicolás Pinto da Mota is an architect and lecturer based in Buenos Aires. He founded his practice Nicolás Pinto da Mota Arquitectos in 2008, which has seen developed an extensive portfolio of residential and industrial designs. Some of Nicolas Pinto da Mota’s most prominent projects include: House Echeverria, Buenos Aires, Argentina Rawson Administrative Office, Rawson, Argentina Pool House La Lunera, Soriano, Uruguay Casa Frente Al Lago, Tigre, Argentina The following statistics helped Nicolas Pinto da Mota achieve 22rd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 4 21. BIAGIONI / PECORARI arquitectos © BIAGIONI / PECORARI arquitectos Our study brings more than 15 years designing and directing works of architecture with a mission of service to clients seeking effective responses to their needs and budgets, offering spaces with professionalism and quality design. Some of BIAGIONI / PECORARI arquitectos’ most prominent projects include: Building in Seguí Street, Santa Fe, Argentina Castelli Building, Santa Fe, Argentina House in “Los Molinos”, Santa Fe, Argentina Brew Bar in Belgrano Station, Santa Fe, Argentina Building on Candioti street, Santa Fe, Argentina The following statistics helped BIAGIONI / PECORARI arquitectos achieve 21st place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 9 20. Botteri-Connell © Botteri-Connell Based in La Plata, Argentina, Estudio Botteri-Connell is known for their cultural and residential designs. The firm takes a collaborative approach to architecture, arising from a deep relationship with their clients and understanding of their needs. Some of Botteri-Connell’s most prominent projects include: Experimental Brick Pavilion, La Plata, Argentina HS House, La Plata, Argentina The following statistics helped Botteri-Connell achieve 20st place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 2 19. Morini Arquitectos © Morini Arquitectos Lucio Morini is an architect based in Córdoba, Argentina. The firm specializes in hospitality and commercial architecture. Some of Morini Arquitectos’ most prominent projects include: Club House Estancia La Paz, Córdoba, Argentina Experimenta 21, Córdoba, Argentina Luisa , Córdoba, Argentina The following statistics helped Morini Arquitectos achieve 19th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 3 18. Studio Cella Architects © Studio Cella Architects Estudio Cella is an architecture practice based in Argentina. The firm has been around for over three decades and today, is executed by Daniel Cella, Lucía Cella and Pedro Peralta. Some of Studio Cella Architects’ most prominent projects include: Saint Anne Chapel, MN, Argentina Cottage La Angela, Misiones Province, Argentina The following statistics helped Studio Cella Architects achieve 18th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 2 17. TAM – Guillermo Elgart © TAM - Guillermo Elgart TAM – Guillermo Elgart is an architecture firm centered around residential architecture. Some of TAM – Guillermo Elgart’s most prominent projects include: Casa 81, Mar del Plata, Argentina Casa 60 , Mar del Plata, Argentina Casa Celina (Celina House), Mar del Plata, Argentina Casa 388, Mar del Plata, Argentina Casa Moro, Buenos Aires, Argentina The following statistics helped TAM - Guillermo Elgart achieve 17th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 5 16. Estudio Ramos © Daniela Mac Adden Based in Buenos Aires and New York, Estudio Ramos has developed a distinctive style that relies on a well defined vision of modernism. Through 40 years of experience the firm has developed its work with a deep respect for architecture’s principles. In their long trajectory of residential and commercial building they seek to understand and interpret each project’s context, pursuing its ideal scale and sustainability. Their goal is to encourage reflection through a simple, pure, and honest architectural language. Some of Estudio Ramos’ most prominent projects include: Figueras Polo Stables, General Rodríguez, Argentina Nacho Figueras House, General Rodríguez, Argentina Yacht Club House, Buenos Aires, Argentina Accesos Puertos del Lago, Tigre, Argentina 56th Street Apt, New York City, New York The following statistics helped Estudio Ramos achieve 16th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 33 15. Salassa-tissot-castañeda / STC ARQUITECTOS © Salassa-tissot-castañeda / STC ARQUITECTOS The professionals who make up this studio are graduates of the School of Architecture and Design at the National University of Córdoba, secondary colleagues and friends. All three cofounders have very different ideas and ways of thinking but share the same goals, trying to reflect and make architecture that is socially useful in the context that we live today. The studio was formally founded back in 2006. Our business focuses primarily on two axes, first orders both private and public and other contests architecture. Some of Salassa-tissot-castañeda / STC ARQUITECTOS’ most prominent projects include: Suburban house, Alta Gracia, Argentina Refuge in Cordoba, Argentina, Villa Serranita, Argentina La Hornilla Suburban Refuge, Alta Gracia, Argentina PH Solares, Alta Gracia, Argentina Spinlock – Magnetic Resonance Solutions, Córdoba, Argentina The following statistics helped Salassa-tissot-castañeda / STC ARQUITECTOS achieve 15th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 9 14. CCPM Arquitectos © CCPM Arquitectos At CCPM Architects we work between concept and matter, assembled and designed, landscape and object. We reflect con the place architecture occupies in contemporary culture and we seek in form the critical role of the project. We work in Buenos Aires on a wooden board on two industrial trestles with computers, drawings, models, books, photos, printers and mugs. Some of CCPM Arquitectos’ most prominent projects include: Water Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina PH Lavalleja, Buenos Aires, Argentina Bamba House, Buenos Aires, Argentina The following statistics helped CCPM Arquitectos achieve 14th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 3 13. Pablo Gagliardo © Pablo Gagliardo Pablo Gagliardo is an Argentine architect who in 2003, founded the architecture practice within the construction company Obring. Pablo Gagliardo develops projects of various scales with a speciality in residential design. Some of Pablo Gagliardo’s most prominent projects include: Building Pueyrredón 1101, Rosario, Argentina Building Moreno 40 Bis, Rosario, Argentina House CA – Pablo Gagliardo y María Eugenia Díaz, Rosario, Argentina The following statistics helped Pablo Gagliardo achieve 13th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 3 12. IR arquitectura © IR arquitectura IR architecture is a cooperative platform created in 2008 by Luciano Intile and Andrés Rogers. Composed by architects and industrial designers trained in different academic and practical areas, this platform serves as an open, malleable, and symbiotic system. It is its multidisciplinary nature which allows it to address the integrated management of work. IR architecture makes focus on social, environmental and economic issues with the objective of creating urban, architectural and object-based models, responding to functional and aesthetic requirements self-imposed, seeking higher energy efficiency records. The harmonious relationship with users and their environment mobilizes this thinking applied to each stage of the process, from the choice of materials, construction systems to the function of the parts themselves. Some of IR arquitectura’s most prominent projects include: casa AA, Buenos Aires, Argentina espacio Thea, Buenos Aires, Argentina Cabine Modules, Hungary El Camarin, Buenos Aires, Argentina Comuna Yerbas del Paraiso, Puerto Iguazú, Argentina The following statistics helped IR arquitectura achieve 12th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 4 Total Projects 6 11. Besonias Almeida arquitectos © Besonias Almeida arquitectos Besonias Almeida arquitectos is an architecture studio integrated by Argentinian architects María Victoria Besonias and Guillermo de Almeida. They both are engaged in the profession independently since 1975 and as holders of BAKarquitectos architecture office from 2000 until 2012. They leave the certainties to assume that doubt can be a valuable creative material and that any progress on those unknown frontiers should be done walking between boldness and caution. Some of Besonias Almeida arquitectos’ most prominent projects include: Torcuato House Pavilion, Malvinas Argentinas, Argentina Besonías Almeida House, Buenos Aires, Argentina Wein House, Pinamar, Argentina La Marina House, Pinamar, Argentina Mar Azul House, Buenos Aires, Argentina The following statistics helped Besonias Almeida arquitectos achieve 11th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 4 Total Projects 21 10. RINO arquitectos © Aerial Innovations RINO is an architecture studio based in Buenos Aires, founded in 2023 as the evolution of a renowned avant-garde practice led by architects Javier Rivarola and Ricardo Norton. Building on a distinguished track record in design, research and academia, RINO brings a comprehensive and globally informed approach to architectural development. With expertise in design, project development and construction management, we deliver bespoke architectural solutions for a select clientele that includes corporate firms, government institutions and private clients with high expectations. Our practice is defined by its commitment to excellence, integration of advanced technologies — including Revit, Rhinoceros and Grasshopper — and a creative vision that spans residential projects to large-scale urban developments. RINO has received recognition in prestigious international competitions such as Beale Street Landing in Memphis, USA, and La Campa de los Ingleses in Bilbao, Spain, showcasing our ability to deliver world-class design. Some of RINO arquitectos’ most prominent projects include: Beale Street Landing, Memphis, Tennesee Dashi, Buenos Aires, Argentina White and Gray House, Buenos Aires, Argentina MB House, Tigre, Argentina Ruiz Huidobro, Buenos Aires, Argentina The following statistics helped RINO arquitectos achieve 10th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: A+Awards Winner 1 A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 9 9. MSGSSV © MSGSSV MSGSV is an architectural practice based in Buenos Aires with more than 50 years of professional experience. Through unexpected pathways we develop an architecture far away from imitative procedures, for away from repeating models. Multi-dimensional approaches, minor interventions and major projects all form part of our background and they are all handled with the same interest. Each and every problem is worthy of an in-depth search for the right solution, because the magic of architecture lies in the intensity and passion that go into it. Some of MSGSSV’s most prominent projects include: HOUSE IN MARTINEZ, Martínez, Argentina Coca-Cola Headquarters, Buenos Aires, Argentina PRO.CRE.AR Buenos Aires Station Sector 10 , Buenos Aires, Argentina Campus La Calandria, Pilar, Argentina Paraguay Government Offices, Asunción, Paraguay The following statistics helped MSGSSV achieve 9th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 5 Total Projects 9 8. REMY arquitectos © REMY arquitectos In 2004, architect Andrés Remy founded his studio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where projects with an original style matching functionality and design, are developed. With a focus on residential design and hospitality architecture, the firm has a presence in Argentina as well as the United Arab Emirates. Some of REMY arquitectos’ most prominent projects include: The Black House, Buenos Aires, Argentina Casa Carrara, Pilar, Argentina Devoto House, Buenos Aires, Argentina FSY House, Buenos Aires, Argentina Water House, Nordelta, Benavidez, Argentina The following statistics helped REMY arquitectos achieve 8th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 5 Total Projects 12 7. AtelierM © AtelierM We create exciting designs based on circular economy, through a creative atelier of constant experimentation, made up of a collaborative team. Some of AtelierM’s most prominent projects include: LuMa, Buenos Aires, Argentina GRI, Buenos Aires, Argentina MeCa, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina Nirvana, Pilar, Argentina Shire, Buenos Aires, Argentina The following statistics helped AtelierM achieve 7th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 5 Total Projects 5 6. Moirë Architects © Moirë Architects Moirë arquitectos was founded by Mariel Cámara and Ezequiel Muñoz. Based in Mar del Plata, Argentina, the firm manage all aspects of a design project, from developing the architectural work, managing the construction and advising investors. Some of Moirë Architects’ most prominent projects include: B_6 Office Building, Mar del Plata, Argentina Lucerna House, Mar del Plata, Argentina Atelier Gael, Mar del Plata, Argentina Cronos House, Pinamar, Argentina Porta House, Mar del Plata, Argentina The following statistics helped Moirë Architects achieve 6th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 6 Total Projects 15 5. Alric Galindez © Alric Galindez Alric Galindez began its activities in 1995, generating various types of works from the outset, with a special emphasis on seeking contemporary proposals. “We understand the profession as an activity that should encompass different facets: architecture as a creative act of ongoing exploration, construction and economics as a means to realize ideas, and the relationship with the client as a fundamental part of developing proposals.” The studio has a particular interest in works whose essence lies in Design and Creative Proposals. In this sense, the size and location of the commission are not constraints, thus encompassing the different scales of the discipline. They have completed more than 200 works and projects of various scales and programs, primarily single-family housing. Some of Alric Galindez’s most prominent projects include: MD House , San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina Bitelhaus, Buenos Aires, Argentina CS House, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina Vizu Jaus, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina RM House, Mar de Ajó, Argentina The following statistics helped Alric Galindez achieve 5th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 6 Total Projects 10 4. Hitzig Militello arquitectos © Hitzig Militello arquitectos We are an architectural firm which develops civil construction and interior design, according to the commission. We have a long experience in F&B, leisure and hospitality design, where we focus in generating creative concepts. We also take commissions of housing and multiple housing. The office counts with an integral team for each one of the phases required in the project, according to the commission, which works together with technical consultants and specialized suppliers. Our philosophy is based on the idea of integral design. This means we merge aspects of a brand, use abstract concepts for its contextualization, work with artistic tools and visual communication, (archigraphy) and interior design. Some of Hitzig Militello arquitectos’ most prominent projects include: Manduca Market, Buenos Aires, Argentina Benedetta, Buenos Aires, Argentina Office + House Luna, Buenos Aires, Argentina Victoria Brown Bar & Restaurant, Buenos Aires, Argentina Atelier Vilela, Buenos Aires, Argentina The following statistics helped Hitzig Militello arquitectos achieve 4th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 7 Total Projects 34 3. Estudio PK – Ignacio Pessagno & Lilian Kandus © Estudio PK - Ignacio Pessagno & Lilian Kandus Architecture studio, oriented to the design, direction and execution of the works that they materialize as a team. Interpret the needs, through a different, global and creative vision, which transforms project objectives into precise and unique efficient proposals, immersions in a real economic context. They follow up and evaluate throughout the creative process, select both in the project and in the operational technician, optimize and refine the results. Some of Estudio PK – Ignacio Pessagno & Lilian Kandus’ most prominent projects include: Casa Nido, San Fernando Partido, Argentina Casa Tana, Buenos Aires, Argentina Casa L, Buenos Aires, Argentina Graffiti House, Tigre, Argentina Casa Rampa, Belén de Escobar, Argentina The following statistics helped Estudio PK - Ignacio Pessagno & Lilian Kandus achieve 3rd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 8 Total Projects 19 2. Luciano Kruk Arquitectos © Daniela Mac Adden Luciano Kruk Arquitectos was founded in 2012 by Argentine architect Luciano Kruk. The practice is known for its residential designs. Some of Luciano Kruk Arquitectos’ most prominent projects include: House in the Dune, La Costa Partido, Argentina S+J House, La Costa Partido, Argentina 10 House, Buenos Aires, Argentina House in the Trees, Buenos Aires, Argentina Casa Escobar, Buenos Aires, Argentina The following statistics helped Luciano Kruk Arquitectos achieve 2nd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 10 Total Projects 13 1. Estudio Galera © Javier Agustín Rojas Estudio Galera is dedicated to the design, management and construction of architecture, providing complete solutions and appropriate responses to challenges. In this sense, the architectural studio becomes the right place to reformulate conventional issues related to architecture considering the environment, climate, economic and personal factors that might affect those people who will inhabit those places. The methodology consists of the collection of data and analysis of the problem from different points of view towards ensuring the best results. Thus, the teamwork allows orderly planning and optimization of the resources. The organization of management, documentation and communication enables developments to be achieved in a timely manner. Some of Estudio Galera’s most prominent projects include: Casa AYYA, Pinamar, Argentina Casa RINCÓN, Ostende, Argentina Batin House, Pinamar, Argentina KVS House, La Esmeralda, Argentina Wanka House, Cariló, Argentina Featured image: Choique House, Cariló, Argentina The following statistics helped Estudio Galera achieve 1st place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Argentina: Featured Projects 14 Total Projects 24 Why Should I Trust Architizer’s Ranking? With more than 30,000 architecture firms and over 130,000 projects within its database, Architizer is proud to host the world’s largest online community of architects and building product manufacturers. Its celebrated A+Awards program is also the largest celebration of architecture and building products, with more than 400 jurors and hundreds of thousands of public votes helping to recognize the world’s best architecture each year. Architizer also powers firm directories for a number of AIA (American Institute of Architects) Chapters nationwide, including the official directory of architecture firms for AIA New York. An example of a project page on Architizer with Project Award Badges highlighted A Guide to Project Awards The blue “+” badge denotes that a project has won a prestigious A+Award as described above. Hovering over the badge reveals details of the award, including award category, year, and whether the project won the jury or popular choice award. The orange Project of the Day and yellow Featured Project badges are awarded by Architizer’s Editorial team, and are selected based on a number of factors. The following factors increase a project’s likelihood of being featured or awarded Project of the Day status: Project completed within the last 3 years A well written, concise project description of at least 3 paragraphs Architectural design with a high level of both functional and aesthetic value High quality, in focus photographs At least 8 photographs of both the interior and exterior of the building Inclusion of architectural drawings and renderings Inclusion of construction photographs There are 7 Projects of the Day each week and a further 31 Featured Projects. Each Project of the Day is published on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Stories, while each Featured Project is published on Facebook. Each Project of the Day also features in Architizer’s Weekly Projects Newsletter and shared with 170,000 subscribers. We’re constantly look for the world’s best architects to join our community. If you would like to understand more about this ranking list and learn how your firm can achieve a presence on it, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at editorial@architizer.com. The post 25 Best Architecture and Design Firms in Argentina appeared first on Journal.

As the cranes rise, many of the projects taking shape suggest a new direction where Indian architecture pairs ambition with responsibility.

The post Beneath the Boom: Insights From India’s Construction Surge appeared first on Journal.

Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work by uploading projects to Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletters. India is undergoing one of the world’s largest construction booms, with the industry projected to exceed two trillion dollars by 2030. Highways, railways and logistics networks are being built at a record pace, while the demand for housing and workplaces continues to climb across both metropolitan and regional centers. The sheer scale of investment has turned the country into a proving ground for how fast a built environment can change. But within this story of growth lies another, quieter one. Alongside the figures and infrastructure plans, recent projects reveal a shift in how architecture is conceived less as a matter of expansion alone and more as a search for resilience, identity and social value. Housing is being shaped to counter extreme heat, schools are opening themselves to nature, corporate campuses are testing net-zero strategies and cultural buildings are placing heritage and landscape at the forefront. India’s boom is vast, but the work emerging from it suggests that something more lasting may be underway: a new design culture taking root in the very midst of rapid change. 1. Homes for a Changing Nation: Climate and Community at the Core Residential construction is the backbone of India’s building boom, forming the largest share of new development as cities expand and rural populations migrate toward urban centers. Yet within this vast demand, many architects are proving that housing can do more than meet numerical targets. Across the country, new homes are experimenting with strategies that respond to extreme heat, promote ventilation and create a stronger sense of community. Rather than demoting resilience and social life to secondary considerations, both qualities are considered integral to how domestic architecture is conceived. SCREEN 504 by Sanjay Puri Architects, Udaipur, India | Popular Choice Winner, Multi Unit Housing (High Rise – 16+ Floors), 13th Architizer A+Awards SCREEN 504 by Sanjay Puri Architects, Udaipur, India | Popular Choice Winner, Multi Unit Housing (High Rise – 16+ Floors), 13th Architizer A+Awards In Udaipur, Screen 504 shows how these principles can operate at the scale of a high-rise. Drawing on the city’s tradition of screened balconies, the twenty-one–storey tower incorporates shaded decks that filter harsh sun while offering residents layered outdoor spaces. It demonstrates how vernacular ideas can be reimagined for contemporary urban housing, turning a dense residential block into a model for climate-conscious living. Vaazh by vy architecture studio, Chennai, India Vaazh by vy architecture studio, Chennai, India At the opposite end of the spectrum, Vaazh in Chennai illustrates how the same thinking applies to a single family home. The revival of the thinnai — a raised veranda that connects household and street — makes the residence porous to neighbors, animals and climate alike. By rooting the design in this traditional threshold, the house becomes less an isolated dwelling and more a participant in the life of its neighborhood. 2. Knowledge and Community Spaces: Building for the Next Generation If housing illustrates the scale of India’s construction surge, its schools and community centers reflect the kinds of values that growth is beginning to carry. Recent projects show an interest in openness, accessibility and a closer connection to everyday life, turning educational and civic buildings into active parts of their surroundings. Nokha Village Community Centre by Sanjay Puri Architects, Nokha, India | Popular Choice Winner, Libraries, 13th Architizer A+Awards Nokha Village Community Centre by Sanjay Puri Architects, Nokha, India | Popular Choice Winner, Libraries, 13th Architizer A+Awards In Rajasthan, the Nokha Village Community Centre brings these ambitions into a desert landscape. Its looping form encloses a shaded courtyard, while sandstone screens and a sloping rooftop garden respond directly to the climate. Inside are resources that have long been absent in the region, from a digital library for children to a museum of local culture, each framed by construction methods and materials drawn from nearby villages. Centre for Inclusive Growth & Competitiveness for Tapmi by The Purple Ink Studio, Manipal, India | Jury Winner, Community Centers, 13th Architizer A+Awards Centre for Inclusive Growth & Competitiveness for Tapmi by The Purple Ink Studio, Manipal, India | Jury Winner, Community Centers, 13th Architizer A+Awards In Manipal, the TAPMI Centre for Sustainability reshapes the idea of an academic block. The design spills outward into terraces and an open amphitheater, with circulation paths that merge into the life of the campus. By keeping its edges porous, the building attracts activity well beyond class hours, offering students and the wider community spaces for gathering, study and exchange. Both of these examples suggest that institutional design in India is moving toward a more public role, one that makes education and community visible and accessible in equal measure. 3. Infrastructure as Identity: Landmark Architecture on a National Scale While the most dominant typologies respond to daily life, it is the large civic investments that most visibly alter the country’s architectural landscape. Some of the latest widely recognized projects act as symbols as much as they do functional buildings, signaling how the country envisions its place in the world. Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru — Terminal 2 by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Bengaluru, India. Jury Winner and Popular Choice Winner, 12th Annual A+Awards, Sustainable Transportation Project. Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru — Terminal 2 by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Bengaluru, India. Jury Winner and Popular Choice Winner, 12th Annual A+Awards, Sustainable Transportation Project. In Bengaluru, the Kempegowda International Airport Terminal 2 frames travel through the lens of landscape. Gardens, bamboo structures and daylit halls turn the terminal into an architectural emblem of the city’s identity as India’s “garden capital,” while its LEED Platinum pre-certification highlights a growing commitment to sustainability. Yashobhoomi by CP Kukreja Architects, New Delhi, India Yashobhoomi by CP Kukreja Architects, New Delhi, India In Delhi, the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre underscores the global aspirations of India’s boom. Stretching across hundreds of acres, it combines vast auditoriums and exhibition halls with green boulevards and car-free zones, marking it as both a site of international exchange and a statement of national ambition. Large-scale civic projects like these are not only shaping infrastructure, but are also changing the image of the country to both the world and to its own citizens. 4. Work and Innovation: Creative Corporate Campuses and Studios The commercial surge in India has often been measured in warehouses, logistics parks and IT hubs, but the design of workplaces themselves is undergoing its own transformation. As companies expand, offices are being asked to carry more weight than simple functionality: they are expected to model sustainability, represent cultural values and support new patterns of collaboration. Infosys Campus by Morphogenesis, Nagpur, India Infosys Campus by Morphogenesis, Nagpur, India In Nagpur, the Infosys Campus translates these ambitions into a large-scale experiment. Its net-zero design incorporates passive cooling, radiant systems and carefully oriented floor plates to cut energy use, while its façades carry local references that tie global technology to regional identity. ADND SILO by Atelier Design N Domain, Mumbai, India ADND SILO by Atelier Design N Domain, Mumbai, India In Mumbai, the ADND SILO illustrates how the same ambitions play out in smaller, adaptive contexts. A former industrial silo has been recast as a design studio headquarters, retaining its rough shell while introducing expressive new interiors that speak to the studio’s creative ethos. 5. Culture and Identity: Spaces That Celebrate Heritage Amid the speed of infrastructure and commercial growth, cultural projects are showing how architecture in India remains tied to heritage, storytelling and the shaping of collective identity. Some of these works may be smaller in scale than airports or campuses, but they carry an outsized role in linking contemporary design to history and landscape. Hampi Art Labs by Sameep Padora and Associates (sP+a), Hampi, India. Photos by: Studio Recall Hampi Art Labs by Sameep Padora and Associates (sP+a), Hampi, India. Photos by: Studio Recall In Hampi, Hampi Art Labs sets a cultural campus into the terrain itself, its iron oxide walls and curving forms rising like extensions of the surrounding hills. Focusing on art, heritage and landscape, the project draws international attention while remaining rooted in local materials and traditions. The Forest of Knowledge by studio HINGE, Mumbai, India, Popular Choice Winner, 13th Annual A+Awards, Educational Interiors. Photos by: Suryan & Dang, studio HINGE The Forest of Knowledge by studio HINGE, Mumbai, India, Popular Choice Winner, 13th Annual A+Awards, Educational Interiors. Photos by: Suryan & Dang, studio HINGE This idea of preserving heritage and bringing it closer to everyday life also translates into more intimate settings. In Mumbai, the Forest of Knowledge reimagines what a library can look like in the digital age. Columns transformed into tree-like structures, circular bookshelves, and open reading spaces recreate the atmosphere of reading under a canopy, while new programs such as film screenings and workshops make the library a gathering space as much as an archive. Cultural projects such as these affirm that India’s construction boom is not only about scale and speed, but about continuity as well, sustaining stories, places and practices that define the country’s identity. Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work by uploading projects to Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletters. The post Beneath the Boom: Insights From India’s Construction Surge appeared first on Journal.

Architects spend careers specifying for others. This list flips the script: tools that make your own practice more productive and more creative.

The post Specifying the Studio: 6 Award-Winning Products Architects Choose for Themselves appeared first on Journal.

The winners of the A+Product Awards have been announced! Looking ahead to next season? Stay up to date by subscribing to Architizer's A+Product Awards Newsletter. Design has always relied on its instruments, from the pencil to the PC. We use tools to help shape ideas into reality, and in that sense, nothing has changed for centuries. What has changed, however, is the expectation placed on practitioners. Today, this pressure is more demanding than it has ever been. Architects and designers are asked not simply to design, but to demonstrate process as well as outcome, to persuade while they plan and to create experiences that excite long before a structure is ever realized. Naturally, curious and resourceful as they are, architects and designers have sought solutions to alleviate the load and meet those demands. Thankfully, they have found them. A new kind of support system exists, and ecology even, of tools that assist beyond workflow into how ideas are exchanged and how studios are run. To many, this is the new infrastructure of successful practice, allowing for clear communication, fluidity and, crucially, space for imagination. These tools free creatives to focus on what they do best: designing our world. The following A+Product Awards winners exemplify this new ecology, each one serving as proof that fortune favors not just the bold, but the well-equipped. Gunlocke Briefing Tables By Gunlocke Popular Choice Winner, Furnishings, Contract Furniture, 2025 A+Product Awards Meetings are part of the architect’s everyday life, and the furniture that supports them can have a decisive impact on how conversations flow. Gunlocke’s Briefing collection addresses this directly, replacing the traditional head-of-table hierarchy with geometries that give participants equal sightlines and focus. Designed with hybrid collaboration in mind, the tables integrate power and data into their surfaces, turning them into practical platforms for communication and focused work while ensuring that every seat at the table is heard and valued as much as the next. Wanderlust By Jill Malek Jury Winner, Finishes, Walls & Wall Coverings, 2025 A+Product Awards Many designers spend all their time and energy focusing on how their clients’ spaces feel; they forget about their own, and with that, surface treatments are often dismissed as secondary requirements. Yet, the spaces we inhabit are potent tools for guiding our emotions and inspiring creativity. Jill Malek’s Wanderlust collection translates the textures and colors of distant landscapes into large-scale murals, turning walls into carriers of narrative rather than neutral backdrops. Tailored to each space and produced on commercial-grade substrates, the works insert cultural and geographic references directly into interiors. When wanderlust is employed in an office environment, it creates a sense of place and memory while inspiring and energising the viewer. D5 Render By D5 Render Popular Choice Winner, Technology, Design Tools, 2025 A+Product Awards Visualization has become inseparable from design practice, but speed and clarity are often at odds. D5 Render closes that gap, offering real-time, photorealistic results that keep pace with the design process itself. By integrating directly with major modeling platforms and cutting rendering time to minutes rather than days, it allows teams to test, adjust, and present ideas without delay. The ability to co-create in the cloud means that visualization is an active part of collaboration, giving designers the one tool that there is never enough of, time. By making imagination instantly shareable and allowing creativity to progress at a pace, D5 Render helps the creative process flow. Bind By Vibia Jury Winner, Lighting, Recessed & Mounted Lighting, 2025 A+Product Awards We almost always split lighting into technical and decorative, but Vibia’s Bind system treats the two as inseparable. Modular tracks and fixtures allow designers to shift easily between accent, diffuse, and ambient light, and in doing so, they create atmospheres that respond to programme as much as to form. Because the system integrates with existing architectural elements, it serves as a framework that enables experimentation while maintaining control. In the broader ecology of practice, Bind becomes an active and flexible medium for design. Vectorworks Architect 2025 By Vectorworks Jury Winner, Technology, Design Tools, 2025 A+Product Awards The challenge with many digital tools isn’t necessarily capability but continuity — moving from sketch to model to documentation without losing clarity or intent. Vectorworks Architect 2025 tackles that need with a fully integrated workflow, allowing drawing, modeling and visualization to operate as one. The benefit is less about speed alone than about consistency: a design idea can be explored, tested and communicated within a single environment, reducing the friction that often accompanies hand-offs between platforms. In practice, it adds resilience to the designer’s process, keeping creativity intact while maintaining the precision that delivery demands. Ekodome Geodesic Dome Systems By Ekodome Jury Winner, Best of the Year, Commercial Design, 2025 A+Product Awards Rarely do designers work from one space. The office, home, and site are regularly in rotation as places to set down and get things done. It can be messy and haphazard, with frequent jumping back and forth. Increasingly, temporary structures are being recognized as an unmatched solution for tidying those transitions. Ekodome’s modular geodesic systems show how they can operate as functional sites for designers. Durable frames and insulated panels allow the domes to perform in extreme climates, while their modular assembly makes them adaptable to almost any context. Architects expand the possibilities of where and how projects can take place. In the ecology of practice, Ekodome ensures that even when there is no coffee shop to be found, a desk can be placed, and work can continue without interruption. Collapsing the distance between home, office and site, and turning transience into continuity. The winners of the A+Product Awards have been announced! Looking ahead to next season? Stay up to date by subscribing to Architizer's A+Product Awards Newsletter. The post Specifying the Studio: 6 Award-Winning Products Architects Choose for Themselves appeared first on Journal.

Once navigational beacons, lighthouses are evading obsolescence by evolving as architectural platforms for experimentation.

The post Bright Ideas: Architects Rethink the Lighthouse Typology appeared first on Journal.

Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work by uploading projects to Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletters. For years, lighthouses were considered a symbol of safety and navigation as well as a space of isolation and romanticism. Positioned at off-grid locations and following a tower-like typology, their primary function was to guide sailors through the sea. However, the lighthouse typology has evolved over the years, transitioning into civic hubs, sculptural icons, temporary installations, ecological and technological stations, as well as entirely inhabited spaces for artistic residences and studios. If we were to redefine the contemporary lighthouse, we would look for buildings and spaces that operate within the periphery, in-between land and water, making the invisible visible. The six following projects are examples of how lighthouses can host imaginative functions, straying away from the idea of the obsolete relic and instead reimagining it as a platform for ecological and communal expression. Sun Tower By OPEN Architecture, Yantai, China Finalist, 2025 A+Awards, Cultural – Cultural and Expo Centers The project is located in an oceanfront public cultural facility in Yantai Yeda Development Zone, acting as a threshold between land and sea. The building features an outdoor theater, digital exhibition spaces, library, café and bar. Morphologically, the building is sliced in half, allowing natural light to pass through, while revealing its interior programmatic structure and broadcasting its function as a cultural center for Yantai. In other words, it fuses tradition and respect towards nature with contemporary urban life. Evolving Lighthouse By arcari cimini architettura, Concept The project aims at redefining the lighthouse typology, arguing that its traditional function, as a point of navigation, has become obsolete with the evolving GPS technology. Consequently, the design explores how a lighthouse can be transformed through energy, tourism and communication, utilizing the typology’s unique characteristics (coastal location, height and isolation), reimagine it as an eco-tourism destination. The metallic structure is comprised of hotel facilities powered by wind turbine generators as well as a series of infrastructural networks that reach out to the immediate landscape. In essence, the design merges environmental responsibility, tourism and communication to make the lighthouse relevant once more in the contemporary architectural landscape. Lightsails By Söhne & Partner Architects, Millstatt, Austria The project is an installation created for Austria’s state exhibition at Millstätter Lake, where seven sails were designed as guiding symbols inspired by the lighthouse’s historic role as a point of navigation. Each sail acts as a “light-space” sculpture that orient visitors across the exhibition. Their illumination interacts with the surrounding environment, increasing its intensity as people approach, shifting colors with temperature changes and producing dynamic light shows. Observation Tower By RYSY Architekci, Warsaw, Poland The project is located in Bardowskiego lagoon in Warsaw, acting as both a landmark and an active recreational structure. The structure is made of lightweight steel acting as an observation point over the water, while also integrating a climbing wall and transforming it into a leisure infrastructure, a community attraction and a lighthouse-like beacon. At night, the tower is playfully illuminated, becoming a glowing vertical marker that guides visitors through the natural landscape and lagoon’s recreational grounds, articulating a different relationship between water, landscape.and architecture. Cubes Aleorion Lighthouse Project By bo.M design studio – Vasilis Mylonas, Volos, Greece The design features a contemporary lighthouse proposal for the port of Volos, situated at the end of the city’s kilometer-long breakwater. Morphologically, the design is inspired by the world’s earliest maritime safety structure – the ancient Aleorion of Xerxes (ca. 480 BC) – and reinterprets a series of stacked stone blocks into a modern tower of rotated concrete cubes. The 14.25-meter structure is comprised of hollow spaces and framed openings, with a central stairway that invites visitors to experience the shifting views of the bay. Additionally, the lighthouse acts as a public landmark, transforming the waterfront walk into a cultural promenade and marking its edge with a cultural symbol. Lighthouse Turbine Hotel By Margot Krasojevic Architecture, Jeju, South Korea The project is situated off the coast of Jeju in South Korea and reuses an existing oil rig’s tension platform to create a hybrid between renewable energy infrastructure and hospitality. Specifically, the design is inspired by the region’s expertise in shipbuilding and offshore wind farms and aims to create a lighthouse that serves both as a hotel and a self-sustaining energy generator. The structure is made of ETFE, which is lightweight and resilient to extreme weather conditions and is powered by three wind turbines that harness wave energy, converting it into electricity. Beyond energy and shelter, the project positions itself as a tourist destination and research platform, offering guests engagement with eco-hospitality and renewable technologies. In essence, the proposal argues that existing structures, whose traditional functions are becoming obsolete like the lighthouse, should be redefined rather than abandoned. These six projects act as evidence of how such a fixed typology can transcend its former role and instead operate as a cultural, ecological, and technological catalyst. By no longer defined as relics of obsolescence, lighthouses are now reimagined as experimental platforms operating as thresholds in-between land and sea. Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work by uploading projects to Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletters. Featured Image: Observation Tower by RYSY Architekci, Warsaw, Poland The post Bright Ideas: Architects Rethink the Lighthouse Typology appeared first on Journal.

Desai Chia proves that a six-person practice can deliver architecture of rigor, sensitivity and international significance.

The post The Power of Staying Small: Desai Chia’s Architecture Without Borders appeared first on Journal.

In a profession that often equates size with influence, Desai Chia Architecture offers a compelling counterpoint. Over the past 30 years, principals Katherine Chia and Arjun Desai have built a body of work that spans continents, crosses typologies and commands the attention of peers worldwide. With diverse projects ranging from luminous loft renovations to crystalline countryside homes to quirky office spaces, their oeuvre is united not by a singular, identifiable aesthetic but rather by their attentive design approach and the deep working relationships that they form in the process. Having scrolled through images of their impressive built work, the firm’s admirers are often surprised to learn that the New York studio houses just six employees. Despite professional and commercial success over the years, Desai Chia’s smallness is no accident. The firm is deliberately kept nimble to ensure that its hallmark process remains the engine of every commission: prioritizing the involvement of the principals and a few talented designers fosters deep trust with clients. This setup is what nurtures the kind of intellectual curiosity that fuels three decades of evolution. It’s a model that resists the lure of formulaic design in favor of work that is site-specific and materially expressive, with human conversation at its core. Recognized by a global jury of their peers as Best Small Firm in the 13th Architizer A+Awards, Desai Chia Architecture exemplifies how staying small can be a powerful design choice — one with the potential to influence how the profession thinks about practice itself. Mindset Over Scale LM Guest House by Desai Chia Architecture, New York State Though the two principals, Katherine and Arjun, had nurtured the goal of starting their own studio since they met in grad school at MIT, the firm’s foundation actually formed rather organically. Upon graduation, the pair had moved to New York to cut their teeth at established firms. At that time, they began moonlighting on side projects, starting with an apartment renovation in Manhattan. The scope of the next project, a children’s recreation center in California, quickly grew too demanding for evenings and weekends alone (as anyone who has ever had to fly regular red eyes can attest). Within a year, they were running an office out of Chia’s apartment and, not long after, officially launched Desai Chia Architecture. What they chose from the beginning was not scale, but mindset. “We decided early on never to stay static,” says Chia. “Each project, whether large or small, is a new opportunity to explore ways to bring people together, experiment with materials and light, and find inspiration in the nuanced details of a client’s background.” The architects describe themselves as “closet anthropologists,” unearthing unique cultural artifacts of their clients’ backgrounds and translating them into built form. That curiosity remains the through line of their practice 30 years later. The Small Firm Advantage Michigan Lake House by Desai Chia Architecture with with Environment Architects, Leelanau County, Michigan For Desai Chia, staying small is not a constraint but a conscious strategy. Their six-person studio offers something larger firms often can’t: direct, day-to-day engagement with principals on every commission. That intimacy leads to surprising opportunities. For example, a family that once hired the studio for a residential project later asked them to design offices at Hudson Yards. Another client, initially commissioning two office projects, turned back to them years later for an urban penthouse. This typological fluidity is born of a telling facet of the New York studio’s business — repeat clients often return to the studio with new commissions. These project lineages reveal the appeal and trust in the studio’s working method, where designs and even aesthetics are not pre-determined. Clients do not seek out the firm for a replicable architectural concept; instead, they value Desai Chia’s unique brand of collaborative design experience — their method of working rather than a preconceived result. Rather than being a hindrance, the firm’s nimbleness is a boon to such projects. The studio is a tight-knit group, all of whom are architecturally trained but interdisciplinary in their approach. Residential expertise may inform institutional commissions, while office projects can channel domestic atmospheres. Every program becomes a chance to test ideas from overlapping disciplines, yielding unique results. As Chia puts it, they “embrace quirky aspects and associations of form and function.” Meanwhile, the firm’s size does not limit the scale of any individual project. Partnering with other architecture and engineering firms allows them to take on larger commissions. Seeking out collaborators with complementary skill sets allows Desai Chia to lead the design and process with benefit of additional staff power. Everyone benefits in these larger, collaborative commissions. Signature Projects and Design Principles Osprey House by Desai Chia Architecture, Shelter Island, New York Over three decades, Desai Chia has built a portfolio that resists easy categorization yet remains instantly recognizable for its sensitivity and craft. The studio’s projects are designed to endure not only physically but generationally. For a home, that might mean asking whether future grandchildren will still want to live there. For institutions, it’s imagining how the next student generation will experience a space. For offices, it’s about leaving behind a legacy for those who inherit the company. This kind of long-view thinking positions the firm not only as a design studio, but as a contributor to how architecture shapes culture over time. Take, for example, the LM Guest House, which envelopes a warm, wooden core in a 360-degree vitrine of glass walls that are supported by a robust steel frame and completed with a suite of sustainable systems, including geothermal heating and cooling. It is a minimal pavilion that exemplifies some of the recurring features that underlie the firm’s work: structural precision, prismatic massing and attunement to the environment. Meanwhile, Michigan Lake House pushes these environmental stewardship further, using a unique roof form to capture stormwater and reclaimed dying ash trees from the site’s ailing forest (the area has been devastated by the ash borer beetle in recent years) to shape the interiors. Collaborating with Delta Millworks, the firm also introduced shou sugi ban siding to one of the first residential projects in the U.S., a material now widely embraced for its durability and expressive character. In Manhattan, the Photographer’s Loft tells another story: first completed in the studio’s early days, the project was revisited 20 years later for a new client. Raw steel, wood and lighting details transformed the space into a live–work environment, demonstrating how the architects see design as an evolving conversation across decades. And in rural settings, such as the Osprey House, Desai Chia’s work achieves a quiet refinement — simple forms infused with an airy atmosphere, which are honed to respond to the ecosystems of the biodiverse wetlands and coastal landscape. Reveling in such juxtapositions seemingly amplifies the qualities of both the built and natural; their work revels in the harmony between the two without eliding them. Expanding Horizons: Global Work and Contextual Sensitivity Luminous Depths by Lee Mingwei in collaboration with Desai Chia Architecture, Singapore Chaque Souffle Une Danse by Lee Mingwei in collaboration with Desai Chia Architecture, San Francisco, California While most of the studio’s work is rooted in the U.S., Desai Chia occasionally expands their practice across international borders. Back in 2013, their team collaborated with the Taiwanese artist Lee Mingwei to design a 3-story installation in the central atrium of Singapore’s Peranakan Museum. (Over a decade later, they repeated the partnership, this time for the artist’s first major US exhibition in San Francisco.) More recently, they have received commissions in Costa Rica and for a remote Caribbean island — unusual opportunities for a small firm. In the case of the former, the client discovered them through Architizer and other online platforms, proof that recognition travels far in today’s digital landscape. Yet, rather than treating the new location as a challenge, the architects saw it as an invitation to learn. This genuine curiosity is a vital element of their success. “How a building interacts with its environments is very important to us, and we do a lot of research on climatic experiences across the course of a day, a season, and a year to learn how the building can respond and react,” Chia reflects. “As they engage with their building, we want our clients to see how nature, natural light, and the surrounding site features interact with and shape the architecture.” Research into local climate and cultural context is not a box to check but a driving force, which is palpable in the resulting buildings. Daily rhythms, seasonal changes and the genius loci of the site all shape the design. Best Small Firm Caribbean House by Desai Chia Architecture, Concept (planned for construction) on a remote Caribbean island In the three decades that have passed since Desai Chia was founded, a lot has changed in both architecture and society more broadly. Yet, as Chia explains, they “continue to keep [their] foundational principles as guiding themes throughout each project. It’s a tussle back and forth to keep evolving the ideas and explore new forms and ways of living, learn from each project, chase the details and continue to refine them, and always seek enduring, inspiring architecture that will continue to renew people’s sense of awe and beauty.” This philosophy, evident in Desai Chia’s built work, is at the heart of their most recent accolade: being named the Best Small Firm in the 13th Architizer A+Awards. Notably, the award acknowledges not one building but the connective arc of excellence in a thirty-year body of work, reflecting an evolution and studio culture that is constantly learning and never settling. The award, for Chia, is about more than recognition. “When the A+Awards acknowledges a firm’s body of work that has been shaped and transformed over 30 years — and that they recognize that the evolution of a small firm is substantial and meaningful — that’s a powerful honor.” It is also a reminder that architecture is not only about singular landmarks but about cumulative influence: the way projects build on one another, the relationships formed with clients and collaborators, the refinement of details and principles across decades. Desai Chia Architecture proves that a six-person studio can hold its own on the global stage — not by being bigger, but by approaching each project with genuine curiosity and an attentive ear. This article was produced in partnership with Desai Chia Architecture as part of an A+Awards special feature series. Top image: Michigan Lake House by Desai Chia Architecture with Environment Architects, Leelanau County, Michigan The post The Power of Staying Small: Desai Chia’s Architecture Without Borders appeared first on Journal.

From reimagined monuments to bio-sourced towers, this guide reveals how Paris fuses heritage and innovation into a living laboratory of design.

The post Architect’s Guide to Paris: 25 Must-See Buildings and Designs appeared first on Journal.

The latest edition of “Architizer: The World’s Best Architecture” — a stunning, hardbound book celebrating the most inspiring contemporary architecture from around the globe — is now available for pre-order. Secure your copy today. Paris has long been a city where architecture operates as both monument and experiment, where historic fabric and avant-garde visions coexist in dialogue. Today, this spirit is visible across a spectrum of projects: icons like the Grand Palais and Centre Pompidou are being reimagined for a new century, while new interventions at Sciences Po, Place de la Nation and Tolbiac are pioneering a distinctly Parisian aesthetic of sustainable wood architecture complete with bio-sourced insulation and planted terraces. Meanwhile, even small-scale insertions that evoke modernist innovators like Jean Prouvé — from a food kiosk beneath the Eiffel Tower to a rooftop pavilion at Galeries Lafayette — embody the city’s ability to transform everyday spaces into architectural theater. The following projects, many of which have won accolades at Architizer’s A+Awards, chart the contours of a contemporary Paris that honors its monuments while pushing forward a new ecological urbanism. Together, they reaffirm the city as both a living heritage and a laboratory for the global future of design. Architizer invites all A+Awards-winners attending the 2025 regional celebration in Paris to bookmark these projects for their visit this fall. GRAND PALAIS By Chatillon Architectes, Paris, France Popular Choice Winner, Gallery & Exhibition Spaces, 13th Architizer A+Awards Originally built for the 1900 Paris Exposition as a Beaux-Arts showcase of glass, steel and stone, the Grand Palais is now undergoing its most ambitious restoration in over a century. The project reopens monumental sight lines, restores natural ligh, and integrates new circulation to meet contemporary cultural demands while preserving its historic fabric. Architect’s Detail: A digital heritage diagnosis — consisting of a 3D virtual model combining more than 3,000 archival drawings and point-cloud surveys — guided the precise reintegration of technical systems into the building’s complex volumes. Hotel Elysée Montmartre By Policronica, Paris, France Jury Winner, Sustainable Interior Project, 13th Architizer A+Awards Adjacent to the historic Elysée Montmartre concert hall, this 16-room boutique hotel transforms an abandoned shell into a monochromatic interior of eucalyptus wood, including custom furnishings. Designed and fabricated entirely by Policronica, the project reimagines an invasive species as a high-end material through innovative solar vacuum drying. Architect’s Detail: Locally sourced eucalyptus, typically reserved for papermaking, was reengineered into durable joinery and furniture, showcasing how undervalued resources can drive sustainable architectural craft. Pavillon Jardins By Atelier du Pont, Paris, France Jury Winner, Architecture +Workspace, 13th Architizer A+Awards Photo by Frédéric Delangle Set within Bernard Tschumi’s Parc de la Villette, this new operations hub aligns with the scale of his 1982 Folies while returning 53,820 square feet (5,000 square meters) of green space to the public. Interlocking timber and concrete spans create flexible interiors, anchored by a bioclimatic atrium that regulates light and temperature through low-tech strategies. Architect’s Detail: Douglas fir from France’s central region forms the 17,660 cubic f00t (500 cubic meter) timber frame, paired with photovoltaic glazing and natural ventilation to minimize energy demand. Fondation de Chine By Coldefy, Paris, France Jury Winner, Affordable Housing, 13th Architizer A+Awards Photos by Cyrille Weiner At the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, this residence and cultural center fuses the Chinese tulou — a circular communal residence from southern China — with the Haussmannian block, uniting two traditions around a shared courtyard typology. Brick façades anchor the form between Beijing and Paris, while differentiated north and south orientations optimize daylight, ventilation, and acoustic comfort for 300 student rooms. Architect’s Detail: A perforated brick screen doubles as shading and ventilation, recalling Chinese latticework while echoing Paris’s masonry heritage. 5 Vertbois By Moussafir Architectes, Paris, France Jury Winner, Residential Adaptive Reuse; Finalist, Mixed Use (S<25,000 sq ft), 12th Architizer A+Awards Photo by Hervé Abbadie Within the protected Marais district, a 1970s concrete office block has been reimagined by stripping away interior linings to reveal its brutalist frame and rubble-stone party walls. New steel and glass insertions accentuate the raw concrete while supporting mixed residential, office and showroom uses within the preserved modernist grid. Architect’s Detail: Over 90% of the original structure was retained, with a new 25-inch-thick (62 centimeter) façade integrating insulation, shutters and heating systems into a single layered assembly. TALE OF TRANSFORMATION LA FANTAISIE HOTEL By PETITDIDIERPRIOUX, Paris, France Special Mention, Architecture +Renovation, 12th Architizer A+Awards Photo by Sergio Grazia Reconfigured from an existing structure, this hotel is conceived as a retreat in the city center, with a glass-roofed restaurant overlooking a newly expanded garden. A zinc-clad façade acts as a luminous filter to the street, reinterpreting Paris’s distinctive material palette in a contemporary expression. Architect’s Detail: The pre-patinated gray-green zinc references traditional Parisian rooftops while enhancing energy performance and daylight control for guest rooms. EIFFEL KIOSK By Franklin Azzi Architecture, Paris, France At the base of Paris’s most visited monument, this prefabricated kiosk reimagines concession architecture as a transparent, rigorously detailed object inspired by Jean Prouvé’s modular houses. Rounded glass corners expand visibility, while a zinc roof recalls the city’s iconic 19th-century skyline. Architect’s Detail: Built entirely off-site to minimize disruption, the modules combine ribbed aluminum, glass louvers and fold-down service tables, ensuring durability in one of Paris’s busiest public spaces. La Maison de Beauté Carita L’Oréal-Luxe By Le studio REV, Paris, France Special Mention, Spa & Wellness, 12th Architizer A+Awards In the heart of Faubourg Saint-Honoré, this transformation restores the original courtyard proportions of the historic Maison de Beauté, now enclosed beneath a monumental glass roof. Sheathed in a blend of stone finishes, sequence of arches and staircases redefines the atrium as both spatial epicenter and architectural identity for the brand. Architect’s Detail: The raised glass canopy introduces controlled daylight into the atrium, while gypsum, marble and pink onyx articulate a tactile, materially rich interior. Grande Arme-l1ve, restructuring modernism By Baumschlager Eberle Architekten, Paris, France Special Mention, Renovations & Additions, 12th Annual A+Awards Near the Arc de Triomphe, the former Peugeot headquarters has been restructured into 382,120 square feet (35,500 square meters) of open offices, anchored by a 360-foot-long (110 meters) concrete façade. Alternating recessed and projecting box windows create a rhythmic depth, while recycled demolition material reinforces the project’s commitment to circular construction. Architect’s Detail: The façade’s staggered windows establish a self-supporting order across the massive frame, reinterpreting the original 1960s structure with renewed plasticity and light. ANNETTE K By SEINE DESIGN, Paris, France Floating on the Seine at Port de Javel Bas, this Nordic-style Olympic pool and wellness center recalls Paris’s historic river baths with a barge-like structure. Its suspended basin doubles as both swimming infrastructure and structural framework, while water reflections animate the interiors like an impressionist canvas. Architect’s Detail: A rooftop running track encircles the complex, framing 360° views and channeling surplus pool heat to warm the decks below. TOKO, WEBHELP’S HEADQUARTERS By Franklin Azzi Architecture, Paris, France Finalist, Mixed Use (L>25,000 sq ft), 11th Annual A+Awards In the 17th arrondissement, this refurbishment opens a formerly closed building to the city with a glazed ground floor hosting public amenities and a central tree-filled patio. Flexible office floors above culminate in fully glazed extensions and landscaped terraces, introducing daylight and new social spaces across the urban block. Architect’s Detail: The ground floor is re-leveled with the street to create transparency and access, while the patio integrates site-specific digital art by Hicham Berrada. Nation By TANK, Paris France Photo by Julien Lanoo At Place de la Nation, this office building reinterprets Haussmannian rhythms with contemporary façades and generous bow windows that frame urban views. Landscaped terraces cascade across levels, weaving greenery into the workspace and creating seasonal variation. Architect’s Detail: A total of 6,460 square feet (600 square meters) of planted terraces use native species to enhance biodiversity while doubling as outdoor work and gathering spaces. August Debouzy By STUDIO RAZAVI + PARTNERS, Paris, France Jury Winner, Commercial Interiors (<25,000 sq ft), 10th Architizer A+Awards In a Haussmannian setting, this office project channels midcentury corporate design while prioritizing permanence over trend. A restrained palette of stone, curved timber and textiles creates dignified interiors. Meanwhile, the project set out to reuse of existing systems in addition to sourcing finishes locally and prioritizing carpet brands that recycle — all with the aim of reducing the project’s carbon footprint. Architect’s Detail: The double-height lobby centers on a reception desk framed by stone floors, curved wood paneling and a handwoven Nepalese tapestry, inseparably weaving craftsmanship into the spatial composition. Transformation of an office building into a wood and straw 139 student rooms By NZI Architectes, Paris, France Jury Winner, Architecture +Affordable Design; Finalist, Architecture +Adaptive Reuse; Finalist, Architecture +Sustainability, 10th Architizer A+Awards This 47,360-square-foot 4,400-square-meter office-to-housing transformation demonstrates how low-tech, bio-sourced materials can drive large-scale rehabilitation. Prefabricated timber panels with straw insulation, sourced from Île-de-France, enabled rapid assembly with minimal carbon impact while delivering high-performance envelopes. Architect’s Detail: Strategic demolitions opened the building’s core to sunlight and created a naturally lit garden level, turning the basement into communal space and reframing the block as livable, light-filled student housing. Sciences Po By MOREAU KUSUNOKI, Paris, France Special Mention, Architecture +Learning; Special Mention, Higher Education & Research Facilities, 10th Architizer A+Awards Inserted into a 17th-century monastery at Saint-Germain-des-Prés, this glazed pavilion redefines Sciences Po’s historic courtyards as interconnected civic spaces for exchange. Its pivoting windows and dynamic mirrored façades balance openness with reverence to heritage. Architect’s Detail: The pavilion’s glass façades subtly reflect the monastery’s stone architecture, creating a dialogue of old and new while framing a transparent heart for the university’s urban campus. 175HAUSSMANN By PCA-STREAM, Paris, France Finalist, Office Building Mid Rise (5-15 floors), 9th Architizer A+Awards This renovation near Place de l’Étoile restores coherence to a fragmented Haussmannian block with flexible offices, a triple-height atrium and a landscaped terrace. A hybrid glass crown elevates the ensemble into a contemporary urban beacon. Architect’s Detail: The atrium acts as a central village square for employees, while the crystalline glass roof reframes the historic address with a new identity that merges heritage and modernity. Timber Tower Le Berlier By MOREAU KUSUNOKI, Paris, France This 165-foot (50-meter) residential tower redefines Paris’s southeastern edge with a monumental timber frame that balances vertical presence with domestic scale. Charred and pre-weathered wood façades enclose units, each with private outdoor space and shared terraces that integrate greenery across all levels. Architect’s Detail: The gridded timber façade acts as both structure and filter, mediating dense urban surroundings while supporting planted terraces that host biodiversity throughout the tower. Poissonniers Sports Hall By archi5, Paris, France Finalist, Gyms & Recreation Centers, 9th Architizer A+Awards On a former railway site at the city’s northern edge, this new sports facility doubles as an urban farm, embedding athletics and agriculture within a rising, terraced landscape. Its layered, hill-like form mediates between Paris’s dense fabric and the openness of the rail corridor, extending greenery across the building’s surfaces to create a porous, public-facing topography. Architect’s Detail: Vegetation clings to the structure in ascending strata, blurring building and landscape while embodying Paris’s push toward ecological, multi-functional public infrastructure. Calvin Klein Paris Headquarters By Architecture Research Office, Paris, France Popular Choice, Retail, 7th Architizer A+Awards In a 19th-century cast-iron structure once home to the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs, Calvin Klein’s Paris headquarters underscores Paris’s role as the global stage for fashion. Sterling Ruby’s vast canvases and installations transform the vaulted interior into a theatrical backdrop for Calvin Klein’s runway collections, where art, architecture, and couture converge. Architect’s Detail: Wrapped in Ruby’s painted canvas, the mezzanine seems to float above the reflective epoxy floor, framing the historic iron supports as part of the spectacle. GALERIES LAFAYETTE PAVILION By Franklin Azzi Architecture, Paris, France Perched atop Galeries Lafayette, this lightweight steel pavilion frames a 360° panorama of Paris while hosting seasonal dining and artistic interventions. Minimal structure meets decorative opulence through Pierre Marie’s coral- and seaweed-inspired textile hangings. Architect’s Detail: Prefabricated steel modules allow the pavilion to be dismantled and reassembled seasonally with minimal impact on the historic rooftop. Tolbiac Apartments By Atelier Architecture Vincent Pareira, Paris, France At the junction of Tolbiac and Chevaleret streets, this mixed-use housing project replaces former workshops with four blocks unified by a shifting grid of timber balconies. Concrete structure meets darkened larch cladding, recalling Paris’s industrial past while interstitial terraces, shared “nests,” and a panoramic rooftop establish a new social topography. Architect’s Detail: Balcony posts subtly shift laterally and vertically at each level, animating the façade and enlarging outdoor spaces as the building rises. LABORDE By PCA-STREAM, Paris, France Popular Choice Winner, Architecture +Workspace, 7th Architizer A+Awards On Place Saint-Augustin, the new headquarters of France’s leading international law firm bridges centuries of Parisian architecture, uniting a restored 18th-century wing with a fully rebuilt glass-clad office block. A monumental central pavilion serves as the connective heart, framing a workplace conceived as a “village square” with gardens, terraces, and rooftop agriculture. Architect’s Detail: Nearly 48,440 square feet (4,500 square meters) of outdoor spaces reconnect the dense urban site with sky and nature, turning planted terraces and walkways into active extensions of the workplace. Gaumont-Pathé Alésia Cinémas By MANUELLE GAUTRAND ARCHITECTURE, Paris, France Finalist, Architecture +Façade, 6th Architizer A+Awards In the city where the Lumière brothers premiered the first motion pictures, this renovated cinema reasserts Paris’s role as a global capital of film. Stacked theaters form a sculptural interior, while a pleated façade clad in programmable LEDs animates the street like a cinematic screen. By day, visitors move through a triple-height atrium beneath tiered auditoria; by night, the luminous exterior transforms the building into both landmark and gathering place. Architect’s Detail: The façade’s folded ribbons alternate between glass and metal, embedding thousands of LEDs that project imagery across the city and even under the canopy at street level. Philharmonie de Paris, Grande Salle By Ateliers Jean Nouvel and L’Observatoire International, Paris, France Jury Winner, Architecture +Light, 5th Architizer A+Awards Set within Parc de la Villette, Jean Nouvel’s Philharmonie redefines Paris’s symphonic tradition, standing in deliberate contrast to the gilded Palais Garnier with its fractured metallic skin and sculptural form. Inside, the vineyard-style Grand Salle envelops 2,400 seats around the stage, where amber light embedded in floating “clouds” merges with acoustics of extraordinary precision to create a fully immersive concert experience. Architect’s Detail: Custom LEDs embedded in the ceiling’s sculptural panels warm the hall with a sunset glow, uniting architecture, light, and sound into a single resonant field. Rue Ville l’Evêque – Timber in the City By Baumschlager Eberle Architekten, Paris, France Near La Madeleine, this office renovation reactivates Paul La Mache’s mid-century design with new spatial clarity, improved circulation, and courtyards reimagined as vertical gardens. Timber frameworks extend greenery onto terraces, proving even compact urban sites can host climate-conscious design. Architect’s Detail: A three-dimensional greening strategy transforms roof and courtyard surfaces into planted micro-landscapes, enhancing comfort while reducing the building’s environmental footprint. Centre Pompidou 2030 By MOREAU KUSUNOKI, Paris, France The forthcoming transformation of the Centre Pompidou reinterprets Piano and Rogers’ 1977 machine-for-culture, restoring its porosity and reactivating it as a living extension of the city. Moreau Kusunoki’s design, informed by Cedric Price’s lineage of adaptable cultural infrastructure, treats Pompidou as an evolving urban organism rather than a fixed monument. Visitors to the city in the coming years may not be able to enter, but little by little progress is being made on this ambitious restoration. Architect’s Detail: Reuse strategies and a restrained material palette respect the original chromatic codes while positioning the building as heir to Paris’s experimental cultural utopias. The latest edition of “Architizer: The World’s Best Architecture” — a stunning, hardbound book celebrating the most inspiring contemporary architecture from around the globe — is now available for pre-order. Secure your copy today. The post Architect’s Guide to Paris: 25 Must-See Buildings and Designs appeared first on Journal.

The 10th VELUX Daylight Symposium unites researchers, architects and policymakers worldwide to advance daylight as a vital design tool.

The post Daylight as Design Technology: A Global Symposium for Architects appeared first on Journal.

In a sweeping statement, Le Corbusier famously quipped that “architecture is the masterly, correct and magnificent play of masses brought together in light.” Despite its pithy and prescient nature, could it be argued that his enduring definition understates the importance of light to architecture? More and more research points to the vital importance of building with light — not simply to bring together masses, but to make our interiors healthier and greener. On September 18, 2025, the 10th VELUX Daylight Symposium will bring this principle into sharp focus at Copenhagen’s Mogens Dahl Concert Hall. For one day, over 30 leading voices in research and practice will explore daylight’s role in creating salubrious, sustainable architecture. However, architects and designers need not fly to Denmark to take part. Would-be participants can experience the full program via a free livestream via Architizer’s LinkedIn account: Pre-Register to Attend Symposium This year’s theme, “Towards Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Architecture,” reflects a shift in architectural priorities: daylight is no longer a matter of aesthetics alone, but a measurable force for climate performance, occupant health and urban resilience. Sessions will spotlight new tools, scientific insights and built projects that reveal how daylight-conscious design can reduce energy consumption and address the urgent demands of climate change. The livestream invites architects to access this global exchange of ideas. Whether you’re an architect in Mumbai, a researcher in São Paulo, or a policymaker in Toronto, you can engage with presentations, hear from international experts and bring daylight-forward strategies directly into your practice — all without boarding a plane. The symposium reframes innovation for a global profession: not in chasing the latest software trend, but in mastering one of architecture’s oldest, most powerful resources. A Decade of Daylight Discourse From Astrid Achatz, Anne Lacaton and Christoph Reinhart at the Daylight Symposium 2017 | Photo courtesy of VELUX Launched in 2005, the Daylight Symposium has become one of the world’s most significant forums dedicated to natural light in the built environment. What sets it apart is its multidisciplinary lens: architects, scientists, engineers and policymakers come together to share knowledge that is often siloed in separate professional spheres. The 10th edition marks a milestone. Over the past two decades, discourse around daylight has shifted dramatically. Once considered primarily in terms of aesthetics or comfort, it is now understood as a driver of sustainable design. Meanwhile, more and more research has highlighted the undeniable link between natural illumination and occupant health. The 2025 program reflects this evolution, weaving together science and architecture to redefine daylight as an essential tool for the future of practice. Attend Virtual Symposium on Sept. 18th Global Voices, Global Access Kevin Van Den Wymlenberg at the Daylight Symposium in 2020 | Photo courtesy of VELUX The 2025 program is moderated by Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg (US) and Juliëtte van Duijnhoven (NL), and features a diverse roster of experts from across continents. This diversity underscores the universality of daylight: though climate conditions vary, every building in every context must contend with how to harness natural light. By offering the first two sessions of the symposium as a free livestream, VELUX is breaking down barriers to participation. Architects in São Paulo, researchers in Mumbai or policymakers in Toronto can join the same conversations as those gathered in Copenhagen. The livestream ensures that daylight-forward design strategies are accessible to a truly global community — amplifying impact far beyond the concert hall. Pre-Register for Livestream Access Why Daylight, Why Now? Florence Lam at the Daylight Symposium in 2013 | Photo courtesy of VELUX For architects, the message is clear: daylight is not a luxury. It is one of the most effective, low-energy and universally available technologies for creating buildings that are healthier, more sustainable and more resilient. Unlike many emerging digital tools, daylight is timeless. Yet its design implications are anything but static. With new research and standards, architects today can both quantify and optimize daylight’s effects with unprecedented precision. The symposium reframes daylight as both an ancient craft and a contemporary science — a bridge between intuitive design and measurable performance. In a moment when the industry is captivated by the promises of AI and automation, the Daylight Symposium offers a counterpoint: innovation is not always about adopting the newest software, but about mastering the fundamental elements of architecture. Attend Virtual Symposium on Sept. 18th How to Join The 10th VELUX Daylight Symposium takes place on September 18, 2025 at the Mogens Dahl Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark — but you can attend from anywhere in the world. This year’s theme, “Towards Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Architecture,” opens with a powerful session on Design for Well-being. The session that will be livestreamed on Architizer’s LinkedIn from 09:00 to 13:00 CEST (Central European Time). Sign up now for a reminder about the Livestream on the day of the event. Speakers and topics will include: Celebrating Daylight by Darron Haylock, Foster + Partners (UK) 5 Fundamental Shifts Ushering in the Healthy Buildings Era by Joseph Allen, Harvard University (US) Don’t Fight Climate, Use It by Florencia Collo, atmos lab (UK) And many more. Save the date and join us for an event blending education and inspiration — and see daylight in a new light! A Call to Architects Daylight has always been architecture’s oldest material. Today, it is also among its most urgent technologies. The 10th VELUX Daylight Symposium invites architects everywhere to reimagine what’s possible when science and design converge around natural light. By tuning in online, you’ll not only gain access to leading-edge insights — you’ll join a global community committed to advancing healthier, more resilient and more sustainable architecture. Don’t miss this chance to be part of the conversation. Register now for the free livestream of the 10th VELUX Daylight Symposium via Architizer’s LinkedIn: Pre-Register to Attend Symposium The post Daylight as Design Technology: A Global Symposium for Architects appeared first on Journal.

Greece's best architects are breeding an innovative, varied architectural vocabulary deeply attuned to the nation’s economic and cultural agenda.

The post 30 Best Architecture and Design Firms in Greece appeared first on Journal.

These annual rankings were last updated on September 12, 2025. Want to see your firm on next year’s list? Continue reading for more on how you can improve your studio’s ranking. The foundation of Western architecture cannot be told without citing the architectural legacy of Greece. From classical antiquity to today’s built environment, Greek structures and decorations are visible worldwide. Their formalized craft — the Classical orders, spatial scale and harnessing line and light — has influenced countless architects of later periods, from Vitruvius to today’s contemporary designers. After the fall of Constantinople, Ottoman architecture pervaded throughout Greek cities, most notably within new religious construction. Modern architecture eventually manifested in Greece, influenced by figureheads like Le Corbusier, while conservatism was always sustained due to the nation’s unstable economic standing. The 20th century also birthed one of the most romanticized aesthetics of contemporary design: the whitewashed seaside home, otherwise known as Cycladic architecture. Breeding an architectural vocabulary that is innovative and varied, in addition to being strongly linked to the nation’s economic and cultural agenda, architects in Greece today are generating compelling programs. (Have you heard of the Greek typology ‘yposkafo‘?) Working with complex budgets and a profuse history, today’s designers continuously innovate in form, scale and material. With so many architecture firms to choose from, it’s challenging for clients to identify the industry leaders that will be an ideal fit for their project needs. Fortunately, Architizer is able to provide guidance on the top design firms in Greece based on more than a decade of data and industry knowledge. How are these architecture firms ranked? The following ranking has been created according to key statistics that demonstrate each firm’s level of architectural excellence. The following metrics have been accumulated to establish each architecture firm’s ranking, in order of priority: The number of A+Awards won (2013 to 2025) The number of A+Awards finalists (2013 to 2025) The number of projects selected as “Project of the Day” (2009 to 2025) The number of projects selected as “Featured Project” (2009 to 2025) The number of projects uploaded to Architizer (2009 to 2025) Each of these metrics is explained in more detail at the foot of this article. This ranking list will be updated annually, taking into account new achievements of Greece architecture firms throughout the year. Without further ado, here are the 30 best architecture firms in Greece: 30. Modulus Architecture © Modulus Architecture We are an architectural team, based in Athens, Greece, formed by the common vision to give shape to dreams and create spatial experiences. Some of Modulus Architecture’s most prominent projects include: 20°_A summer living experience, Naxos, Greece Houses of Privity, Naxos, Greece Magganari Hill, Thira, Greece In-Box Project, Naxos, Greece Hippy Chic, Larissa, Greece The following statistics helped Modulus Architecture achieve 30th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 7 29. VIKELAS ARCHITECTS © VIKELAS ARCHITECTS With local roots and international experience Vikelas Architects is a dynamic architect office located in Athens. Some of VIKELAS ARCHITECTS’ most prominent projects include: RIVER WEST OPEN, Athens, Greece River West Gateway & Transition Zone, Athens, Greece Museum of Contemporary Art B&E Goulandris, Athens, Greece “Praise of the Shadow” : Three-storey Residence in Kifissia, Kifisia, Greece The Orbit, Athens, Greece The following statistics helped VIKELAS ARCHITECTS achieve 29th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 5 28. Design Over The Norms (dotn) © Design Over The Norms (dotn) Design Over The Norms (dotn) is a design practice based in Athens. Our fundamental basis is that excellent design results can be achieved only through a collaborative model where specialists from different disciplines come together. From product design to residential complexes and from interior design to industrial typologies our scope is the successful realization. The design process is led by George Athanasopoulos , an engineer and designer dedicated in delivering distinctive work. Our engagement with independent architects, engineers, artists, designers and thInkers is deeply friendly. Some of Design Over The Norms (dotn)’s most prominent projects include: Apothalassia House, Varko, Greece Snowfall House, Kalavryta, Greece Tent House, Patras, Greece The following statistics helped Design Over The Norms (dotn) achieve 28th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 1 Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 3 27. Tenon Architecture © Spyros Hound Photography Tenon is an architecture studio specialized in wooden construction. It was created in 2020 by the architects Thanos Zervos and Apostolos Mitropoulos in Athens. Some of Tenon Architecture’s most prominent projects include: Wooden Cave, Trikala, Corinthia, Greece Office Renovation | ONASSIS GROUP, Athens, Greece The following statistics helped Tenon Architecture achieve 27th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 2 26. Tense Architecture Network © Tense Architecture Network tense architecture network_TAN is woven since 2004 as a network of collaborators and works of architecture. The practice’s work includes several awarded residences as well as first prize competition proposals — among them a 5,000 square meter Town Hall in Crete, the rehabilitation of the Venetian Arsenali and their wider surrounding space in the port of Heraklion, and the urban park of Kastraki in Piraeus. Public space and private housing are constantly researched in their work; the two fields are purposely interconnected. Residence in Kifissia was awarded a special mention by the Hellenic Association of Architects and Residence in Sikamino was shortlisted for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, Mies Van der Rohe Award 2013. Some of Tense Architecture Network’s most prominent projects include: Residence in Crete, Crete Region, Greece Residence in Sikamino, Sykamino, Greece Residence in Kifissia, Attica, Attica, Greece The following statistics helped Tense Architecture Network achieve 26th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 3 25. KAAF I Kitriniaris Associates Architecture Firm © KAAF I Kitriniaris Associates Architecture Firm The acronym KAAF has a deeper inherent meaning, as it is derived from a pictogram of a hand which means “palm” in Arabic and stands for the Phoenician letter “kaf/kaph” or the Greek “K” (kappa). The palm of the hand has a strong impact on architecture, as it embodies human creativity together with structural purity. By keeping this in mind, Alexandros Kitriniaris, deeply influenced by his travels to Asia, where he explored the handcrafting tradition, has created his own imprint while envisioning a firm that specializes in sustainable architecture by integrating innovative construction technologies with traditional building design methods. KAAF I Kitriniaris Associates Architecture Firm is an award-winning international architecture practice, founded by Alexandros Kitriniaris. Kitriniaris Associates Architecture Firm is committed to the triple bottom line concept, which asserts that long-term and sustainable progress requires the balanced achievement of economic development, environmental performance, and social advancement. To this end, our firm works with a multidisciplinary team of architects, landscapers, urbanists, structural and environmental engineers, interior designers, branding agencies as well as creative developers and investment companies to produce sustainable buildings and landscapes. Some of KAAF I Kitriniaris Associates Architecture Firm’s most prominent projects include: Kyathos I Mass Timber Arena, Βεΐκου, Galatsi, Greece Kalloes Wellness & Aesthetics Venue, Brussels, Belgium Paggaion House, Eleftheroupoli, Greece Akrolithos I Office Headquarters & Showroom, Kavala, Greece Bioaroma I Museum & Experience Store, Agios Nikolaos, Greece The following statistics helped KAAF I Kitriniaris Associates Architecture Firm achieve 25th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 5 24. ARISTIDES DALLAS ARCHITECTS © ARISTIDES DALLAS ARCHITECTS Aristides Dallas Architects is an architectural studio that was founded in 2008 by the NTUA engineering architect, Aristides Dallas, marking the start of a continuous architectural research towards a timeless identity. It was ambitiously founded in 2014, where the office based on the island of Tinos, draws inspiration from the traditional elements of the place, in an attempt to contribute in the contemporary architecture found there. This design search gave birth to new needs in the dynamics of the team and led to the expansion of the office in 2018 in Athens. Since then, two centers have been operating – expanding the character and scale of the projects – with a common philosophy. Based on creative expression and teamwork, the project contributes to the knowledge and exploration of the office’s architectural language. Some of ARISTIDES DALLAS ARCHITECTS’ most prominent projects include: POOL ON THE ROCKS THE LAP POOL HOUSE, Tinos Regional Unit, Greece A TOUCH OF NEW, Tinos Regional Unit, Greece PNOES, Tinos Regional Unit, Greece A HOUSE BETWEEN THE ROCKS, Tinos Regional Unit, Greece The following statistics helped ARISTIDES DALLAS ARCHITECTS achieve 24th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 1 A+Awards Finalist 1 Total Projects 14 23. react architects © react architects REACT ARCHITECTS is an office of architectural studies that aims at a theoretical approach on architecture, through a research oriented procedure. Architecture is faced as an entirety in collaboration with the all specialities that supplement the constructional and artistic creation. The office studies small and big scale projects, public (libraries, hotels cultural centers landscape design etc.) as well as private (residences, office, exhibition kiosks, shops etc). Interior design constitutes an important sector in our work. Interior design of residences, office spaces, hotels and shops are some of our field of work. Our experience with a wide spectrum of projects give us the advantage of proposing design applications with originality and uniqueness. Some of react architects’ most prominent projects include: PetrA, Paros, Greece The Edge, Summer Houses, Paros, Greece Two houses in Anoixi,Athens, Samou, Anixi, Greece Maison Kamari, Kamari, Greece summer houses in paros, Paros, Greece The following statistics helped react architects achieve 23rd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 1 Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 9 22. konstantinos stathopoulos | KRAK. architects © konstantinos stathopoulos | KRAK. architects konstantinos stathopoulos | KRAK. architects is an upcoming architectural firm that specializes in taylor-made architecture using reason and dream. Some of konstantinos stathopoulos | KRAK. architects’ most prominent projects include: Casa Katana Casa Odyssia, Corfu, Greece Villa Aquatica, a story of rebirth Rodias Terra, Stories from the Rhodian Land, Greece The following statistics helped konstantinos stathopoulos | KRAK. architects achieve 22nd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 1 A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 4 21. AKA – Apostolou Colakis Architects © AKA - Apostolou Colakis Architects AKA – Apostolou Colakis architects is a multidisciplinary design studio present in Athens, Greece and Oxford, UK, that works across the fields of architecture, interior, exhibition and furniture design. We enjoy working as artisans on projects of varying scales and types, and are interested in creating new forms as well as activating the latent potential of existing structures and situations. We offer thoughtful, personalized total design with distinctive pure lines and a liberal understanding of space that thrives on local characteristics and is enriched through the architectural principles of morphological clarity, functionality, sensitivity to materials and craftsmanship. We are particularly inspired by the urban fabric and styles of the early 20th century, which we regard as points of departure for innovative and imaginative solutions. We experiment in the design and fabrication of objects – anything that adds usability, beauty and elegance to our everyday lives. Some of AKA – Apostolou Colakis Architects’s most prominent projects include: Fyrgani, Greece The following statistics helped AKA - Apostolou Colakis Architects achieve 21st place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 1 A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 1 20. schema architecture & engineering © schema architecture & engineering Schema Architecture & Engineering was established by Marianna Athanasiadou (Architect) and Christos Stavrogiannis (civil engineer and economist) in Athens, Greece. In the past years we have always attended each project as unique, carefully designed, according to the requirements set by the client, the specific site and the functional organization of the building. Our design’s fundamental principles set around sustainability, functionality, careful selection of materials and, most importantly, cost-effectiveness. Due to our varying academic endeavors we are able to take on a project from its baby steps and bring it through till its finalization, in collaboration with other consultants. We will be there for you through the whole steps of realization from schematic design all the way to construction. Some of schema architecture & engineering’s most prominent projects include: Big Smile Project 2, Athens, Greece Folding Functions – Microbiology Lab in Lambrini, Athens, Greece Staggered House – Neoclassic House Renovation in Athens, Athens, Greece Calpak Stand in Fiera Milano, Milan, Italy One-Façade Building: Office, Production & Warehouse Building, Corinth, Greece The following statistics helped schema architecture & engineering achieve 20th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 9 19. Divercity Architects © Divercity Architects Divercity Architects is an architecture and interior design studio with offices in London (RIBA Chartered Practice) and Athens. Our international portfolio includes hotels and restaurants, private residences, apartments and offices, student housing and cultural institutions. Our award-winning designs have been published worldwide. Delight in surprise. Our name comes from our openness to a multitude of influences and our curiosity about contemporary urban living. We embrace the power of technical innovation to take architecture in new directions, both in terms of how we imagine space and use modern materials. A sense of place. Some of Divercity Architects’ most prominent projects include: Psychiko House, Athens, Greece Santorini Grace Hotel Grace La Dolfina, Argentina Syngrou Avenue Office Complex, Athens, Greece One Athens Apartment Building, Athens, Greece The following statistics helped Divercity Architects achieve 19th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 19 18. A&M ARCHITECTS © A&M ARCHITECTS Founded by Michael Mavroleon and Andy Alexiades in 1982, the A&M Group was the outcome of their mutual aspiration, marking the end of their studies in the US and the new professional beginning in Greece. With main vision to deliver total design covering all aspects of a project, A&M created a group of key players offering architecture, design and consulting services with emphasis on new computer technologies and energy efficient applications. Over the years, A&M grew to house all project related services under one roof including architectural, interior and graphic design, engineering, project and construction management, either on a stand-alone or an integrated basis. Some of A&M ARCHITECTS’ most prominent projects include: Sheltered Villas, Karpathos, Greece Amalias 40 Office Building, Athens, Greece Aposperia Memorable Living, Karpathos, Greece Twin Residences, Chalandri, Greece Amgen HQ, Athens, Greece The following statistics helped A&M ARCHITECTS achieve 18th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 34 17. ahylo architects © Andreas Markou Run and founded by architect Joulietta Zindrou, ahylo is an awarded architectural design practice based in Athens, that operates in every stage of the design process from concept to construction. It’s our mission at ahylo to provide a unique and individualized approach to design. We craft places that live in memory based on the sculpting of light, volume and material. We shape experience. Through advanced design and construction technology, algorithmic and material processes, we experiment on contemporary techniques in design and construction and our work aims to be innovative and functional. Our portfolio ranges from public to private sectors, from cultural projects to residential and commercial. Some of ahylo architects’ most prominent projects include: Technopolis Auditorium: an acoustic device, Athens, Greece Froyo Yogurteria in Volos, Volos, Greece The following statistics helped ahylo architects achieve 17th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 2 Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 2 16. Urban Soul Project © Urban Soul Project Based in Thessaloniki, Athens and London, Urban Soul Project is one of the biggest architectural practices in Greece. USP is a multi-awarded architecture firm and design studio offering services ranging from architecture, interior design, planning applications and municipal approvals for hospitality, offices, commercial and residential projects in Greece and abroad. With a wide spectrum of more than 95 skilled professionals, USP is an experienced firm in complex planning permissions that has handled numerous renowned projects, especially in listed buildings around Greece. The studio was recently commissioned with LEED and WELL Certified projects. Some of Urban Soul Project’s most prominent projects include: THE TRANSPARENT APARTMENT, Thessaloniki, Greece Ergon Agora East, Thessaloniki, Greece Wedge House, Pilos, Greece Kaizen Campus, Marousi, Greece Domes Noruz Mykonos, Mykonos, Greece The following statistics helped Urban Soul Project achieve 16th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Finalist 2 Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 13 15. Lefteris Tsikandilakis + Architects © Lefteris Tsikandilakis + Architects The architectural office with the name “Lefteris Tsikandilakis & Associates” was founded in November 1991 in Heraklion, Crete. The practice deals with architectural studies of private and public works, landscaping of professional spaces, restorations of listed buildings, with hospitality, pharmacies, and retail stores. We are committed to the values and the processes of architecture, serving the field with passion and dedication. Some of Lefteris Tsikandilakis + Architects’ most prominent projects include: ELYSIUM CAVED VILLAS, Agia Pelagia, Greece Astir Beach Hotel Restaurant, Gouves, Greece SUN BEACH ALLSUN, Malia, Greece PROPOSED ARCHITECTURAL STUDY FOR THE SQUARE AND THE HARBOR IN ELOUNDA , Crete, Greece Villa Angelica in Merona Rethimno, Crete, Crete, Greece The following statistics helped Lefteris Tsikandilakis + Architects achieve 15th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 1 Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 55 14. Not a Number Architects © Cosmin Dragomir Not a Number Architects is an architectural studio preoccupied with the creation of meaningful space. Founded in London in 2008 by Ermis Adamantidis and Dominiki Dadatsi, NaNA has since been involved in a diverse range of projects spanning from space installations to urban planning. Engaging in a constructive dialogue with the client, we unleash a unique vision for every project. We invest time in testing ideas that make architecture perform in multiple levels. Design research and critical analysis instead of predefined formulas is what we believe can make architecture resonate in contemporary cultures. Thinking on architecture and not just building it has allowed NaNA to demonstrate an ability to undertake a variety of projects ranging in size, type, complexity, cultural and geographical context. Some of Not a Number Architects’ most prominent projects include: Monasty, Thessaloniki, Greece BVLGARI Pavilion Juice Bar Cabin, Bucharest, Romania Infinitas UIA Pavilion The following statistics helped Not a Number Architects achieve 14th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 1 A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 7 13. ISV Architects © ISV Architects ISV Architects is an architectural practice based in Athens and London, with an extensive portfolio of international projects ranging from small scale interior design to large scale residential complexes, hotels and office buildings. We have a multidisciplinary approach to architecture, with a profound and proven ability to deal with the core architectural issues from three complementary perspectives: architectural design, construction and development. Key elements to our architecture are the delicate use of natural and artificial light, the distinct and comprehensive spatial geometry and the fusion of the interior to the exterior through controlled transparency. Our construction branch, ISV Construct, is characterized by constant experimentation with new materials, new technologies and the development of innovative structural solutions, ensuring that the architectural design is further enhanced by the way it is materialized. Some of ISV Architects’ most prominent projects include: VILLA 154 – ATHENS, GREECE, Athens, Greece VILLA 191 – ATHENS, GREECE, Athens, Greece VILLA 153 – ATHENS, GREECE, Athens, Greece OFFICE BUILDING 310 – ATHENS, GREECE, Athens, Greece VILLA 208 – ATHENS, GREECE The following statistics helped ISV Architects achieve 13th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: Featured Projects 4 Total Projects 16 12. Potiropoulos+Partners © Potiropoulos+Partners Potiropoulos+Partners is the 2015 rebranding of Potiropoulos D+L Architects to include younger partners and reflect the international point of view on the future of the built environment. The practice was originally founded in 1989 by Dimitris Potiropoulos and Liana Nella-Potiropoulou and has established itself as one of Greece’s foremost architectural firms, with studios based in Athens and London. Today its strong team of highly creative and talented architects and designers addresses the world market, providing full services in design, supervision and consulting across the spectrum and in all scales of architecture and urban design. Some of Potiropoulos+Partners’ most prominent projects include: The Kindergarten of the German School of Athens, Athens, Greece Beachfront Villa, Navarino Residences, Messenia, Greece Residence in Larissa, Lárisa, Greece Mykonos White Boxes Resort, Greece Active Materiality – Vacation Houses Complex in Porto Heli, Greece, Porto Cheli, Greece The following statistics helped Potiropoulos+Partners achieve 12th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 2 Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 8 11. Gem Architects © Gem Architects GEM Architects focuses on residential design and construction. We believe in tailor-made architecture that reflects the user’s needs, respects the context, incorporates contemporary technologies and uses the principles of bioclimatic design. Some of Gem Architects’ most prominent projects include: Summer house in South Peloponese, Greece Residence in Filothei, Athens, Greece Bioclimatic Residence in Paiania, Paiania, Greece Residence in Paros, Paros, Greece Residence in Euboea, Limni, Greece The following statistics helped Gem Architects achieve 11th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 8 10. Z-LEVEL architecture © Z-LEVEL architecture Z-level is an established practice in Athens, founded by Elena Zervoudakis, working on an exciting range of projects related to architecture, design and planning Our work at Z-level has a strong focus on innovative ideas combined with awareness of the ecological, social and financial aspects of sustainability in the cultural and physical context of each project. Professionals specialized in different fields such as architects, engineers, interior designers, graphic designers, archaeologists, constructors, skilled technicians form the practice’s team in order to achieve the project’s maximum potential.The experience in detailing and construction under the project management leads at the best final results. We work with private clients and public operators on both small and large scale projects, including cultural buildings, exhibitions and museography, housing and interior design, urban planning, landscape design. Z-level mainly carries out projects in Greece, with satisfied clients from all over the world. Some of Z-LEVEL architecture’s most prominent projects include: Yoik of Taygetus, Greece Notre Ntam’ – Lesvos residences, Agios Fokas, Greece Ka-Ma-Ra, Greece Paggaion House, Eleftheroupoli, Greece New Elementary School and Kindergarten in Pallini for the French School of Athens The following statistics helped Z-LEVEL architecture achieve 10th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: Featured Projects 4 Total Projects 5 9. KOIS ASSOCIATED ARCHITECTS © KOIS ASSOCIATED ARCHITECTS Stelios Kois was born in the vicinity of Mount Athos in Greece. The Athonian surrounding red earth landscape, the monasteries with their mystic interplay of light and shadow and the introduction to Byzantine icon painting as a youth, were to have a lasting impression upon his later work.He moved in Rome where he studied in “Universita degli studi di Roma”. A student architectural award gave him the opportunity to travel in Osaka Japan. There he studied the Japanese tradition and its focus upon balance and the eloquent interaction of light and materials. Returning to Italy he collaborated with architectural practices and worked as creative director. Some of KOIS ASSOCIATED ARCHITECTS’ most prominent projects include: WAHE, Thira, Greece Blurry Venice, Venice, Italy SWEET ALCHEMY, Athens, Greece SHIMMER restaurant, Greece ILEANA MAKRI STORE, Athens, Greece The following statistics helped KOIS ASSOCIATED ARCHITECTS achieve 9th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 10 8. Omniview Design © Omniview Design Omniview was founded in 2013 by architects Dimitri Tsigos, John Tsigos and property entrepreneur Miltos Kambourides to integrate design and development capabilities into one seamless service. The firm offers a new breed of architectural practice, one that can respond more effectively to our clients’ most challenging visions. The flagship project of Omniview is One Kleomenous, which is a revolutionary new concept of a living space that was created to showcase the team’s development capabilities such as pioneering design, advanced construction techniques and cutting edge technologies. The team is based in Athens and aspires to undertake more challenging projects in Greece and abroad, in the residential, hospitality and commercial segments of the market, always applying the same principles that make Omniview unique in its offering. Some of Omniview Design’s most prominent projects include: Super Paradise Beach Club, Mykonos, Greece Jackie ‘O Cantina, Mykonos, Greece Mykonos Earth Suites, Mykonos, Greece One Kleomenous, Athens, Greece Presice Optics, Mykonos, Greece The following statistics helped Omniview Design achieve 8th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 1 A+Awards Finalist 2 Featured Projects 4 Total Projects 10 7. A31 Architecture Construction © GEORGE FAKAROS ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY A31 is a transdisciplinary group of visionary architects, designers and engineers, creating prominent spaces which are tailored to the needs of the people as well as the land and the setting concerned. The function of Α31 is based on that exact union of art and science, on the juncture of craftsmanship and technique which permits the generation of work that meets the requirements so as to satisfy people’s true needs, while also pleasing their aesthetic criteria. Α31 gets established in 2002, when Praxitelis Kondylis, an up-and-coming young architect with rich academic qualifications and experience in architectural firms abroad, decides to create his own practice back in Athens. Soon enough, A31 architecture undertakes design and construction projects, industrial design buildings, as well as interior design ventures – starting with Athens, and expanding its work elsewhere in Greece and Cyprus. Some of A31 Architecture Construction’s most prominent projects include: Nonagriam Twins, Andros, Greece Art Warehouse in Boeotia, Dilesi, Greece Latypi Residence in Mykonos, Mykonos, Greece Paros Agnanti Hotel, Athens, Greece illy Logistics and Office Building, Athens, Greece The following statistics helped A31 Aarchitecture Construction achieve 7th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 1 A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 5 Total Projects 7 6. Oikonomakis Siampakoulis architects © Alina Lefa Oikonomakis Siampakoulis architects is an incorporated design studio based in Athens, Greece, operating within the boundaries of architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, interior design and object design. Recent and on-going works of the studio include the renovation of a parking garage facility at the city centre of Athens, two residential complexes in Crete, a series of custom-made objects and furniture, the renovation of three apartments in Athens originally built between 1960 and 1980, the restoration of a 19th century small traditional stone residency in Crete, as well as the renovation and addition for a summer residency in West Attica. The studio’s portfolio also includes participations in European design contests for public, educational and cultural buildings. Some of Oikonomakis Siampakoulis architects’ most prominent projects include: Art Curators’ Apartment in Lycabettus Hill, Athens, Greece New Farsala Square Elderly Care Centre, Nursery and Neighbourhood Park, Chania, Greece The D.Daskalopoulos Arts Building, Athens, Greece Apartment Building in Glyfada I The following statistics helped Oikonomakis Siampakoulis architects achieve 6th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: Featured Projects 6 Total Projects 14 5. block722 © block722 “To rise all senses through authentic and timeless experiences.” Our studio is noted for its creative take on projects and commitment to quality design. Owned and directed by Sotiris Tsergas and Katja Margaritoglou, Block722 prides itself on collaborating with high-end clients to channel their vision, offering multiple design solutions. Simplicity, clean lines, high quality materials and close attention to detail are what characterizes us. Influenced by our Greek and Scandinavian heritage, the coupling of the cultures is what gives the work of Block722 its aesthetic signature. Some of block722’s most prominent projects include: GUNDARI, Folegandros, Greece VIGLOSTASI, Syros, Greece KIFISIA PROJECT12, Kifisia, Greece MERAVIGLIA SLOW LIVING, Preveza, Greece CASA COOK SAMOS, Samos Prefecture, Greece The following statistics helped block722 achieve 5th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 6 Total Projects 18 4. Deca Architecture © Ståle Eriksen deca ARCHITECTURE is a creative platform of young international architects based in Athens, Greece. The practice revolves around the search for sensory experiences which strongly emerge from as well as recontextualize both urban and natural landscapes. This approach explores, on one hand, the open frame of individual subjectivity and on the other, the relational complexity of natural environments and material culture. Some of Deca Architecture’s most prominent projects include: Voronoi’s Corrals, Greece Ring House, Crete Region, Greece Euphoria Spa in the Euphoria Retreat, Laconia, Greece Aloni, Antiparos, Greece Cliffhanger, Antiparos, Greece The following statistics helped Deca Architecture achieve 4th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 4 Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 9 3. K-STUDIO © K-STUDIO K-STUDIO is a design practice rooted in Architecture. We are a creative studio of 55 architects and interior designers based in central Athens. Our contextual approach produces unique and immersive experiences through architecture, hardscape design and interior design, allowing us to achieve a holistic sense of experience across the range of unique spatial qualities within every project. Some of K-STUDIO’s most prominent projects include: Liknon, Samos Prefecture, Greece Dexamenes Seaside Hotel, Kourouta, Greece Plane House, Sporades, Greece Maida Vale, London, United Kingdom Oozora, Athens, Greece The following statistics helped K-STUDIO achieve 3rd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 2 A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 4 Total Projects 13 2. Façade © Façade Façade was created in 2015 by Aristidis Asimakopoulos and Haris Oikonomou. The continuous redefinition of architectural thinking through the relation of spatial composition with the natural environment, theory and technology, the performance of the required emphasis on the theory behind the synthesis of ideas, the functionality of the architectural ensemble as well as their detailed implementation are the firm’s reference points.The theoretical background of its members allows the planning and implementation of projects of different scales and uses. The company’s projects include private residential units, hotel buildings, commercial and residential buildings, while its activities also include the preparation and study of projects for participation in architectural competitions, both in Greece and abroad. Some of Façade’s most prominent projects include: Wedge, Lefkada, Greece Planitero Eco-Cabins, Planitero, Greece Olea House, Patras, Greece Frame House, Patras, Greece Delta House, Patras, Greece The following statistics helped Façade achieve 2nd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 2 Featured Projects 7 Total Projects 12 1. 314 architecture studio © 314 architecture studio Pavlos Chatziangelidis founded 314 architecture studio in 2004. He studied civil engineering in National Technical University of Athens 1996-2002 and architecture engineering in The University of Thessaly 2006-2012. In 2004 he acquired a Master of Arts degree in design. The name 314 of the studio, is inspired from the mathematic symbol π = 3,14 that is used to count the area of the circle. This reference is related to the philosophical dimension of the concept of the circle. The basic characteristic of his design beside the ecological, social and programmatic dimensions of the project, is the creation of a shell that urges the user to experience an abstraction. Some of 314 architecture studio’s most prominent projects include: Gods and Dreams Resort, Argolis, Greece Golden Beach Hotel, Paros, Greece H_1002, Athens, Greece c_29 / optimist, Chalcis, Greece Domes of Eternity, Voula, Greece Featured image: H_50 Apartment Block, Athens, Greece The following statistics helped 314 architecture studio achieve 1st place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Greece: A+Awards Winner 3 A+Awards Finalist 3 Featured Projects 10 Total Projects 32 Why Should I Trust Architizer’s Ranking? With more than 30,000 architecture firms and over 130,000 projects within its database, Architizer is proud to host the world’s largest online community of architects and building product manufacturers. Its celebrated A+Awards program is also the largest celebration of architecture and building products, with more than 400 jurors and hundreds of thousands of public votes helping to recognize the world’s best architecture each year. Architizer also powers firm directories for a number of AIA (American Institute of Architects) Chapters nationwide, including the official directory of architecture firms for AIA New York. An example of a project page on Architizer with Project Award Badges highlighted A Guide to Project Awards The blue “+” badge denotes that a project has won a prestigious A+Award as described above. Hovering over the badge reveals details of the award, including award category, year, and whether the project won the jury or popular choice award. The orange Project of the Day and yellow Featured Project badges are awarded by Architizer’s Editorial team, and are selected based on a number of factors. The following factors increase a project’s likelihood of being featured or awarded Project of the Day status: Project completed within the last 3 years A well written, concise project description of at least 3 paragraphs Architectural design with a high level of both functional and aesthetic value High quality, in focus photographs At least 8 photographs of both the interior and exterior of the building Inclusion of architectural drawings and renderings Inclusion of construction photographs There are 7 Projects of the Day each week and a further 31 Featured Projects. Each Project of the Day is published on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Stories, while each Featured Project is published on Facebook. Each Project of the Day also features in Architizer’s Weekly Projects Newsletter and shared with 170,000 subscribers. We’re constantly look for the world’s best architects to join our community. If you would like to understand more about this ranking list and learn how your firm can achieve a presence on it, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at editorial@architizer.com. The post 30 Best Architecture and Design Firms in Greece appeared first on Journal.

From carved staircases to 3D-printed finishes to bio-based terrazzo, MVRDV recharges adaptive reuse with sustainable architectural details.

The post Amsterdam’s Canal Belt Gets an Electric Jolt: NIO House by MVRDV appeared first on Journal.

The winners of the 13th Architizer A+Awards have been announced! Looking ahead to next season? Stay up to date by subscribing to our A+Awards Newsletter. “God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands.” It’s an age-old adage owing to the monumental feat of reclaiming land from the North Sea via the development of a nationwide network of dykes, dams and storm barriers. The environmental impact of this remains problematic, though. With urban sprawl comes biodiversity loss and a significant demand on resources. According to World Bank data, the Netherlands is now home to very few rural communities — 93% of its population is urbanized, with 17.7 million people living in an area under 16,216 square miles (42,000 square kilometers). This shortage of space has led to an ongoing housing crisis, which we have covered, along with potential solutions, in previous articles. A situation exacerbated by huge restrictions on what can and can’t be built, and where, in the largest Dutch city, Amsterdam. Within the Canal Ring, the old centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and policymakers do everything in their power to protect this. Historic buildings are preserved, traditional façades must be maintained by law, and modern development opportunities are scarce. NIO House Amsterdam by MVRDV, Amsterdam, Netherlands | Finalist, Commerical Interiors (>25,000 sq ft), 13th Architizer A+Awards It’s within this context that MVRDV was asked to create a new flagship European location for NIO. The Chinese electric vehicle giant, headquartered in the ultra-sci-fi-looking metropolis of Shanghai, represents the cutting edge of high-tech, affordable, low-emission transit. The company is also renowned for a unique approach to creating its satellite office locations. Situated on the Keizersgracht canal, one of three main waterways that form the ‘canal belt,’ NIO and Dutch architectural studio have created the most standout space of them all. A typically beautiful but aging structure dating back to 1891, the building was originally home to the New York Life Insurance Company and one of Amsterdam’s tallest private addresses. It has since been known as the Metz & Co department store, and from 2013 became an outlet of US fashion brand Abercrombie & Fitch, with much of the upper floor space closed off. NIO House Amsterdam by MVRDV, Amsterdam, Netherlands | Finalist, Commerical Interiors (>25,000 sq ft), 13th Architizer A+Awards Today, MVRDV’s finished project is a bold combination of past, present and a future which is now unfolding before our eyes. Key elements of the original building, including an ornately detailed staircase, have been saved and, in many instances, brought back to life after a period of neglect. Internal walls have been removed and ceilings raised in parts to maximize interior light. An atrium is introduced, accentuating the lack of partitions and drawing attention to a total reliance on vertical connections to keep the place upright. 3D printed materials, made from recycled drinks cartons, have been added as panelling, with Duracryl’s Durabella sustainable terrazzo flooring — made from renewable colored bio-based binder and mixed in a matrix of marble, glass and other natural materials — installed on the ground level. Elsewhere, wood fixtures and fittings marry eco-friendly paint. NIO House Amsterdam by MVRDV, Amsterdam, Netherlands | Finalist, Commerical Interiors (>25,000 sq ft), 13th Architizer A+Awards Spread across seven stories, each floor is remarkably unique, from color palettes to a range of individual features like vaulted ceilings and exquisitely detailed carpets and curtains. There’s a tangible sense of journeying as you move through the building’s various levels. It’s a varied yet coherent experience which speaks to NIO’s brand position — progressive, outward looking and ambitious — while reassuring us that the near-future isn’t solely interested in erasing history. There are more reasons to fall in love with MVRDV’s efforts, too. Companies are increasingly feeling the pressure to become more sustainable, less environmentally damaging, and “part of the solution.” Yet, this doesn’t stop at climate and nature. Architecturally, our towns, cities and even countryside are scarred by, and still reeling from, modernism’s tendency to close off, designate and delineate. For the most part, in the 20th-century, landmark construction projects looked to impose themselves on a place rather than complement the community that already existed there. NIO House Amsterdam by MVRDV, Amsterdam, Netherlands | Finalist, Commerical Interiors (>25,000 sq ft), 13th Architizer A+Awards On Keizersgracht, NIO has deliberately demanded a presence that works with the area in terms of both external aesthetics and social impact. Above the cars on display, the ground floor includes a public café complete with a ‘kids corner.’ On the second story, you’ll find the Forum— a professional area open to local businesses and organizations for presentations, workshops, lectures and meetings. Above this is a co-working hub. Then, a self-contained gallery was made to host the company’s products and work from Amsterdam’s artistic community: world-famous yet notoriously starved of space due to soaring overheads and the fact that the Netherlands has so little to spare. Crowned with a rooftop pavilion event area overlooking the unarguably photogenic cityscape, if we were looking for examples of how a firm can arrive in a country, immediately assimilate and support people and place, this is prime real estate. The winners of the 13th Architizer A+Awards have been announced! Looking ahead to next season? Stay up to date by subscribing to our A+Awards Newsletter. The post Amsterdam’s Canal Belt Gets an Electric Jolt: NIO House by MVRDV appeared first on Journal.

These A+Award-winning projects show how local routines — from washing to worship — are recast as architectural frameworks for civic and cultural life.

The post From Tea to Textbooks: Daily Life as Design in Contemporary China appeared first on Journal.

The winners of the 13th Architizer A+Awards have been announced! Looking ahead to next season? Stay up to date by subscribing to our A+Awards Newsletter. This year’s A+Awards focused on locality at a global scale, exploring thoughtful and contextually accurate architectural designs. From local rituals to the smallest daily actions, many architects are starting to immerse themselves into the lives of the communities they design to gain a better understanding of their needs, routines and culture. The following six projects are examples of how local habits and routines can inform contemporary designs. Weishan Chongzheng Academy Bookstore of Librairie Avant-Garde By Trace Architecture Office, Dali, China Jury Winner, Commercial Renovations and Additions, 13th Architizer A+Awards Positioning “ritual” within the urban scale, this project brings life back to a 500-year-old Ming dynasty academy by anchoring it in collective memory and the contemporary routines of reading, gathering, strolling and reflection. For many local residents, Chongzheng Academy is woven into their personal histories, acting as a playground, a performance space and a quiet refuge. In response, the design honors and rejuvenates the site’s impact on everyday life by creating a sunken plaza that acts as a social anchor as well as a series of courtyards, squares, and covered walkways, recreating the ritual patterns of ancient towns. LIBRAIRIE AVANT-GARDE By Cloud Ocean Design Co, Huizhou, China Special Mention, Commercial Adaptive Reuse Projects, 13th Architizer A+Awards The building that now houses LIBRAIRIE AVANT-GARDE was originally Qitai Hall, a Wang family ancestral shrine built during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, over 230 years ago. The project is inspired by the Huizhou culture, where ancestor worship is a cornerstone of communal life and every village contains a series of shrines for gathering, storytelling and moral instruction. Consequently, LIBRAIRIE AVANT-GARDE reappropriates the space and transforms it into a bookstore, weaving old rituals into a new cultural function. The design juxtaposes ancient materiality with contemporary elements, creating an architectural language that deeply resonates with the villager’s everyday lives. The Wizard of Oz By LYCS Architecture, Shaoxing, China Finalist, Kindergardens, 13th Architizer A+Awards The project is a kindergarten fully embedded in the daily cycles of its surrounding community. It is located in a highly dense residential area, thus seeking to provide quality experiences for children within increasingly vertical urban spaces. The building is comprised of six “cabins,” operating in “child-scale” in an attempt to mirror the intimate setting of traditional neighborhoods. The complex circulation routes and small-scale spaces are inspired from the Wizard of Oz theme, using it as a narrative to construct a self-navigating landscape. Drawing from the daily routines of urban families as well as the cultural values around collective life, these architectural gestures turns a typical school day into a routine of discovery. The Stone Pavilions By DODESIGN, Chongqing, China Finalist, Architecture + Art; Finalist, Pavilions, 13th Architizer A+Awards The project was inspired by the Chinese mountain culture, where — especially in regions like Chongqing — flat, granite boulders become the foundations of ancient altars and rest stops for travelers. This everyday ritual of honoring nature serves as the philosophical and spatial genesis of the project. Specifically, “the Hut pavilion” housing a restroom, treats even the most utilitarian functions as sacred. In the local villages, the act of washing in sink basins is performed in sync with nature. As a result, the architects honor this routine by designing a suspended roof and a skylight in an attempt to turn this everyday act into a moment of quiet ritual. The Circle By Basistudio, Wuhan, China Special Mention, Commercial Renovations and Additions, 13th Architizer A+Awards Situated in Min Zhong Le Yuan, a century-old building in Wuhan’s historic district, the Circle Gallery acts as a living room for the city. Instead of reinstating it “to the way it was” – a common restoration practice in China — the design features a steel atrium that connects the old and new levels of the structure, allowing people to ascend and experience the city from above. Drawing from the traditional Chinese urban life, where rooftops and upper stories often serve as hidden escapes (places to dry herbs, sip tea or observe the city), the Circle Gallery recreates those conditions for the contemporary world by hosting exhibitions, conversations and casual gatherings, embedded in the routines of modern, civic life. link-ed(u)_Futian High School Campus By reMIX studio, Shenzhen, China Finalist, 2025 A+Awards, Institutional – Primary and High Schools The project challenges the traditional Chinese “inward-looking” school model, aiming to embed itself into the immediate neighborhood. Specifically, the proposal includes 13,600 m² of sports and cultural facilities that are available to the community, functioning as a civic hub. Additionally, the design echoes the surrounding context, taking the form of a high-rise structure that acts as “a city within a city” and where the plan operates as a circulation “loop” that encourages informal interactions by connecting a series of layered social spaces. Unlike conventional campuses that are private and closed off, the specific school opens outwards, connecting visually as well as physically the students with the rest of the community, thus reflecting a proposal that is rooted in the local urban fabric. The winners of the 13th Architizer A+Awards have been announced! Looking ahead to next season? Stay up to date by subscribing to our A+Awards Newsletter. The post From Tea to Textbooks: Daily Life as Design in Contemporary China appeared first on Journal.

Dedicated to modern design

In collaboration with SmithArc, Joshua Rice takes the lead on designing a sensual interior for a Texas home that calls back to Modernism.

Contemporary architecture often references ideals from modernism – canonical elements like clean lines, open plans, and material honesty – further tempered to suit current tastes and needs. This Highland Park residence, designed by SmithArc with interiors by Joshua Rice, belongs firmly in that lineage. While expressing its modernist DNA, the home reconsiders what it means to be a “machine for living,” with an emphasis on how color, material, and built-in conveniences will impact a growing family. Far from the white, minimal “modern box” stereotype, this house proves that the subtleties of tone and texture can enhance modernism to create something sensual and moody. The structure is set on the east side of Highland Park – one of Dallas’s most storied neighborhoods – positioning the location as a canvas for architectural experimentation. From early 20th-century Tudors and Mediterranean revivals to the later arrival of starkly contemporary projects, the neighborhood reflects a layered history of design. Building there is both a privilege and a challenge. But this new construction home, integrated into a difficult corner lot, respects the established visual narrative while offering something distinctly of its time. The architecture is anchored by gray limestone walls, a material chosen for both its durability and its sculptural quality. These walls flow between exterior and interior, creating a sense of continuity. Expanses of glass connect the family to the outdoors while raked wood panels and stucco soften the rigor of the stone. But the interiors are where the project most clearly establishes its voice. Rice builds on modernism’s lesser-known experiments with color by leveraging the hue derived from the very character of materials used. The interior palette ebbs and flows through 5,600 square feet with tones that are muted but never flat. Ceppo marble floors, fumed oak cabinetry, warm-gray laminates, and plaster matched to the architectural stone all bring depth and variation within a tightly edited spectrum. In the primary suite, natural white oak meets deep blue Japanese tile and Icelandic marble, combining warmth with shadow. Light oak wide-plank floors contrast with the darker elements, ensuring the atmosphere remains balanced. Programming is also central to the project’s success. From north to south, the home’s ground floor unfurls to reveal a wide range of spaces: a covered outdoor living area that spills into the kitchen and scullery; a partially sunken, open living and dining zone; and a well-dressed hallway leading to the primary suite, powder room, office, yoga studio, media room, mudroom, and laundry. The distinct, paneled-oak wall – designed in a racetrack shape – organizes the plan while discreetly enclosing private functions at the center of the home. Upstairs, a treetop family room anchors four children’s bedrooms, each an en suite, along with a second laundry to ease daily life. The arrangement reflects a contemporary sensibility: communal spaces flow into one another for family gatherings, while tucked-away rooms allow for quiet work, exercise, or retreat. The programming demonstrates that while the house pulls inspiration from modernism’s open plans or mid-century novelties, it adapts them to the complexities of raising a young family today. For Rice, the choice to embrace a darker, moodier palette was a deliberate challenge to prevailing expectations. In residential architecture, “modern” is often equated with bright, white, and minimal. Yet the designer understood that a palette grounded in shadow would create a calmer, more serene experience, given the abundant Texas daylight. The strategy was less about resisting the inundating rays and more about shaping them. Darker materials absorb and diffuse the sun, creating a sense of grounding that allows rooms to feel restful rather than overexposed. Rice does not treat color as an accent but as integral to architecture itself – something that emerges from the natural variations of stone, the smoked tones of oak, the mineral depth of tile. The palette is structural, not decorative. The furnishings further this dialogue between modernist lineage and contemporary sensibility. Instead of defaulting to the familiar icons of mid-century modern design, Rice curated a collection that blends rare vintage pieces with limited-edition works by contemporary designers. Sculptural lighting, carved wood chairs, and stone tables enrich the interiors with history and personality while remaining in harmony with the home’s muted chromatic atmosphere. Each piece contributes not only function but also a unique sense of self, reflecting the clients’ passion for the unexpected design. This house demonstrates how contemporary architecture can honor modernism without mere imitation. It draws from the movement’s clarity of space and truth to materials, but modifies those ideas for the realities of 21st-century family life. Albeit restrained, it reclaims the role of color – too often forgotten in the retelling of modernism’s history – as central to architecture’s emotional impact. “The clients are big fans of modern design but wanted something more unique and unusual than the typical design classics,” Rice says. “Luckily, that is my passion.” Here, color is not bold or loud, but quiet, grounding, and enduring. It is embedded in the limestone walls that define the house, in the marble veining beneath one’s feet, in the shadows that move across oak grain. This contemporary sanctuary proves that color in current architecture is far more impactful than the clichés of white walls and glass boxes. And that by returning to those roots, designers can craft homes that are as timeless as they are deeply personal. To see this and other works by the architect and interior designer, visit smitharc.com and joshuaricedesign.com respectively. Photography by Robert Tsai.

Pura Vida is a modern floating home on Seattle's Portage Bay by Dyna Builders and Hoshide Wanzer Architects that blends sustainable design, warm interiors, and rooftop living.

Seattle’s Portage Bay has a new architectural landmark – a floating home designed by Hoshide Wanzer Architects, and built by Dyna Builders. Rooted in the Costa Rican concept of pura vida, the appropriately named Pura Vida Floating Home celebrates simplicity, balance, and a deep connection to nature while embracing the unique challenges of life on the water. Replacing a decades-old houseboat that once occupied the canal slip, the project began with a new reinforced concrete float – a foundation that provides long-term stability and modern utility access for plumbing and electrical systems. The home itself was built in Dyna’s Ballard shipyard and carefully towed into place, a reminder of the precision required for floating architecture in Seattle’s waterways. At 1,780 square feet of interior space with an additional 820-square-foot rooftop deck, the home prioritizes efficiency and adaptability. Its clean rectangular form makes the most of its footprint, while walls of glass on the main level dissolve the boundary between indoors and out on three sides of the residence. From sunrise over Lake Washington to boat traffic along Lake Union, every room is designed to engage with the ever-changing scenery of Portage Bay. Flexible shading systems, operable screens, and sliding glass doors allow the residents to shift between privacy and openness – whether enjoying family time indoors or welcoming the lively atmosphere of the waterfront. The interiors echo the maritime setting through teak cabinetry, white oak floors, and carefully crafted cabinetry that doubles as architectural transitions between spaces. The warm, natural finishes bring a sense of timelessness while reinforcing the home’s connection to the boating community. Upstairs, the primary suite is designed as a retreat reached via a double-height staircase lit from above with skylights. The upper level bedroom comes complete with a cozy window seat overlooking a green roof. A lower-level library provides another private space, enclosed when needed to create a private escape from the open living areas. The bedroom features a curated mix of woods, stones, glass, and resin to reflect the spectrum of nature seen from Pura Vida. The rooftop deck offers a second living space that blends outdoor comfort with subtle privacy. Movable furnishings, modular tables, and even a rolling fireplace provide flexible configurations for everything from a quiet evening to a social gathering. The integrated sedum roof not only softens the structure’s profile but also supports stormwater management – an eco-conscious nod to sustainable floating home design. For more information on the Pura Vida Floating Home by Dyna Builders and Hoshide Wanzer Architects, visit hw-architectus.com. Photography by Andrew Giammarco.

The Chapel in Bucharest by Vinklu is a glass-clad triangular structure that transforms a narrow urban plot into a tiny, charming coffee shop.

In the heart of Bucharest, where historic buildings stand shoulder-to-shoulder and every square foot of land is precious, a narrow plot on Bazilescu Street has been transformed into an unexpected jewel in the urban city. Known simply as The Chapel, this tiny coffee shop by Vinklu, led by architect Stefan Pavaluta, demonstrates how a challenging site can become an opportunity for innovation. The Chapel sits on a residual plot so slender that most would have dismissed it as unusable. Instead, Vinklu embraced the site’s limitations, turning them into defining features. Rising as a sharp triangular prism, the building maximizes its modest footprint while achieving an unexpectedly dramatic vertical presence. The lot’s extreme narrowness forced bold design moves, resulting in a structure that feels both daring and delicate. Nearly the entire facade is wrapped in high-performance, triple-glazed glass, allowing daylight to flood the space. By day, the building acts as a prism, refracting and reflecting its surroundings; by night, it glows like a lantern, becoming a luminous marker within the urban environment. The interplay of transparency and illumination makes The Chapel not only a space for contemplation but also a work of public art. Given the site’s tight constraints, much of the structure was fabricated off-site. This method minimized construction waste, reduced disruption to the neighborhood, and allowed the building to take shape quickly. The lightweight steel frame supports the glass walls, balancing strength with transparency. Rather than competing with the adjacent mature tree out front, the design incorporates it as a natural canopy, providing shade and grounding the project in its environment. The tree enhances The Chapel’s connection to nature, offering visitors an indoor/outdoor feel within the bustling city. Inside, light-toned wood softens the effect of the glass exterior, creating a warm and intimate atmosphere. The height of the acute triangular roofline exaggerates the sense of scale, making the interior feel far larger than its footprint suggests. Despite measuring only 463 square feet, the space feels open and welcoming. The design fosters a sense of intimacy – ideal for tiny gatherings or a quiet cup of coffee alone. What sets The Chapel apart is its ability to do so much with so little. It proves that small-scale interventions can have a massive impact on how people experience the city. By transforming an overlooked urban lot into a destination, Vinklu has created a new narrative for how we can inhabit tight spaces. To learn more about The Chapel and Vinklu, visit vinklu.com. Photography by Vlad Patru.

Zalc Arquitetura transforms a São Paulo apartment with an industrial edge and a bold color palette – including cobalt blue accents – balanced by neutrals.

Zalc Arquitetura has reimagined a 1,076-square-foot apartment in Perdizes, São Paulo, Brazil, transforming it into a bold combination of industrial and modern. The FM Apartment reflects the creative lifestyle of its residents through vibrant colors, handcrafted details, and an open-concept layout that prioritizes connection and flexibility. One of the first priorities was to establish seamless circulation between the kitchen, terrace, and living room. To achieve this, the architects integrated the outdoor space with the main social areas, creating a larger and brighter living environment. In the private zone, the primary suite now features a fully connected bathroom, offering a hotel-like experience. Additional adjustments included resizing the guest bathroom to allow for a more spacious powder room and entry hall. Color plays a central role in defining the apartment’s character. The entryway and bathrooms showcase handmade hydraulic tiles in bold cobalt blue, a dramatic hue that commands attention and sets the tone for the rest of the interiors. In contrast, more subtle shades of blue soften the atmosphere in the kitchen – appearing on the cabinetry – and continue into the primary bedroom through carefully chosen details. Throughout the apartment, black surfaces – including millwork panels and tile – anchor the palette, bringing depth and industrial edge. The darker tones are balanced by lighter neutrals such as polished concrete floors, white ceilings, and warm wood elements, ensuring that the overall aesthetic feels bold yet livable. In the living room, the modular island sofa is custom designed to adapt to multiple configurations for social gatherings or everyday lounging. Greenery plays a subtle yet significant role, with tropical plants integrated into suspended shelving in the living room and extending into the bathroom. These green elements soften the industrial aesthetic, balancing concrete and metal with natural textures. The kitchen island also incorporates a dedicated space for the family’s pet, complete with filtered water access, seamlessly blending practicality with thoughtful design. Every corner of the apartment carries a unique identity. In the primary bathroom, an unconventional suspended urinal is mounted on a metal pillar. Green plants block those in the bedroom from seeing the urinal’s silhouette through the black-framed glass panels, keeping the open bathroom feeling sophisticated. The guest bedroom doubles as a flexible home office, where a more neutral palette creates a calm backdrop. Flanking walls of sage green cabinetry add a soothing, modern touch. One side conceals a murphy bed for visiting guests, while the opposite side integrates storage. A single wooden board extends across both walls, forming a continuous desk surface that makes the most of the room’s footprint. This multifunctional design emphasizes practicality without compromising aesthetics. Wrapped entirely in black tiles punctuated by varying sizes of white dots, the powder room takes on a bold, immersive quality, with the pattern continuing across the floor, walls, and ceiling. The result is both playful and dramatic, turning a compact room into an unforgettable design statement. To learn more about the FM Apartment and Zalc Arquitetura, visit zalc.arq.br. Photography by Guilherme Pucci.

BBGK Architekci's Sadowski House near Warsaw is a modern forest retreat with a tent-like roof, indoor pool, atrium garden, and interiors inspired by global travel.

On the wooded outskirts of Warsaw, Poland, a one-of-a-kind residence emerges from the trees – a modern home designed as a refuge and a tangible archive of the owners’ lifelong journeys. The Sadowski House, created by architects Wojciech Kotecki of BBGK Architekci and Katarzyna Mach, is more than a piece of contemporary Polish architecture; it is a deeply personal project shaped by travel, memory, and a desire to live close to nature. Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki The clients, a couple of seasoned travelers, envisioned a home that would not only serve as a place to live but also as a showroom for their experiences. Having explored deserts, polar regions, and remote landscapes across the globe, they wanted a house that could hold their memories and showcase their collection of artifacts gathered along the way. This wish guided the architects toward designing a residence that balances privacy with openness, reflecting both the couple’s adventurous spirit and their need for a peaceful retreat. Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki The design draws from traditional nomadic shelters such as tipis, yurts, and igloos – simple yet resilient structures where communal living thrives beneath a shared roof. The architects reinterpreted this concept into a modern form: a single-story house wrapped by an expansive tent-like roof, organizing all living areas at ground level. The result is a home where the inhabitants remain constantly connected, both to each other and to the surrounding forest. Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Set within a pine grove, the Sadowski House is designed to blur the line between indoors and outdoors. Floor-to-ceiling windows, a 72-foot-long sliding window, and strategically placed courtyards allow nature to flow into the interiors. At its heart lies a central atrium garden with a retractable glass roof, enabling residents to experience the changing seasons from inside their home. When opened, the roof and sliding walls allow natural ventilation, carrying in the sounds, scents, and breezes of the forest – a modern interpretation of how traditional shelters harnessed their environments. Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Working alongside interior architects Monika and Adam Bronikowski, of HOLA DESIGN, and landscape architect Marta Tomasiak, the homeowners played an active role in shaping every detail. Warm, natural materials like wood, stone, terracotta, and ceramics create a timeless atmosphere, while exotic plants within the atriums infuse a sense of tropical modernism. One feature is the use of Vals quartzite, a rare stone sourced from Switzerland, discovered by the owners on their travels. Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki Inside, the home doubles as a gallery of personal stories. Artifacts, sculptures, and paintings collected during years of exploration are displayed throughout the interiors, each with memories to match. A grand piano anchors the living space, highlighting the importance of music and culture within the family’s daily life. Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki There’s even an indoor swimming pool that frames views of the inner atrium while offering glimpses of the forest through low-set windows embedded in a stone wall. Whether floating in the water or resting at the pool’s edge, the owners remain visually connected to both the garden at the home’s center and the woodland beyond. Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Photo: Yassen Hristov © Hola Design Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki Photo: Nate Cook © Wojciech Kotecki For more information on the Sadowski House and BBGK Architekci, visit bbgk.pl. Photography as noted.

Hello Wood designs PEBL Grand, a futuristic geometric cabin that is just as much home in the forest as it is in a backyard or on top of a high-rise building.

A new architectural icon has landed in Brooklyn: the PEBL Grand, a futuristic modular cabin designed by Hungarian studio Hello Wood. Installed on a rooftop overlooking Manhattan, these sculptural pods represent the next chapter in small-scale sustainable architecture – blending modern design, cutting-edge technology, and five-star comfort. Hello Wood first made its name hosting creative architectural camps, where experimental ideas often turned into large-scale public installations. Over time, the studio evolved into a full-service design and build company, crafting unique cabins and glamping solutions that merge art and architecture. Their first major success came with the PEBL One, a compact workstation cabin. Building on that foundation, the PEBL Grand expands the concept with larger, more luxurious modules designed for both urban rooftops and natural settings. Unlike traditional cabins, the PEBL Grand looks more like a space capsule or naturally formed boulder, hence the name. Its low-poly, pebble-inspired geometry breaks away from box-like modular design, making it equally at home in a tree-packed forest or atop a high-rise building in the city. Hello Wood’s proprietary construction system, submitted for patent protection, relies on a CNC-manufactured CLT (Cross-Laminated Timber) shell, layered with insulation and waterproofing, ensuring durability while reducing waste and assembly time. Exterior finishes – ranging from wood and stone to aluminum or mirrored panels – allow each cabin to blend into its environment or stand out as a design statement. One of the biggest advantages of the PEBL Grand lies in how quickly and sustainably it can be built. Each unit is fully prefabricated in Europe and shipped either turnkey-ready or flat-packed in standard sea containers, depending on the destination. Once delivered, the cabins can be installed in just a single day using a ground screw foundation system – eliminating the need for concrete and significantly reducing environmental impact. Site preparation often takes only a few hours, making the process fast, predictable, and ideal for projects where delays are costly. This efficiency not only speeds up delivery but also ensures that every cabin maintains Hello Wood’s signature level of craftsmanship. Despite its compact footprint, the PEBL Grand offers the comfort of a boutique hotel suite. Each unit can be fitted with a king-size bed, kitchenette, dining nook, bathroom, and even a panoramic sauna. Large glass openings frame sweeping views, while modular add-ons allow multiple PEBL cabins to be connected for expanded living space. Because the cabins can be flat-packed into shipping containers and installed in a single day with minimal site prep, they are ideal for glamping resorts, creative studios, exclusive event spaces, or private retreats. In May, five PEBL Grand units were installed on the rooftop of a Brooklyn entertainment venue, giving performers a stylish backstage escape while offering one-of-a-kind views of the Manhattan skyline. The project demonstrates how mobile, sustainable, and design-forward micro-architecture can adapt to dense urban environments without heavy construction or disruption. “The PEBL Grand is the result of years of dedicated development, which has taken Hello Wood all the way from Budapest to New York,” says Tamás Fülöp, one of the lead architects of the PEBL Grand. To learn more about the PEBL Grand by Hello Wood, visit hellowood.eu. Photography by György Palkó.

Morning light catches walnut panels within concrete ribs, revealing APOLLO Architects & Associates' masterful synthesis of brutalist structure and Japanese craft.

Located in southern Kyoto, Japan, ELEMENT occupies an L-shaped plot of and that required special attention due to its dual street frontages and changing elevations. APOLLO Architects & Associates responded with a composition of concrete features and a massive southern overhang. A dramatic cantilever creates a pilotis garage on the secondary facade. A series of concrete ribs create a rhythmic grid that spans the double-height living space. Within this structural framework, recessed walnut panels introduce a warmth and acoustic softness. Japan’s post-war architecture has long negotiated between modernism’s concrete vernacular and traditional wood craftsmanship. While other architects may have emphasized one over another, APOLLO Architects & Associates created a more cohesive integration. The cedar board impressions in the concrete walls carry forward the textural detail of Japanese wood construction, while the walnut ceiling panels maintain direct material connection to that tradition. Three courtyards punctuate the interior programs, each calibrated to specific functions and lighting conditions. The entrance courtyard offers a gentle welcome, the kitchen courtyard draws natural illumination deep into service areas, and the central courtyard – equipped with a bench and full-opening sliding doors – creates fluid indoor-outdoor connections. The second-floor workspace, visible from the living area below through strategic glazing, introduces vertical layering that enhances the home’s social dynamics. This transparency between work and domestic life reflects the client’s needs of remote work, but avoids the trap of simply inserting office functions into residential space. Instead, the design creates genuine integration where professional activity becomes part of the home’s daily routine. View more information about ELEMENT on APOLLO Architects & Associates’ website at apollo-aa.jp. Photography by Masao Nishikawa.

Pattern House by Olson Kundig reimagines lakeside living in Seattle with expansive views, natural materials, and seamless indoor-outdoor spaces.

On the banks of Lake Washington, Pattern House by Olson Kundig reimagines what a modern lakeside retreat can be in the heart of Seattle. Designed for a young family, the 3,800-square-foot residence demonstrates how thoughtful architecture can expand the sense of space on a narrow city lot while strengthening connections to both the water and landscape. From the street, the home reads as a modest wood-clad structure, complemented by a concrete volume that houses the garage and workshop. The restrained exterior conceals a dramatic reveal: an Ice Blue front door – chosen to match the client’s beloved Mini Cooper – ushers guests into a double-height entry bathed in natural light and oriented toward panoramic views of Lake Washington. “Pattern House was a fascinating design opportunity because it’s a city house that’s also beside a lake,” explains design principal Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA. “The challenge was to transition from the energy and the organized grid of the city to the serenity and openness of the lake in a relatively brief moment.” The interiors reflect the family’s preference for an industrial yet inviting aesthetic. Recycled oak flooring, leather stair treads, Kebony siding, and a striking stone-slab bathroom bring material richness, while darker wood and steel introduce contrast. A sculptural folded-steel staircase with integrated leather details doubles as both a functional element and a visual centerpiece, guiding the eye upward to the private bedroom wing. In the kitchen, a trio of bold red pendant lights inject a playful burst of color into an otherwise moody palette of black, white, and natural tones. Custom casework in the living area featuring brightly painted wood molds from the family’s manufacturing business are treated like works of art, reinforcing the personal connection between the architecture and its inhabitants. “Like all city houses, Pattern House works to encompass the contemporary lifestyle needs of the clients within a small property that has historically been quite constrained,” adds Kundig. “Here, the clients’ priority was to be outside as much as possible, so the home opens up to that landscape and creates a very big living space, despite the actual site boundaries being limited.” The upper level makes the most of its vantage point. A cantilevered corner window in the primary suite frames sweeping 270-degree views, from Lake Washington across to Mercer Island, with Mount Rainier in the distance. Edward Lalonde, Design Principal at Olson Kundig, notes: “When Tom and I first met with the clients, we noted the siting of the existing mid-century house on the relatively narrow lot. For Pattern House, we wanted to reference that enclosed courtyard approach, but scaled for an urban site – allowing filtered daylight to wash through the entry.” Perhaps the most defining feature of Pattern House is its relationship to the outdoors. Expansive pivot and telescoping glass doors dissolve the boundary between interior living areas and the waterfront landscape. A large deck with an outdoor kitchen, custom BBQ station, and dining area supports family gatherings and entertaining, while a grassy lawn slopes gently to a restored natural shoreline. There’s even an outdoor shower for rinsing off after time in the water. Lalonde emphasizes the importance of ecological restoration: “The original home on the site sat above the lake on a concrete and asphalt porch over a traditional rock bulkhead. Our clients wanted to restore the natural shoreline condition and reintroduce native plantings to feel more connected to the landscape and create a beach for their young children to play in the water.” The exterior environment is further enriched with native vegetation, a small garden inset, a green roof over the garage, and a mature ginkgo tree that anchors the property. To learn more about Pattern House and Olson Kundig, please visit olsonkundig.com. Photography by Aaron Leitz.

A 248 ft² minimalist Paris studio by BETH X EPISTEME STUDIO features modular, double-duty furniture, a Murphy bed, and warm, space-saving design.

In the city of Paris, France, where living space is very much at a premium, BETH X EPISTĒMĒ STUDIO has transformed a micro-compact 248-square-foot (23-square-meter) studio apartment into a refined cocoon of minimalist design. This project demonstrates how small-space living can achieve both functionality and aesthetics without compromise. The studio’s centerpiece is a custom-built raised platform, crafted in okoumé wood, that acts as a multifunctional core where daily life unfolds. The structure seamlessly adapts to different needs: it becomes a sleeping nook, morphs into a dining table or desk, and conceals generous storage within. By integrating so many functions into one element, the designers maximize flexibility while keeping the floor open and uncluttered. The built-in table recalls the spirit of a Japanese zataku, designed for floor seating, yet with a clever twist: the raised platform leaves space beneath so your feet can comfortably dangle instead of tucking under your body. This subtle detail combines traditional inspiration with modern ergonomics, making long meals or work sessions feel more comfortable and relaxed. Every piece within the apartment is custom-designed for efficiency and cohesion. A bookshelf transitions effortlessly into a headboard, while a retractable desk disappears into a storage module when not in use. A wall-mounted Murphy bed further liberates space with a single motion. The result is an interior that feels intentional and balanced, with each element performing multiple roles without visual noise. Materiality anchors the project’s atmosphere. Light-toned wood, polished concrete, matte plywood, and aged brass form a soft, natural palette. The textures work together to create a calming environment that is serene yet tactile. Linear lighting and clean architectural lines reinforce the clarity of the space without making it feel rigid. Rather than dividing the small apartment with walls, BETH X EPISTĒMĒ STUDIO used built-in storage and surface shifts to define areas. Light becomes a guiding element, encouraging movement while visually connecting zones in an uninterrupted flow. Minimalist interiors often risk sterility, but this design embraces a warm minimalism inspired by Japanese aesthetics and desert landscapes. The apartment feels cocoon-like, wrapping its resident in quiet comfort while remaining adaptable to changing needs. This balance between precision and softness proves that small-scale design can be both highly functional and deeply human. Bertrand Emgoué and Marie Fleur Samé of BETH X EPISTĒMĒ STUDIO For more information on BETH X EPISTĒMĒ STUDIO, visit bethxepistemestudio.com. Photography by Art-Milan Mazaud.

Nicki Gitlin, founder of dang, shares her love of iced coffee, her dog Otis when he sits in the sun, her daily planner, and more.

When Nicki Gitlin was an intern at Snarkitecture she explored objects and spaces at all scales, setting the foundation for her own work. With an emphasis on materiality and the interplay of light, Gitlin was fascinated by the way in which elements could be layered and how they influenced an individual’s experience in a particular setting. As an architectural designer for sportswear brand Theory, Gitlin was responsible for store layout and fixture development. The role was a perfect fit for this creative, who appreciates fashion as a means of expression and an art form all its own. “I love the way clothing can shape how you feel moving through the world – it’s design on a more personal, immediate scale,” she says. Nicki Gitlin Gitlin earned a graduate degree from Columbia University, and continued to hone her skills via residential projects and thoughtful research. In 2022, she was ready to make her own mark when she founded her New York-based firm dang. This unforgettable moniker is what Gitlin wants a client to exclaim when they step into one of her signature spaces. Her philosophy is rooted in the belief that beauty is found in the everyday. And whether Gitlin envisions a residence or an eatery, she ensures that each interior is modern yet still deeply livable. Her environments offer an inviting combination of comfort and style that people look forward to returning to. Even with a full schedule of client meetings and site visits, Gitlin manages to carve out quality time away from her computer and mobile phone. She’ll often turn her attention to something completely different, like playing with her son or cooking dinner. “It’s a chance to be fully present, and a reminder that not everything has to happen at once,” she notes. Today, Nicki Gitlin joins us for Friday Five! Photo: Nicki Gitlin 1. Finding Otis in a Sun Spot No matter how hectic my day gets, catching Otis stretched out in a warm patch of sunlight instantly slows me down. He has a way of reminding me to pause, breathe, and enjoy the simple comforts – something I try to bring into my work, too. Photo: Nicki Gitlin 2. Tailored Pant A perfectly cut pant is my version of armor. It’s polished yet effortless, and it carries me through site visits, client meetings, and late nights at my desk. The structure grounds me, while the ease lets me move through my day feeling like the most put-together version of myself. Photo: Nicki Gitlin 3. Daily Planner My daily planner is where big ideas and tiny to-dos live side by side. There’s something grounding about putting pen to paper – seeing the day laid out makes even the busiest schedule feel manageable. It’s my roadmap, my motivator, and sometimes, my excuse to use a really good pen. Photo: Nicki Gitlin 4. Satin Scrunchie The oversized satin scrunchie is my go-to for pulling my hair back without pulling myself out of the moment. It’s practical, but it also feels a little indulgent – soft, easy, and chic. Photo: Nicki Gitlin 5. Iced Coffee in a To-Go Cup An iced coffee in a to-go cup is my constant companion, no matter the season. There’s something about the ritual – the clink of ice, the first sip – that signals it’s time to get things moving. It’s equal parts fuel and comfort, keeping me energized through early mornings and late afternoons. Works by Nicki Gitlin and dang: Photo: Eric Petschek Afficionado Coffee Roasters For this Hell’s Kitchen café, the design draws from the brand’s roots in sourcing coffee directly from farmers around the world. Raw, tactile materials – like plaster, terracotta floors, and patinated metal – echo the landscapes where the beans are grown, creating a space that feels as grounded and authentic as the coffee itself. Photo: Sean Q. Munro Soho Pied-a-Terre This 400-square-foot Soho apartment proves that small can still feel spacious. Every inch works hard – the wardrobe doubles as a side table, a radiator cover transforms into a banquette and a media console, all concealing storage – little moments of ingenuity that make the space feel effortless to live in. Photo: Stephen Kent Johnson Upper West Side This private home, a collaboration with Studio ST, was grounded in Alyssa Kapito’s timeless interiors and brought to life through architecture that honors the building’s character while supporting a serene daily rhythm. The thoughtful detailing – plasterwork, generous natural light, and sculptural millwork – creates a layered backdrop where classic elegance meets lived-in comfort. Photo: Ryan Neeven Gather Market and Eatery In the heart of the Lower East Side, this project was about more than designing a coffee shop – it was about creating a series of pockets where people could gather. From the window bench to the intimate tables, every detail was meant to encourage connection and foster a sense of community. Photo: Nicki Gitlin Midcentury Modern Revival My own home has been a labor of love – bringing it back to life while keeping the midcentury character that drew me to it in the first place. The mix of warm wood, slate, and clean lines makes it feel both true to its roots and perfectly suited to how we live now.

Blakstad Architects, in collaboration with Natural Asthetik, reimagines a local finca-style family home to show the softer side of Ibiza.

In contrast to Ibiza’s iconic Balearic beats and neon-soaked nightclubs, a quieter undertone endures. Here, ancient olive trees dot the landscape as the sea’s salty breeze mingles with rosemary and pine. The island’s whitewashed farmhouses, referred to as fincas, stand as stoic witnesses to centuries of rural life that have remained relatively unadulterated by tourist traffic. It is this heritage that Blakstad Architects looks to in the design of new local homes, which honor vernacular while embracing modern comforts. Their latest project – in collaboration with Natural Asthetik, a London- and Miami-based interior design studio founded by Tom Lawrence-Levy – reimagines the traditional finca for a family who sees this place not as a party destination, but as a sanctuary. Ibiza’s traditional finca is equal parts pragmatic and poetic, responding to climate, culture, and community. Thick stone walls insulate inhabitants from the fierce Mediterranean sun. Natural materials ensure sustainability and harmony with the surroundings while supporting local industry. And the arrangement of rooms, often additive in response to the family’s changing needs, combined with inward-looking courtyards remind those who dwell in them of architecture’s partnership with the elements. At first glance, the house feels unmistakably Ibizan – those guiding principals remain intact, underpinning this new, 3,5000-square-foot residential design. So too does the structure’s classic ubiquitous cubic shape, signature clean volumes, and humble presence. Its whitewashed exterior forms blend naturally with the hill it crowns, surrounded by wild gardens and native forest, while stone walls, exposed beams, and thick thresholds echo generations of island dwellings. A closer look reveals subtle refinements: microcement finishes smooth rough edges, lending a softness to the solid shell. Sandstone floors connect inside and out, keeping time with the sun. And the spiral staircase – a nimble contemporary gesture – leads to a discreet lower level, preserving the typology’s single-story horizontality from the approach. “We worked hard to keep the soul of the finca alive,” says Lawrence-Levy. “We wanted to avoid a house that felt too polished or sterile. Instead, it had to feel like it belonged to this land – as if it had always been here, but with a modern ease.” The open-plan interior feels effortless borrowing textures and tones from the facade, which spill inside as they seep into the six bedrooms and several luxurious baths. Linen drapes diffuse fierce Ibizan light into a gentle glow, creating a soft, ethereal ambiance. Soft, off-white walls recall the island’s sandy coves as warm woods nod to the surrounding forest. Touches of natural reds are peppered throughout using Rojo Alicante stone to reference the local aesthetic. And traditional Moroccan zellige tiles – detail often found across Southern Spain – by Mosaic Factory appear integrated into wet-space walls, their irregularity tempering clean modern lines. True to the finca’s communal spirit, the residence is designed for moments to be shared. Its German-British owners, a growing family, envisioned it as a refuge for friends and loved ones. In the living room, custom sofas by Flexform and statement accent chairs by Cassina cluster around a monumental coffee table – designed by Lawrence-Levy himself – whose twin forms fit together like puzzle pieces when united. Expansive indoor and outdoor dining tables stretching some 12 feet long invite dinners to linger as they commune under the stars. Generous sofas, deep daybeds, and multiple conversation nooks turn every corner into a moment of respite, an escape from Ibiza’s sometimes deafening din. “They are amazing hosts so making a space that effortlessly accommodates large groups was paramount,” continues Lawrence-Levy. “We really wanted it to feel refined but comfortable. The idea was always about people – the architecture is just the frame.” Now fully realized, the project embodies the island’s contradictions, a remoteness hidden behind its fame. The same sense of seclusion that imbues the home with its soulfulness complicated the logistics of building it. But the memory of those challenges only reinforce the magic of a place where time can slow to the pace of the land. This home, with its subtle modernity, shows that heritage is not something to resist or replicate, but to reinterpret with care. To learn more about the architects and interior designer behind this project visit blakstadibiza.com and naturalasthetik.com, respectively. Photography by Vigo Jansons.

Barbora Vokac Taylor designs a modern Muskoka cottage blending with the sloped, rugged surroundings and connecting to the lake.

In the heart of Ontario’s Muskoka region, a new family cottage by Barbora Vokac Taylor Architect (BVT A) redefines what it means to live closely with nature. Designed for a multi-generational family, the four-bedroom, three-level retreat blends into its rugged surroundings while providing intimate spaces for gathering, unwinding, and connecting by the lake. Set within a maple grove and perched on the steep terrain of the Canadian Shield, the cottage was conceived to respect the site’s natural slope and vegetation. Instead of reshaping the land, the design gently adapts to its contours – nestling into the hillside and angling toward both the forest and the water. The sensitive placement not only minimizes environmental impact but also ensures every level of the home offers a unique perspective of the landscape. The exterior pairs Shou Sugi Ban cedar cladding with a low, sloped black zinc roof that stretches across two main volumes: one housing the primary living spaces, the other containing a garage and an upper-level gym. Between them lies an open-air Muskoka Room – a flexible gathering area enclosed by motorized screens when needed – that frames the lake in a dramatic way for arriving visitors. “The warmth of the wood balances out the coolness of the metal,” says Barbora Vokac Taylor of the cottage’s exterior aesthetic. “And, with time, the materials will naturally and gracefully age and develop a natural patina to add to its story. I think that anticipation for the future form is an exciting thread that the family will follow as time passes and the family grows. The homeowners wanted a year-round retreat that could welcome their extended family now, and continue serving as a “family campus” for future generations. BVT A responded with a layout that balances private retreats with expansive social areas. The upper level houses the children’s bedrooms, a study, a guest suite, and a tucked-away loft hideout accessible by ladder that’s perfect for imaginative play. The lower level features the open-plan kitchen, dining, and living areas oriented toward panoramic lake views, plus the primary suite for when the owners visit alone. Lastly, the basement level is the recreation center of the home with a theater, sauna, wet bar, and walkout access to a Japanese-inspired onsen spa sheltered by cedar ceilings and concrete privacy walls. Throughout the cottage, carefully placed “viewfinder” windows frame specific snapshots of the surrounding wilderness – an individual maple tree, the rippling water, or a sunlit rock face. These moments shift with the seasons, making the home feel in constant dialogue with its environment. Summer living flows seamlessly outdoors, with floor-to-ceiling glass and screened openings that blur the boundaries between inside and out. In cooler months, the double-sided stone fireplace becomes the home’s glowing centerpiece, while the cedar and concrete materials develop a weathered patina that deepens the connection between structure and setting. The home’s proportions encourage a slower pace – most notably in the staircase, which uses an outdoor rise-to-run ratio indoors to create a subtle, calming effect. BVT A’s material palette combines warm woods, zinc roofing, and poured concrete, chosen both for their durability and their ability to age gracefully. Exposed Douglas fir joists, whitewashed pine interiors, and hand-painted cement tiles lend texture and tactility to the spaces. Over time, these elements will weather and tell the story of the family residing there. Whether arriving by boat or car, the cottage offers a sense of coziness. At night, a parametric cedar panel designed in collaboration with artist Victoria Fard casts a flickering pattern reminiscent of firelight, making the Muskoka Room glow like a lantern across the water. For more, information on Barbora Vokac Taylor Architect, please visit bvtarchitect.com. Photography by Doublespace, courtesy of v2com.

The latest from www.architecturaldigest.com

Find the finishing touch to your space in these non-drab drapery options

7 elevated options, from traditional linen drum shades to cottagecore-inspired pleats

These white noise machines look as good as they sound

The late night host bought the bluff-top property in the ’80s and held onto it for the rest of his life

Space-saving guest beds that transition to sleeping surfaces in no time

From picks with neck support to cooling gel, AD staffers swear by these bed accessories

Friends, designers, and tastemakers gathered at Burch’s Mercer Street store to toast AD’s newest book

Get the best bang for your bunk, according to interior design experts

The singer’s historic series of concerts in San Juan, “No me quiero ir de aquí,” featured two stages inspired by the archipelago’s past, present, and future

Designer Lauren Nelson was tasked with combining the ethos of one place with the feel of another

We tapped interior designers to weigh in on this versatile bed cover

Including extra features like sound machines and dimmable bulbs

Contemporary sinks that don’t feel washed up

AD100 designer Josh Greene went for smart storage pieces—without tiptoeing around style

Cosplay as someone who owns a country chateau or estate

We're calling it: Ellison Studios’ collaboration with Tiffany Howell will be the next viral design

16 lounge-ready leather, canvas, and horsehair seats

The Hell’s Kitchen star currently owns three homes

Blinds have always been in the picture, but these days, they’re a design statement

Nestled atop a hill in Southern California, the home has made more than 80 onscreen appearances

The English national team member’s house channels midcentury modern and LA contemporary in equal measure

The iconic American brand joins forces with Naiomi and Tyler Glasses to honor heritage through craftsmanship

Elevate your home with these discounted finds before the sale starts in October

After signing a three-year extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA star set his sights on the Manhattan Beach pad of a fellow elite athlete

AD pays tribute to the legendary actor, who died on September 16 at the age of 89

AD looks back on a 1989 tour of the icon’s compound, replete with an expansive collection of contemporary art

These up-to-50% off deals are making their exit this evening

Relief for your back and your wallet

How the nine rising-star designers built their businesses

Discounts abound, even ahead of the mammoth sales event

designboom magazine | your first source for architecture, design & art news

varied brick patterns create texture and visual depth.

The post perforated brick facade encloses north musical art center in säynätsalo, finland appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

The Light of the North Musical Art Center in Säynätsalo, Finland The Light of the North Musical Art Center in Säynätsalo, Finland, by Chuxin Tuoyuan, combines cultural heritage with contemporary performance spaces. Drawing on the design language of the historic Town Hall, a landmark of Finnish identity, the project integrates new functions including a concert hall, music studios, and educational facilities for children. The center addresses rural challenges such as population decline, aging demographics, and migration, positioning music as a catalyst for cultural and social revitalization. It provides spaces that serve children, elderly residents, and underprivileged youth, while also establishing satellite music foundations across the surrounding island to encourage regional events. Architecturally, the project is aligned with the Town Hall grid and proportions, incorporating both straight and curved lines to establish rhythm and continuity. The entrance combines perforated brick walls with glass curtain walls, while the brickwork is laid in varied patterns to create texture and visual depth. Inside, curved wooden panels form a smooth transition between walls and ceilings, diffusing natural light and strengthening the dialogue with nature. a red-brick musical art center nestles in the snowy Finnish forest | all images courtesy of Chuxin Tuoyuan Chuxin Tuoyuan combines heritage with contemporary design The concert hall interior is clad in wood, with streamlined paneling designed to optimize acoustics. Circulation is organized through two independent flows: one for visitors, leading from the main entrance into the auditorium, lobby, and retail areas; and one for performers, with dedicated rehearsal rooms, storage, and backstage access. These flows can operate separately or be connected, ensuring functional efficiency. Material strategy is central to the design of Chuxin Tuoyuan studio, led by Meng Zhao. Recycled wood, sustainable bricks, and green concrete are employed to improve insulation, reduce energy consumption, and cut operational carbon emissions. Prefabricated modular elements allow for efficient construction and maintenance while minimizing environmental impact. Through its clear geometric forms, use of natural materials, and integration with its surroundings, the Light of the North Musical Art Center extends the historic site with a new cultural layer. It establishes a space where music, architecture, and community converge, while demonstrating an environmentally responsive approach that aligns with contemporary sustainability goals. the brick-clad concert hall rises among pine trees, merging cultural heritage with the calm of the forest a glazed gallery overlooks the main hall a flowing timber ceiling embraces the gift shop and exhibition hall a soaring red brick corridor ascends towards the concert hall the transparent roof frames the sky and traces the shifting seasons a sinuous timber volume creates an immersive concert hall experience sweeping timber curves define the auditorium, where architecture and acoustics harmonize at dusk, the perforated brick facade glows, revealing the concert hall’s interior the project combines heritage with contemporary functions project info: name: The Light of the North Musical Art Center architect: Chuxin Tuoyuan lead designer: Meng Zhao location: Säynätsalo, Finland area: 2,000 sqm designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here. edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom The post perforated brick facade encloses north musical art center in säynätsalo, finland appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

its floor of ultra-clear laminated glass offers uninterrupted views into the abyss, while the red weathering steel cladding references tibetan cultural colors.

The post cantilevered glass walkway by archermit hovers 130 meters over tibet’s canyon appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

archermit Suspends ‘Heavenly Road’ Over Canyon in tibet Archermit presents the Nujiang River 72 Turns Canyon Scenic Area in Tibet, an infrastructure that translates the peril and grandeur of the Sichuan–Tibet Highway into a visitor experience. Completed after six years of high-altitude construction, the project is located in Buze Village, Baxoi County, along the G318 Highway. It centers on a dramatic glass viewing platform cantilevered 37 meters from a cliff face above the Nujiang Grand Canyon, echoing the legendary hairpin bends of the ‘devil’s road’, the 72 turns of Nujiang. The main structure of the project reimagines the infamous road’s serpentine layout as a walkable loop suspended 130 meters over the canyon. Its floor of ultra-clear laminated glass offers views into the abyss, while the red weathering steel cladding references Tibetan cultural colors and mirrors the rugged textures of the landscape. This precarious position transforms the driving ordeal of the 72 turns into a ‘heavenly road’ in the air that demands visitors measure danger with their own bodies. images by Arch-exist, unless stated otherwise Channeling the highway’s construction legacy The Chengdu-based team of Archermit suspends a glass bridge 50 meters above the Nujiang River, recalling the old steel bridge once feared by truck drivers and guarded for single-file crossings. Other installations include a zip line, the ‘thrilling steps’ bridge, and a 666-step ladder carved into the cliffs that reinterpret the methods and hardships of the highway’s builders, who in the 1950s faced landslides, hand-built cableways, and unstable geology with limited tools. Constructing the site itself became an act of endurance. Perched at 2,800 meters, the canyon offered little flat ground, narrow roads, frequent rockfalls, and relentless valley winds. Machinery longer than 13 meters could not be delivered, forcing the Chinese architects to develop customized drill bits to cut through the canyon’s variable rock layers. Thirty-nine piles for the viewing platform’s foundations were drilled manually, with workers secured by ropes as they chipped away rock 25 meters deep. Steel components were divided into 46 transportable sections and lifted across the river by a system of temporary cableways, echoing the highway’s original construction methods. The project positions itself as a new waypoint on G318, China’s scenic avenue to Lhasa, adding to nearby landmarks such as Ranwu Lake and Laigu Glacier. Archermit presents the Nujiang River 72 Turns Canyon Scenic Area in Tibet the infrastructure translates the peril and grandeur of the Sichuan–Tibet Highway into a visitor experience completed after six years of high-altitude construction a glass viewing platform cantilevers 37 meters from a cliff face | image by Chill Shine echoing the hairpin bends of the 72 turns of Nujiang | image by Chill Shine the canyon offered little flat ground, narrow roads, frequent rockfalls, and relentless valley winds the project positions itself as a new waypoint on G318, China’s scenic avenue to Lhasa | image by Chill Shine transforming the driving ordeal of the 72 turns into a ‘heavenly road’ in the air demanding visitors measure danger with their own bodies | image by Chill Shine Archermit suspends a glass bridge 50 meters above the Nujiang River | image by Chill Shine other installations include a zip line, the ‘thrilling steps’ bridge, and a 666-step ladder carved into the cliffs perched at 2,800 meters steel components were divided into 46 transportable sections and lifted across the river thirty-nine piles for the viewing platform’s foundations were drilled manually project info: name: Nujiang River 72 Turns Canyon Scenic Area architect: Archermit | @archermit_architects location: Buze Village, Baxoi County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China photographers: Arch-Exist | @archexist, Chill Shine | @chillshinestudio The post cantilevered glass walkway by archermit hovers 130 meters over tibet’s canyon appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

the store features a restrained layout punctuated by bold red elements, including a sweeping display rod and a central bench.

The post red sculptural elements define ARKS flagship store by anagram architects in mumbai appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

anagram architects designs ARKS flagship store in mumbai Anagram Architects unveils 1200 square feet flagship store for ARKS, a lifestyle label based in Bandra West, Mumbai, translating its identity into a physical space. Conceived by Hindi cinema actor Ranbir Kapoor, the store features a restrained layout punctuated by bold red sculptural elements, including a sweeping display rod and a central bench that doubles as seating and focal point. Targeting a young, urban demographic, the space organizes circulation through a linear podium, concealed back-of-house zones, and a stage-like alcove for fitting rooms and a photo booth. all images courtesy of Anagram Architects defined thresholds structure movement within the store Set back from the street, the store, designed by Anagram Architects, is accessed through a metal gate and forecourt before ascending a short flight of steps to the entrance. Inside, the podium integrates the billing desk and product display, while the suspended red rod above anchors the visual rhythm of the interior. On one side, a veneer-paneled wall conceals service areas; on the other, the alcove for changing rooms is framed by drapery, a chandelier, and carpet, creating a contained zone within the open plan. The spatial sequencing reflects the India-based studio’s focus on guiding movement through subtle transitions rather than overt partitions. the design translates the brand’s identity into a physical space mirrored details and barrisol ceiling enhance spatial perception The design adopts ARKS’ signature colors of red, black, and white. The exterior pairs a white bulkhead with black-tiled cladding and a red metal portal finished in ACP. Inside, neutral walls and flooring are punctuated by red accents on display elements, seating, and branding, while black hardware and tiles provide contrast. A Barrisol stretch ceiling conceals lighting to reduce visual clutter, with mirrored beam fascias used to counteract the low 7-foot height and extend the perception of space. The combination of these elements creates a structured retail environment that reflects the brand’s identity through material and form. mirrored beam fascias reflect the Barrisol ceiling to heighten spatial perception strategic red accents energize the muted palette a sculptural red bench serves as a bold visual anchor the sculptural red bench — designed for both seating and display the contours of the bench the material palette features ARKS’ signature colours: red, black, and white the billing desk extends into a continuous podium; above it, a sweeping red rod anchors the merchandise display the sweeping red display rod, with hangers stamped with the abstract red logomark the toilet interior continues the red, black, and white palette, echoing ARKS’ brand identity project info: name: ARKS Flagship Store designer: Anagram Architects The post red sculptural elements define ARKS flagship store by anagram architects in mumbai appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

jean nouvel’s NOT A HOTEL YAKUSHIMA uses stone and glass to embed the retreat within misty, ancient forests for a contemplative retreat.

The post NOT A HOTEL unveils yakushima island location with architecture by jean nouvel appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Jean Nouvel’s Stone and Glass Retreat in japan NOT A HOTEL announces its latest iteration for the Japanese island of Yakushima, this time with architecture by Jean Nouvel. The lush, rain-soaked location for this upcoming boutique hotel is a UNESCO World Heritage site celebrated for its ancient cedar forests and shifting coastal weather. Commissioned by the hospitality brand NOT A HOTEL, the project will hide within a landscape defined by moss-covered rocks and misty green canopies. Jean Nouvel’s design draws directly from the island’s topography, embedding the building within the natural contours of the terrain. Walls of locally-sourced stone and broad panes of glass form a low, grounded structure that can be gradually discovered as the forest unfolds. Thus, the architecture reflects the island’s elements, welcoming the rain and shadow as a part of its atmosphere. images © NOT A HOTEL, Ateliers Jean Nouvel not a hotel lands on yakushima island Ateliers Jean Nouvel approaches the design of NOT A HOTEL YAKUSHIMA as a celebration of absence. ‘The most sophisticated things belong to nature — its landscapes, its paths, its reliefs, the views that will be revealed; everything else is absence,’ the architect explains, describing his approach. His words emphasize the project’s restraint. The built space becomes a quiet frame for Yakushima’s scenery, rather than an object within it. Inside the hotel, spaces open broadly onto the forest and sea, creating an atmosphere that is at once contemplative and immediate. Subtle transitions between indoor and outdoor areas invite guests to move freely with the rhythms of weather and daylight. The stone surfaces collect rainwater and reflect shifting skies, while glass expanses channel sounds of wind and water. the retreat stands on the lush UNESCO World Heritage island of Yakushima a continuation of the island cliffs ‘At its base lies the stone — a permanent presence, shaped by time, rain, and wind, carrying the patina of years,’ Jean Nouvel adds, describing the influence of Yakushima’s landscape on his design for NOT A HOTEL. Rocks and stone blocks are arranged as if they have always been part of the island, their textures blending with the surrounding forest floor and nearby cliffside. This tactile connection to the site lends a design that values permanence and encourages quiet observation among the trees. The interplay of light and shadow reinforces the sense of continuity with the landscape. Openings frame views of the sea and distant peaks, while the interiors are softened by the shifting glow of Yakushima’s ever-changing weather. The design team seeks to inspire a slow engagement with the environment and highlights the delicate balance between built form and otherwise untouched landscape. stone and glass walls follow the natural contours of the terrain As part of NOT A HOTEL’s larger group of retreats across Japan, the project is a flexible model of ownership and hospitality. Members can purchase a residence and share it as a hotel stay when unoccupied, with the brand managing maintenance and operations. Sales for NOT A HOTEL YAKUSHIMA are set to begin in summer 2026. stone surfaces and glass expanses capture shifting light and sound Nouvel describes nature as the most sophisticated presence project info: name: NOT A HOTEL YAKUSHIMA architect: Ateliers Jean Nouvel | @ateliersjeannouvel location: Yakushima, Japan client: NOT A HOTEL | @notahotel_official visualizations: courtesy NOT A HOTEL, Ateliers Jean Nouvel The post NOT A HOTEL unveils yakushima island location with architecture by jean nouvel appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

shopping routes form continuous loops or figure-eight paths.

The post pink ribbon organizes retail display within factory store in inner mongolia appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

waa (wearchitechanonymous) rethinks retail through color waa (wearchitechanonymous) designs ERDOS Land, a 2,600-sqm factory store within the ERDOS headquarters complex on the outskirts of Ordos city, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The project integrates retail, leisure, and tourism functions, housing all of the brand’s labels under one roof and accommodating up to 700 visitors per day during peak seasons. An additional 700 sqm of space supports a children’s play area, a café, and a tourist center. The design approach is rooted in an exploration of how color shapes perception within spatial environments. Instead of modifying individual pigments, the project emphasizes the relationship between colors and their surroundings to shape perception. Pink surfaces and frames are selected to soften the retail environment and create optical vibrations that lighten the atmosphere while ensuring garments remain the focal point. A continuous pink ribbon-like rack runs through the space, doubling as a structural and organizational device: it supports task lighting for booths, provides wayfinding for visitors, and manages the visual scale of the merchandise. all images courtesy of waa (wearchitechanonymous) Looping shopping routes organize ERDOS Land factory store Circulation guides the spatial organization by Studio waa (wearchitechanonymous). Four central islands structure the floor plan, allowing shopping routes to unfold as either a continuous loop or a set of interconnected figure-of-eight paths. Each island is dedicated to a specific garment type, including scarves, jumpers, accessories, and general wear. Along the perimeter, opposite booths host the brand’s five labels, separated by aggregate pillars that incorporate fitting rooms. The children’s booth integrates play elements directly into the retail environment, with climbing structures, adapted garment rails, and feature chandeliers that double as supports. These devices extend the store’s broader emphasis on playfulness, embedding moments of interaction into the shopping experience. A seamless membrane ceiling unifies the entire space, controlling light levels, softening shadows, and enhancing garment displays. This contoured ceiling, combined with rhythmic lighting and carefully orchestrated color compositions, maintains visual clarity across the large-scale interior. waa (wearchitechanonymous) completes ERDOS Land in Ordos the factory store integrates retail, leisure, and tourism the design explores how color shapes spatial perception a pink ribbon-like rack runs through the store as a central device optical effects create a lighter, more dynamic atmosphere the children’s booth integrates climbing structures into retail pink surfaces soften the retail environment and frame circulation play devices embed moments of interaction within the store color, circulation, and material strategies shape ERDOS Land’s design a continuous membrane ceiling unifies the entire interior project info: name: ERDOS LAND architect: waa (wearchitechanonymous) | @waa_wearchitechanonymous location: Ordos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here. edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom The post pink ribbon organizes retail display within factory store in inner mongolia appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

the distinctively shaped 'top tower' has been designed by a sculptor and an architect – david černý and tomáš císař respectively.

The post prague approves sculptural shipwreck tower, set to become czechia’s tallest building appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

david černý’s shipwreck tower to rise above prague First unveiled in 2019, the 135-meter-tall Top Tower has now received approval from city officials, paving the way for it to become the tallest building in the Czech Republic, surpassing Brno’s AZ Tower by nine meters. Rising in Prague’s Nové Butovice neighborhood, the sculptural landmark, co-designed by artist David Černý and architect Tomáš Císař of Black n’ Arch, resembles a vertical shipwreck and is envisioned as a mixed-use hub with residences, offices, and a generous public realm at its base. Crowned by a sky-high observation deck, the project promises to offer sweeping views across the capital and its surrounding landscape. all images © Black n’ Arch Co-living, culture, and sustainability in czechia’s tallest tower Conceived as a sculptural landmark, the tower integrates Černý’s dramatic vision of a vertical shipwreck entangled with the structure, establishing a new focal point for the neighborhood. At its core, the development is a residential rental scheme that embraces the co-living model, offering compact private units alongside generous communal spaces to encourage interaction and shared living. Complementing the housing are office spaces, retail units, and a multifunctional cultural center, while a publicly accessible roof garden and sky-high observation deck is set to provide expansive views across Prague. Shops and services are planned for the lower floors, with a 24-hour public underground car park integrated into the scheme. The project is being overseen by developer group Trigema and designed by boundary-pushing sculptor David Černý and Tomáš Císař of architecture firm Black n’ Arch. Sustainability has been embedded into the design, with an integrated system for rainwater collection and reuse, and LEED Gold certification anticipated. Beyond the tower itself, the project will also revitalize the surrounding public realm, including the pedestrian zone linking entrances to the nearby metro station. the tower is crowned with a public observation deck the tower climbs to a total height of 135 meters (443 feet) complementing the housing are office spaces, retail units, and a multifunctional cultural center project info: name: Top Tower location: Prague, Czech Republic developer: Trigema | @trigema_as design: David Černý | @cerny.david and Tomáš Císař of Black n’ Arch | @blacknarch The post prague approves sculptural shipwreck tower, set to become czechia’s tallest building appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

cadence architects' SMVIT library in india creates a democratic and landscape-integrated hub of shifting concrete volumes.

The post cadence architects designs monumental library for engineering school in india appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

An Open and Democratic Design A new library for Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology (SMVIT) in Bangalore, India has completed with architecture by locally-based Cadence Architects. With its monumental presence and exposed concrete structure atop an array of pilotis, the building establishes a strong landmark at the heart of the engineering university’s masterplan. The SMVIT Library is sited along a main road between the hostel buildings and academic blocks, and will soon overlook a central plaza which is soon to be completed, creating a natural gathering point for faculty and students. images © Atik Bheda a gathering hub for smvit Cadence Architects shapes the library to encourage interaction across the SMVIT campus. The building does not read as a solitary monument but as an active connector. Its floorplan invites movement throughout and around the structure which, as the architects note, supports the university’s call for a democratic, inclusive hub. The heavy concrete volume is elevated over the ground plane atop a series of columns, its footprint planned as a careful response to the site’s mature trees, weaving the building into its natural setting. Broad pedestrian paths pass through and along the structure, enhancing its role as both a destination and a thoroughfare within the campus. the heavy concrete volume is elevated over the ground plane atop a series of columns cadence architects’ sectional complexity Concrete gives Cadence Architects’ SMVIT Library a sense of permanence and strength, while the building’s porosity and layered volumes maintain a welcoming atmosphere. The design team balances solidity with openness, ensuring the library feels at once grounded and responsive to sunlight and breezes. Inside, sectional shifts create a mix of intimate reading alcoves and generous communal zones. The interplay of volumes supports focused study as well as collaboration, further embodying the architecture’s flexible and democratic spirit. locally-based firm Cadence Architects designed the building as a gathering hub interior spaces range from quiet reading nooks to open communal zones the design encourages interaction and collaboration across disciplines linear overhead lighting fixtures lend an exaggerated forced perspective sunlight filtered through mature trees casts patterned shadows across the interiors the SMVIT Library stands at the center of the engineering school’s campus project info: name: SMVIT Library architect: Cadence Architects | @cadence_architects location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India client: Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology design team: Narendra Pirgal, Vikram Rajashekar, Smaran Mallesh, Anshul Deshmukh, Aishani Nath, Shilpa Ananth completion: March 2025 photography: © Atik Bheda | @atikbheda The post cadence architects designs monumental library for engineering school in india appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

water flows freely beneath the suspended textile canopy.

The post ephemeral circle textile installation by atelier VRAC activates mountain river in romania appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Atelier VRAC’s circular structure stands on Moașa Sebeșului River Atelier VRAC’s Temporary Installation at a Mountain River is presented during Făgăraș Fest on the Moașa Sebeșului River, a tributary of the Sebeș River in Romania’s Făgăraș Mountains. The installation consists of a precise circular structure set directly within the riverbed, framing the natural setting through architectural intervention while allowing the water to flow freely beneath. The circle establishes a geometric boundary, forming an outdoor ‘room’ that temporarily redefines the linear landscape of the river. This boundary is composed of slender vertical elements topped with solar light globes, accompanied by a suspended textile canopy that creates a light, permeable enclosure. The canopy lightly brushes against the vegetation on both banks, subtly incorporating the surrounding environment into the installation. Access to the interior varies according to scale and movement: children pass beneath the fabric with ease, while adults must bend slightly to enter. Within, an angled pontoon is positioned off-center and is only reachable by stepping into the river. This element creates a pause in the flowing environment, offering a distinct moment of stillness and reflection within the temporary structure. The installation also integrates a narrow river crossing adjacent to the circular perimeter. A series of stepping stones is placed at stride-length intervals, encouraging deliberate movement between the festival’s camping area and the riverbank site. At night, the solar light globes provide minimal illumination, ensuring visibility while maintaining a subdued atmosphere. the installation emerges among the riverbanks | all images by Cristian Bădescu, Zenaida Florea Water flows freely beneath the Temporary textile Installation Designed for Făgăraș Fest, organized by the Conservation Carpathia Association, the project by creative studio atelier VRAC reflects the festival’s dual purpose: to advocate for national park protection of the Făgăraș Mountains and to highlight the cultural potential of the local community. In a context where mountain streams face increasing pressures from micro-hydropower development, invasive construction, and unmanaged waste, the installation underscores the importance of maintaining the river landscape in an unaltered state. Through its geometric clarity, lightweight materiality, and integration with natural flows, Temporary Installation at a Mountain River activates its site without altering it. The structure operates as both a spatial intervention and a reminder of the value of ecological preservation, positioning design as a tool for awareness and engagement within a fragile landscape. the water flows freely beneath the structure the installation frames a serene river view a textile canopy forms a light, permeable enclosure stepping stones encourage a deliberate, mindful passage children can easily slip under the floating canopy the circle creates a temporary outdoor ‘room’ the pontoon is accessible only by stepping into the river a moment of stillness and reflection vegetation gently brushes the fabric feet meet the surface, stepping into the installation through the water river’s stones keep the structure grounded sunlight glimmers beneath the suspended canopy the installation glows as night falls solar globes provide minimal illumination project info: name: Temporary Installation at a Mountain River architect: Atelier VRAC | @atelier.vrac location: Sebeșu de Sus, Romania design team: Cristian Bădescu, Zenaida Florea commission: Conservation Carpathia production & implementation: Hans Scherer, Sebastian Big, Oana Big photographers: Cristian Bădescu, Zenaida Florea video: Diana Ioana Bobeș designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here. edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom The post ephemeral circle textile installation by atelier VRAC activates mountain river in romania appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

roman bauer arquitectos completes a flexible photographers studio in barranco, peru with courtyards, skylights, and huayruro wood details.

The post roman bauer arquitectos designs photographers studio in bohemian district of lima, peru appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

a photographers’ workshop for an artist neighborhood Peru-based practice Roman Bauer Arquitectos takes to Lima’s bohemian district of Barranco to design a studio, workshop, and exhibition space for photographers. The project is organized around two landscaped courtyards that frame a lofty central workspace. Visitors enter through a forecourt where cantilevered planters infuse the space with greenery before reaching the main hall. Sliding doors retract fully to create a continuous flow from the entry courtyard through the interior and into a second sunlit garden at the rear. This main space is joined by a small kitchen and two flexible rooms that function as more private offices or even temporary bedrooms for visiting artists. Only the bathrooms and a darkroom are fully enclosed, preserving the open, adaptable character of the plan. The layout supports both focused photographic work and the possibility of public gatherings or gallery-style installations. images © Juan Solano Ojasi roman bauer sculpts a folding roofline With the structure of its photographers workshop, Roman Bauer Arquitectos combines reinforced concrete block walls with a timber roof supported by large steel trusses. The roofline folds gently, descending from the second-floor office toward the rear courtyard, and is punctuated by four rectangular skylights. These overhead apertures, fitted with operable upper windows on pulley systems, fill the studio with daylight and encourage cross-ventilation. The architects note that their proportions recall the lanterns and ceiling lights of Barranco’s traditional houses. Huayruro wood, a common wood in Peru, is used extensively across carpentry elements, including partitions, framing, furniture, and the staircase to the upper level, lending a warm tonal contrast to the cool concrete walls. Inside, walls of exposed stone are smoothly finished, while the courtyard’s walls show a textured relief that doubles as a surface for hidden lighting or climbing plants. a studio and workshop for photographers opens in Barranco, Peru a studio between two courtyards Flooring throughout the first level is laid in handcrafted yellow terrazzo tiles that extend into the rear garden. There, a planter of concrete slats surrounds a ceibo tree, creating the atmosphere of an outdoor room. The success of the interiors lies in the contrast between the austere stone walls at eye-level and the complex, warm-toned structure which caps the space and draws the eye upward. The project comes to life with its spatial sequencing, ambient sunlight, and a palette of expressive materials. Through its courtyards and finely tuned roof structure, Roman Bauer Arquitectos has created a workspace that is at once adaptable and quietly expressive, bringing a versatile setting for creative production as well as exhibitions. In this way, it serves the needs of both local and visiting photographers, and respects the artistic character of historic Barranco. Roman Bauer Arquitectos designed the flexible studio and exhibition space the plan centers on two courtyards that connect through sliding doors huayruro wood warms the roof, stair, and built-in furniture a central workspace extends between the front and rear gardens reinforced concrete block walls lend structure and subtle texture four skylights with pulley windows bring daylight and cross ventilation project info: name: Studio-Workshop for Photographers architect: Roman Bauer Arquitectos | @romanbauer_arquitectos location: Barranco, Peru area: 189 square meters (2,035 square feet) completion: 2025 photography: © Juan Solano Ojasi | @juansolanoojasi lead architects: Jose Bauer, Augusto Román design team: Alexandra Larrea, Ailed Tejada, Lilian Wong, Karen Galarza structural consultant: Jorge Avandaño wood structure consultant: Luis Takahashi electrical consultant: Cesar Pacheco MEP consultant: Julio Gamboa The post roman bauer arquitectos designs photographers studio in bohemian district of lima, peru appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

the house's contemporary form is rooted in the vernacular traditions of newfoundland.

The post contrasting gable and mono-pitched metal roofs top wooden coley’s point house in canada appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Woodford Architecture builds a coastal residence in Canada Nestled within the serene coastal landscape of Coley’s Point, Canada, Woodford Architecture’s contemplative residence embraces its dramatic maritime setting with restrained elegance. Composed of intersecting gable and mono-pitched volumes, the form echoes the quiet vernacular of Newfoundland’s built tradition while articulating a modern silhouette. Textural contrast defines the exterior. Vertical, dark-grey cladding is juxtaposed with crisp, horizontal white wood siding to sculpt a nuanced interplay of light and shadow. Strategic window placement frames extended views of the harbor, drawing the sea into daily life, while sheltered courtyard spaces mediate between interior comfort and coastal exposure. all images by Jane Brokenshire Coley’s Point House stands as a reflection of its coastal setting Inside, the home is designed with an emphasis on simplicity, light, and connection to its surroundings. Expansive windows fill the living areas with natural light throughout the day, while warm, carefully chosen finishes create a sense of intimacy against the wide horizon outside. The design team at Woodford Architecture arranges spaces in a way that encourages both quiet retreat and moments of gathering, with views and movement thoughtfully considered at every turn. The overall effect is one of balance, between openness and shelter, tradition and modernity, landscape and dwelling. More than a residence, Coley’s Point House stands as a reflection of its setting, offering calm, clarity, and enduring connection to the rugged Newfoundland coast. It is a home that feels both timeless and deeply rooted, shaped by the rhythms of land and sea. the residence by Woodford Architecture is set within the coastal landscape of Coley’s Point, Canada the home embraces its maritime setting with intersecting gable and mono-pitched volumes the house’s contemporary form is rooted in the vernacular traditions of Newfoundland vertical dark-grey cladding paired with horizontal white siding defines the exterior window placement carefully frames views of the harbor a play of light and shadow emerges from contrasting materials expansive glazing fills the living areas with daylight throughout the day warm finishes provide intimacy against the wide coastal horizon interiors emphasize simplicity, natural light, and connection to the landscape views and circulation are carefully considered in the plan spaces are arranged to support both quiet retreat and communal gathering design balances openness with a sense of shelter connection to the rugged Newfoundland coast is embedded in the design project info: name: Coley’s Point House architects: Woodford Architecture | @woodford_architecture design team: Chris Woodford, Devan Burry, Kathy Oke, Keita Foley-Tanaka location: Coley’s Point, Bay Roberts, Canada photographer: Jane Brokenshire | @janebrokenshire designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here. edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom The post contrasting gable and mono-pitched metal roofs top wooden coley’s point house in canada appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

A community for students, professionals, and lovers of architecture.

Welcome to the What Style Is This? / What Is This Thing ? megathread, an opportunity to ask about the history and design of individual buildings and their elements, including details and materials. Top-level posts to this thread should include at least one image and the following information if known: name of designer(s), date(s) of construction, building location, and building function (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, religious). In this thread, less is NOT more. Providing the requested information will give you a better chance of receiving a complete and accurate response. Further discussion of architectural styles is permitted as a response to top-level posts. submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

Please use this stickied megathread to post all your questions related to computer hardware and software. This includes asking about products and system requirements (e.g., what laptop should I buy for architecture school?) as well as issues related to drafting, modeling, and rendering software (e.g., how do I do this in Revit?) submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/DrDMango [link] [comments]

Ayla is a $1.4 billion mixed-use resort in Aqaba, Jordan, and a major driver for tourism and economic growth. The socially and environmentally sustainable development on the Red Sea features an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Greg Norman—one of the most eco-friendly in the world. We were invited to design the Clubhouse, the Academy, and a series of comfort stations. Situated at the intersection of Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, and only 80 miles south of the ancient city of Petra, the site is surrounded by iconic landscapes. With such beauty and a strong sense of place, we looked to the undulating dunes of the coast to see how we might “lift” and “carve” the desert to create silent, poetic structures submitted by /u/Appropriate-Eye-1227 [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/peach_lychee12 [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/Ok_Chain841 [link] [comments]

Today I read the news that Chengdu Metro has surpassed 700 kilometers, becoming the world's fourth-largest metro system. I'll share the latest station designs. Chengdu is my hometown—hope you all like them. submitted by /u/Sorry_Sort6059 [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/Ranji-reddit [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/kees132 [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/lopix [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/Hrmbee [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/Lazyoorange [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/sonderewander [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/JohanTravel [link] [comments]

alot of architecture was "created" after 9/11 so many designs and buildings would not exist probably! but i wondering if the plaza (austin tobin plaza) was going to be more greenery or more open stores such as CAFES etc submitted by /u/AbdullahArab [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/kkhouete [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/placesjournal [link] [comments]

TL;DR: Just finished my diploma project, got told my design makes “bad public space.” The thing is, I genuinely thought I was solving those exact issues. So now I’m wondering… am I totally delusional about my own design skills, or is this just a brutal taste mismatch? Project link: https://imgur.com/gallery/diploma-project-vocational-primary-middle-school-bxroHrC Hi everyone. I’ve just finished 6 years of architecture school, and I’m at the stage where we present our diploma project. Where I live, the professors decide after this presentation if we get our diploma or if we have to try again. I’ve already failed this project once. I took in feedback, talked to professors, tried again - and the result was once again heavily criticised. The critique was harsh: they said I did not solve the public space, that my relation to the street is poor, that classrooms on the ground floor don’t work, etc. The problem is: I honestly thought I had solved these things, or at least reached the best compromise possible given the site and program. And now I’m wondering if I’m completely wrong in how I see architecture. I don’t want “easy fixes” right now - I want to know if my way of thinking is fundamentally flawed, if I’m delusional about what is “good space,” or if this is a matter of difference in perspective. The project in a nutshell Program: new music & arts school (primary + middle, ages 6–14) in Reghin, Romania - a small town known as “the city of violins.” The current music school is undersized and in a former home. Site: small, constrained plot along the Canal, 15 minutes from the town centre, opposite another general school. Currently used as a construction depot. Main idea: “School as a Bridge” - both literally (a pedestrian bridge connects the two schoolyards across the canal) and metaphorically (school as dialogue between artists and city, with soft thresholds and public edges). Massing: three buildings with a shared courtyard between them. I placed them this way because: Cardinal orientation - local law requires classrooms to face south, so the central classroom block had to be perpendicular to the street. Yard space - splitting into two main buildings (north and central) created a wider, continuous yard instead of a leftover narrow strip. Independence of functions - one building can operate for public functions (concert hall, rehearsal hall, luthier workshop), the other for classrooms. Experience - leaving the central area of the plot open instead of having a building here creates a more airy area and public space in front of the school. Library - in the smaller south wing, with a separate public entrance, open outside school hours. Relation to street: The foyer of the northern block faces the street. But I concentrated larger glazed surfaces toward the back, facing the canal, intentionally, to activate the waterfront and make it a pleasant walking area. What I was told That the public space around the nearby apartment block, which currently has no yard (South-West corner), is of bad quality, and that I “ignored” it. That having a portico facing the street is weak, and I should have big transparent functions facing the street instead. The classrooms on the ground floor make the street edge dead. Where I’m lost I genuinely thought my decisions addressed these problems: I left space around the apartment block public and not absorbed into the school yard, to give the block some breathing room. I used the portico as a semi-public threshold, thinking it could be generous and welcoming. I intentionally turned the larger glazed functions toward the canal, to improve that neglected edge of town. But according to my professors, I basically created poor-quality spaces. And I don’t understand why my reasoning and their assessment are so completely opposite. My questions for you Am I fundamentally misunderstanding what makes a “good” public space? Is my design logic itself flawed, or does it just not align with my professors’ expectations? Am I actually delusional in thinking I produced a decent solution given the constraints? Is it worth trying again, or am I really not cut out for this? I attached plans + renders so you can see for yourself. Please don’t hold back - but please be specific. Even if the answer is “yes, your whole logic is off,” I want to know why. Thank you. submitted by /u/Additional-Escape-76 [link] [comments]

Among the 444 subway stations in Chengdu, 11 are noteworthy, but due to space constraints, we won't elaborate on each one here. submitted by /u/Sorry_Sort6059 [link] [comments]

𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚜, 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜, 𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚜, 𝚎𝚝𝚌; 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚜𝚎? 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚂𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚘 submitted by /u/WeirdCurrency3334 [link] [comments]

I have wanted to be a Universal Creative for as long as I can remember, and have jumped back and forth between mechanical engineering (Ride Systems), interior design, and architecture. I'm 17 now, work as a UOTM, and i'm almost done with my AA degree, so I need to choose a major soon. I have wanted to design how the rides look on both the insides and outsides (specifically dark rides), the story, the lands, the layout, etc, all of the more creative / design stuff. What career / major fits best here? submitted by /u/MH2O_FTW [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/TinySasha [link] [comments]

Hey everybody! I'm just through with working in nursing homes and I'm looking for something that suits me better. Which has landed me at the title of Architectural Engineering. There's a program at Ranken for Building Systems Design Technology (Assoc. Of Tech) and there's a Bach for Architecture. I understand that from the Bach, I would need to pursue a Bach in Architectural Engineering. I really have no idea what I'm doing, and, whilst I realize that it's no short course and my payoff, considering I'm 34, probably won't be until my 50's, however, I want to take the way that will learn me the most so I can come out ahead. Any tips? Thank you! submitted by /u/Enchanted_Orchid_562 [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/Old-Respect-7472 [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/zannatsuu [link] [comments]

I have a M. Arch (‘23, unlicensed) and was working at a very very large arch/engineering company for the last 3 years, but was recently laid off with a large chunk of other arch designers and engineers. Tbh, I should’ve have seen it coming— work was getting light and the industry isn’t too busy at the moment for projects of that company’s size. While I’m looking for more work as a designer, I may have an opportunity with artistic design work that is not architecture. I think it could be fun and something to help cure my burnout, but would this hinder my appeal as an architectural designer if I decide to go back to the industry? I’m thinking of this as a 6-18 month side-quest, but I’d hate it to follow me as a career mistake. submitted by /u/fkn-hooray [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/Lazyoorange [link] [comments]

Open Door has been taking you inside the homes of your favorite celebrities for years, giving you a glimpse into how they live. We’ve rounded up 24 episodes for you to binge-watch at your pleasure, from Dakota Johnson to Kendall Jenner. 00:00 Troye Sivan 12:18 Jon Batiste & Suleika Jaouad 26:20 Lenny Kravitz 32:25 Dakota Johnson 42:10 Sienna Miller 54:30 Zedd 1:03:43 John Stamos 1:15:49 Carmelo Anthony 1:28:28 Sofía Vergara 1:39:25 Serena Williams 1:46:47 Vanessa Hudgens 2:01:41 Gwyneth Paltrow 2:14:26 Travis Barker 2:30:17 Lakshmi Vilas Palace 2:40:09 Troian Bellisario & Patrick J. Adams 2:55:43 RuPaul 3:07:01 John Legend & Chrissy Teigen 3:23:59 Ray Romano 3:36:43 Benny Blanco 3:51:06 Sonam Kapoor 3:59:16 Jennifer Garner 4:10:48 Jimmy Butler 4:24:58 Walton Goggins 4:37:55 Kendall Jenner Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

Lainey Wilson describes the design philosophy behind her Nashville home. Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

While starring in Law & Order: SVU, Christopher Meloni was gifted a baseball bat ahead of his daughter's birth, and since then, his collection has grown. Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

Riz Ahmed takes hygiene very seriously in his home. Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

In this episode of Open Door, AD steps inside the beautifully curated London home of Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery. Designed in collaboration with Emma Ainscough, Michelle’s space blends English country charm with city living–from a dedicated boot room to a grange-style kitchen. With pops of red (Michelle’s favorite color) and numerous homages to her beloved lurcher, Alfie, the actress’s home is a deeply personal space full of character and life. Shop the actor’s chromatic style with our editor-curated selection of furniture and decor inspired by her London home: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/shopping/michelle-dockery-open-door Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

Production Designer Kalina Ivanov joins AD to break down how she transformed New York City into Gotham for Emmy-winning show ‘The Penguin’. ‘The Penguin’ takes place immediately after Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’, in a Gotham flooded by The Riddler's bombs. Discover how Ivanov transformed Yonkers into Crown Point by dropping 40 tons of dirt, and why NYC’s own history makes it the perfect inspiration for Gotham City. Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

Lainey Wilson has a long list of impressive career achievements, one of which was getting inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. As a gift after the ceremony, she was given a section of the flooring from the first-ever induction. Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

Demi Lovato's 'shroom room' features a cloud chandelier that changes color with the beat of music. Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

Carrie Bradshaw's closet in 'And Just Like That' is full of easter eggs from her 'Sex and the City' days. Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

Today, AD is welcomed by Chef Bobby Flay to tour his stylish New York City loft. After more than a decade of living in the space, the celebrity chef and restaurateur teamed up with interior designer Olivia Jane of Olivia Jane Design to give his apartment a full renovation. The pair aimed to enhance the open-air loft feel of the apartment, which is located in a century-old warehouse. Darker colors, warm tones, and vintage furniture create a cozy ambience while honoring the space’s open-plan design. Naturally, the heart of the home is a chef-worthy kitchen equipped with professional-grade appliances, clever storage, and plenty of counter space–perfect for cooking, entertaining, and unwinding. Shop the chef’s style with our editor-curated selection of furniture and decor inspired by his home: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/shopping/bobby-flay-open-door Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

Hidden in a form truck loading bay in LA is the Geoponika greenhouse, a one-of-a-kind space full of the world's rarest plants. Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

When Jessie McLaughlin needs help getting the movie room working, her husband, Rhett, is there to help! Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

Today, AD is welcomed by country music sensation Lainey Wilson to tour her Nashville home. Best known for her breakout album Bell Bottom Country, Wilson takes us inside the first home she has fully designed. From leopard print stair carpets to sparkling gold ceilings, Wilson’s home is her imagination come to life, blending vintage Americana, personal mementos, and Southern charm. The home is filled with meaningful touches, including a portrait of her 31-year-old horse, Tex, and preserved wood flooring from the original Grand Ole Opry stage. The musician has created the perfect sanctuary full of warmth and character to kick back and relax. Shop the country star’s style with our editor-curated selection of furniture and decor inspired by her home: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/shopping/lainey-wilson-open-door 00:00 Intro 00:18 Entryway 01:51 Living Room 04:37 Kitchen 05:39 The Emerald Hall 06:06 The Jungle Room 08:21 Closet 11:01 Bedroom 13:12 Landing Talent: Lainey Wilson Director: Skylar Economy Director of Photography: Dustin Hyer Editor: Jonny Lee Mills Producer: Joel Ahumada Line Producer: Jamie Rasmussen Visual Assistant: Amanda Broll Production Manager: Melissa Heber Production Coordinator: Jeanne Tirro Global Video Director: Lauren Mendoza Camera Operator: Grant Townsend Moore Assistant Camera: Israel Garcia Sound Recordist: Tony Pecorini Production Assistant: Chelsey Fuller Global Video Director: Lauren Mendoza Director of Creative Development: Morgan Crossley Executive Producer: Keleigh Nealon Senior Producer: Alyssa Marino Williams Director, Post Production: Nicholas Ascanio Post Production Supervisor: Andrew Montague Post Production Coordinator: Holly Frew Supervising Editor: Christina Mankellow Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds Colorist: Oliver Eid Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

Today, AD is welcomed by Christopher Meloni to tour his New York City home. The Law and Order: Organized Crime star and his wife transformed their West Village penthouse into an eclectic, art-filled space. Originally one floor, Meloni purchased the apartment below and had a custom staircase by Gabrielle Shelton built in to connect them, creating more space. With uninterrupted views of the NYC skyline, the actor has filled his space with warmth through walnut walls, Moroccan rugs, and personal touches from his youth and travels to create a serene space for his family to enjoy. Christopher Meloni's wardrobe supplied by Rag & Bone Shop pieces inspired by the actor’s home with our editor-curated selection: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/shopping/christopher-meloni-open-door Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

'Queer Eye' star Jeremiah Brent answers your questions about bedroom design. Feeling inspired? Subscribe to AD and get a free tote with your subscription! → https://bit.ly/4jBCUMl Still haven’t subscribed to Architectural Digest on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2zl7s34 ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST The leading international design authority, Architectural Digest features articles and videos of the best in architecture, style, culture, travel, and shopping.

Step inside this spectacular 1960’s double decker bus conversion and discover how Ted and Kim have transformed a piece of history into an unforgettable home on wheels. Originally built in Scotland, this vintage bus was lovingly restored back to pristine condition before its remarkable transformation into a tiny home. Instead of filling the space with custom built-ins, Ted and Kim chose a different path by sourcing antique furniture from around the world and carefully bolting each piece into place. The result is a home that feels both unique and timeless, preserving much of the bus’s original character while adding layers of vintage charm. This is more than just a beautiful design. With a large solar array across the roof, an incinerating toilet, shower, and all the comforts of home, this off-grid ready double decker bus is designed to travel anywhere and turn heads wherever it goes. Every corner tells a story, from the carefully chosen antiques to the thoughtful preservation of the bus’s heritage. It is a stunning blend of past and present and a wonderful example of how creativity and vision can breathe new life into something truly special. This bus has been an amazing home for Kim and Ted for years now and has been on some mighty adventures with them. As serial builders they are now moving onto a brand new project and the bus is looking for a new home: https://www.facebook.com/share/1713QecEjd/ ❤️ If you enjoy our show and would like to help support our work, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/livingbig 🌟 Our Socials and Links: https://linktr.ee/livingbig 💡 Find out more about this tiny house and others on our website: https://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/ Please subscribe for more videos on tiny houses, architecture, DIY, design, and sustainable, off-grid living. Presented and Produced by: Bryce Langston Camera: Rasa Pescud & Bryce Langston Editing: Sarah Binder & Rasa Pescud Title music in this video by Bryce Langston: http://www.youtube.com/brycelangston 'Living Big in a Tiny House' © 2025 Zyia Pictures Ltd #tinyhouse #busconversion #vintage #smallspacedesign #hometour #homedesign #livingbiginatinyhouse

🔎👒 Download June's Journey for free here: https://woo.ga/54x707oq Thanks to June's Journey for sponsoring this video!! - Tucked away in the remote French Pyrenees, Louison and Adrien have built a tiny home that feels like something out of a dream. The mountains here are some of the most breathtaking in the world, and their handcrafted DIY house sits right at the heart of it all, surrounded by views that will leave you in awe. Life on this land is all about staying close to nature. The gardens are thriving with syntropic plantings that provide fresh food and colour through the seasons. Alongside their own home, there’s a second tiny house and a communal building currently being brought back to life, adding an extra layer of warmth and community to the property. For Louison and Adrien, their tiny house journey is about slowing down, living with intention, and holding onto the things that truly matter. Escaping into the mountains has given them the chance to create a lifestyle that’s simple, sustainable, and deeply fulfilling. If I could paint a picture of what living beautifully looks like, this tiny home in the mountains might just be it. To find out more about their incredible project, you can visit their website: https://jacquierlouison.wixsite.com/grange-de-pan ❤️ If you enjoy our show and would like to help support our work, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/livingbig 🌟 Our Socials and Links: https://linktr.ee/livingbig 💡 Find out more about this tiny house and others on our website: https://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/ Please subscribe for more videos on tiny houses, architecture, DIY, design, and sustainable, off-grid living. Presented by: Bryce Langston Filmed bv: Gabrielle Vnd (https://www.instagram.com/gabrielle.vnd/) Editing by: Gabrielle Vnd Title music in this video by Bryce Langston: http://www.youtube.com/brycelangston 'Living Big in a Tiny House' © 2025 Zyia Pictures Ltd #tinyhouse #tinyhousetour #healinghome #sanctuary #hometour #homedesign #tinyhome

In this week’s episode we meet David, a truck driver whose spectacular and spacious single-level tiny house has become his sanctuary. After living for years on a houseboat, Dave was diagnosed with cancer and made the choice to simplify his life, move onto land, and focus on comfort, healing and well-being. This tiny house is brilliantly designed. The single-level layout is clever, practical and highly efficient, while still feeling incredibly open and filled with natural light. Styled to perfection, the home is full of lush house plants that create the feeling of a forest retreat. Every detail has been thoughtfully considered, making this one of the most impressive small homes we have filmed. Dave’s home is also fully off-grid, paired with a custom solar trailer that generates enough power for everything he needs, including his spa. It is a wonderful example of how smart design, style and sustainability can come together in a modern tiny house. Join us as we take a full tour of this beautiful home and discover how it has become a place of solace, comfort and healing. ❤️ If you enjoy our show and would like to help support our work, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/livingbig 🌟 Our Socials and Links: https://linktr.ee/livingbig 💡 Find out more about this tiny house and others on our website: https://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/ Please subscribe for more videos on tiny houses, architecture, DIY, design, and sustainable, off-grid living. Presented and Produced by: Bryce Langston Camera: Rasa Pescud & Bryce Langston Editing: Sarah Binder & Rasa Pescud Title music in this video by Bryce Langston: http://www.youtube.com/brycelangston 'Living Big in a Tiny House' © 2025 Zyia Pictures Ltd #tinyhouse #tinyhousetour #healinghome #sanctuary #hometour #homedesign #tinyhome

This week we travel to New South Wales, Australia, to explore a truly extraordinary home. What was once a humble grain silo has been transformed into a striking architectural wonder. The circular form of the silo has been completely reimagined, creating a home that feels futuristic, warm, and unlike anything else. Inside, every curve has been embraced with creativity, turning a challenging round structure into a space that flows with imagination and style. Just as impressive is the outdoor living area. Thoughtful landscaping ties the silo to its breathtaking farm surroundings, complete with a wood-fired hot tub, a brazier, and lounge spaces perfectly positioned to enjoy sweeping views and star-filled skies. This remarkable home sits on a 1,600 acre, fifth-generation farm. For Amber and Nicholas, the silo is more than just a luxury B&B. It is both a way to diversify the farm in challenging times and a dream retirement home for the future. The project, originally drawn up by architect Sarah Lebner, has since taken on a life of its own, shaped by the family and their vision for the land. Join us on this tour as we step inside an old grain silo that has been reimagined into a truly extraordinary architectural gem. You can find out more and book your stay here: https://www.thesilosaccommodation.com.au ❤️ If you enjoy our show and would like to help support our work, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/livingbig 🌟 Our Socials and Links: https://linktr.ee/livingbig 💡 Find out more about this tiny house and others on our website: https://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/ Please subscribe for more videos on tiny houses, architecture, DIY, design, and sustainable, off-grid living. Presented and Produced by: Bryce Langston Camera: Rasa Pescud & Bryce Langston Editing: Sarah Binder & Rasa Pescud Title music in this video by Bryce Langston: http://www.youtube.com/brycelangston 'Living Big in a Tiny House' © 2025 Zyia Pictures Ltd #Architecture #SiloConversion #HomeTour #TinyHome #FarmStay #AlternativeHome #B&B

In this week’s episode we meet Linda, who has created an ultra spacious tiny house on the beautiful Gold Coast of New South Wales. This is a home that feels like a little mansion, designed to make the most of both indoor and outdoor living. The layout of this tiny home is outstanding. There’s a large kitchen, an open and inviting living room, and a loft with a walkway that connects the bedroom to a home office. Every corner has been carefully thought through, with warm and welcoming styling that makes the house feel comfortable and full of character. Linda’s home is part of a wonderful multigenerational living arrangement. Parked in her parents’ garden, this setup allows her to stay close to family and offer support as her parents grow older. It’s a beautiful example of how tiny houses can create sustainable and connected ways of living. From the garden landscaping that ties the house into its surroundings, to the cosy interior design, this tiny home has everything you could hope for in a space that balances practicality, comfort and beauty. Join us as we tour Linda’s ultra spacious tiny house that truly feels like a little mansion. ❤️ If you enjoy our show and would like to help support our work, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/livingbig 🌟 Our Socials and Links: https://linktr.ee/livingbig 💡 Find out more about this tiny house and others on our website: https://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/ Please subscribe for more videos on tiny houses, architecture, DIY, design, and sustainable, off-grid living. Presented and Produced by: Bryce Langston Camera: Rasa Pescud & Bryce Langston Editing: Sarah Binder & Rasa Pescud Title music in this video by Bryce Langston: http://www.youtube.com/brycelangston 'Living Big in a Tiny House' © 2025 Zyia Pictures Ltd #TinyHouse #HomeTour #TinyHome #MultigenerationalLiving #TinyHouseTour

Wendy made the bold decision to leave her three-bedroom home behind and downsize into a stunning minimalist tiny house. Her dream was to simplify her life, free up her time, and focus on the things she truly loves, and she has achieved exactly that. Her tiny home is a beautiful blend of modern-minimalist design with retro touches. A fresh white interior is brought to life with vibrant pops of colour from her décor, stunning light features, lush plants, and sparkling crystals that bring nature indoors. Every corner reflects her personality and creativity. Wendy works from home, so she added an incredibly clever second tiny house trailer that connects to the main home. This additional space includes a dedicated work pod, a pull-out bed for guests, and a covered deck to extend her outdoor living area. The twin-trailer design means her home can be moved with ease if she ever chooses a new location. She has found the perfect parking spot, with sweeping views over a peaceful dam and abundant wildlife all around. Here, she can work, relax, and enjoy nature from the comfort of her own space. Downsizing has given Wendy more freedom, less housework, and a home that supports her lifestyle perfectly. We hope you enjoy the tour of this simply stunning tiny home! 😍 ❤️ If you enjoy our show and would like to help support our work, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/livingbig 🌟 Our Socials and Links: https://linktr.ee/livingbig 💡 Find out more about this tiny house and others on our website: https://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/ Please subscribe for more videos on tiny houses, architecture, DIY, design, and sustainable, off-grid living. Presented and Produced by: Bryce Langston Camera: Rasa Pescud & Bryce Langston Editing: Sarah Binder & Rasa Pescud Title music in this video by Bryce Langston: http://www.youtube.com/brycelangston 'Living Big in a Tiny House' © 2025 Zyia Pictures Ltd #TinyHouse #Minimalist #Downsizing #SmallSpaceLiving #TinyHouseTour #TinyHome

Thanks to Paramount+ for sponsoring today's video. Don’t miss the Paramount+ Summer Sale—get your first two months for just 99 cents a month! #ad

Tour a tiny home filled with books, art and charm, where a poet and his loyal hound share a life of creativity and quiet beauty. Step inside the tiny home of a poet and his much-loved rescue hound, Billy-Blue (although who saved who is really in question). This is a warm and inviting space, filled with books, art and the simple pleasures of a quiet life. Phillip's home is small, but the world it holds is vast. Most of the space is dedicated to his incredible collection of books, from beautiful limited editions to rare collector’s copies. For any book lover, it is pure heaven. Although Phillip describes himself as a bit of a recluse, his books carry him to every corner of the globe, into the past, the future, and into realms of pure imagination. From his green Chicago armchair, he can go anywhere. Beyond his home, Phil shares his love of words on his BookTube channel, where he talks about poetry, writing, culture and more. You can find him here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@apoetreadstowrite We hope you enjoy this tour of a truly special little home, where a poet, his loyal hound and a lifetime of stories come together under one roof. ❤️ If you enjoy our show and would like to help support our work, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/livingbig 🌟 Our Socials and Links: https://linktr.ee/livingbig 💡 Find out more about this tiny house and others on our website: https://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/ Please subscribe for more videos on tiny houses, architecture, DIY, design, and sustainable, off-grid living. Presented and Produced by: Bryce Langston Camera: Rasa Pescud & Bryce Langston Editing: Sarah Binder & Rasa Pescud Title music in this video by Bryce Langston: http://www.youtube.com/brycelangston 'Living Big in a Tiny House' © 2025 Zyia Pictures Ltd #tinyhouse #tinyhousetour #booktube #poetry #tinyhome #simpleliving #art

A yacht captains spectacular, minimalist tiny home in a subtropical paradise!

Step inside this absolutely breathtaking modern tiny home set deep in the heart of the Australian rainforest. Here amongst the towering trees, tiny house magic has been created! Built by superyacht captain Johny, this stunning rainforest tiny house is a personal paradise, designed as the ultimate retreat from the world. When he's not sailing the globe with the rich and famous, Johny returns to this peaceful sanctuary to surf, recharge, and reconnect with nature. The home itself is a masterclass in tiny house design. With a single-level layout and a focus on openness and flow, it makes the most of its lush surroundings. Massive picture windows bring the forest inside, creating a seamless connection to the outdoors. The home feels expansive, calm, and deeply rooted in its environment. Outside, the landscaping is equally as impressive. A generous deck expands the living area into the forest, while natural elements like boulders and large timber logs have been thoughtfully placed to ground the home in the landscape. It’s the perfect blend of modern design and raw, untamed nature. This is a tiny home that you won't want to miss. We absolutely loved getting to visit this rainforest retreat and share Johny’s incredible story with you. We hope you enjoy the tour as much as we did. ❤️ If you enjoy our show and would like to help support our work, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/livingbig 🌟 Our Socials and Links: https://linktr.ee/livingbig 💡 Find out more about this tiny house and others on our website: https://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/ Please subscribe for more videos on tiny houses, architecture, DIY, design, and sustainable, off-grid living. Presented and Produced by: Bryce Langston Camera: Rasa Pescud & Bryce Langston Editing: Sarah Binder & Rasa Pescud Additional video supplied by Johny Title music in this video by Bryce Langston: http://www.youtube.com/brycelangston 'Living Big in a Tiny House' © 2025 Zyia Pictures Ltd #tinyhouse #tinyhousetour #rainforest #tinyhouseparadise #tinyhome #innature #homedesign

ArchDaily | Broadcasting Architecture Worldwide

ArchDaily is proud to reveal the winners of the 5th edition of Next Practices, recognizing 20 groundbreaking architectural practices from around the globe. These firms embody the creativity, innovation, interdisciplinary approach and social responsibility that are shaping the future of architecture and expanding its horizons.

ArchDaily is proud to reveal the winners of the 5th edition of Next Practices, recognizing 20 groundbreaking architectural practices from around the globe. These firms embody the creativity, innovation, interdisciplinary approach and social responsibility that are shaping the future of architecture and expanding its horizons. Read more »

Casa Yuri was born from an ambitious vision: a generous, expansive residence with a complex program, set on a breathtaking 2,200 m² oceanfront site. The client granted us full creative freedom to reinterpret the Zihuatanejo vernacular in a bold, contemporary language deeply rooted in the landscape.

© Cesar Belio architects: Zozaya Arquitectos Location: Zihuatanejo, México Project Year: 2025 Photographs: Cesar Belio Area: 2172.0 m2 Read more »

Centennial College's Story Arts Campus in Toronto's East York occupies a restored 1954 Toronto Teachers' College building designed by renowned Toronto Modernist, Peter Dickinson. One of the architects' greatest works, the building received a Massey Medal for Architecture. RDHA was commissioned to renovate the building's 500 square meter library and rebuild a 1990s addition whose irregular form protruded from the original structure in sharp contrast. Demolishing this element included removing partitions, a staircase, and structural columns to optimize the available spaces for programming. With a clean slate, we refurbished and replaced existing mechanical and electrical systems and developed a conceptual approach centered around lightness – reinventing the library as a vibrant space that both acknowledges and contemporizes Dickinson's modernist design language.

© Tom Arban architects: Harsh Vardhan Jain Location: Toronto, Canada Project Year: 2024 Photographs: Tom Arban Area: 5380.0 ft2 Read more »

Casa NM, located in Penafiel, is a remarkable example of contemporary Portuguese architecture, designed by the CFDS Architecture team.

© Pedro Machado Photographer architects: CFDS Architecture Location: Penafiel, Portugal Project Year: 2024 Photographs: Pedro Machado Photographer Area: 300.0 m2 Read more »

An architecture degree may provide a vast curriculum, but many of the skills needed for a project lie outside the discipline. This is especially true for urban-scale projects. They demand expertise in areas like traffic studies, structural calculations, landscape design, and technical installation forecasting. These are often seen as "complementary" but are, in fact, fundamental to the overall design.

© Ivo Tavares Studio An architecture degree may provide a vast curriculum, but many of the skills needed for a project lie outside the discipline. This is especially true for urban-scale projects. They demand expertise in areas like traffic studies, structural calculations, landscape design, and technical installation forecasting. These are often seen as "complementary" but are, in fact, fundamental to the overall design. In a country like Portugal, with a relatively small but geographically diverse territory, the challenge of connecting different parts of the territory – whether to cross a river or link one level of a city to another – is a constant one. Its largest metropolitan areas, such as Lisbon and Porto, share a rugged geography of steep valleys and hills. These features led to the development of elevators and funiculars, like the Santa Justa Lift and the Bica Funicular in Lisbon, and the Guindais Funicular in Porto. Today, besides improving urban mobility, they have become tourist landmarks. Read more »

Artist Cheng Tsung FENG's creative practice is deeply tied to the preservation and reinterpretation of fading traditional crafts and cultural memories. For this monumental outdoor installation, his focus turned to the bamboo opera stage—a once-prevalent architectural form in Taiwan's temple festivals and communal celebrations, but now rarely seen as times have changed. At the historic Wenwu Temple in Lukang, Changhua, which itself has stood for over two centuries, FENG constructed a vast stage using thousands of bamboo poles, reviving the grandeur of this vanishing tradition in contemporary form.

© Fixer Photographic Studio architects: Cheng Tsung FENG Design Studio Location: Changhua, Taiwan Project Year: 2025 Photographs: Fixer Photographic Studio Area: 117.0 m2 Read more »

The latest release of Offsitewood.org marks a significant step forward in making offsite wood construction more approachable for architects. Version 2.0 introduces a set of digital resources aimed at helping designers model, plan, and collaborate more efficiently.

Example of the Nested Floor System capacities. Courtesy of Offsite Wood and Quebec Wood Export Bureau The latest release of Offsitewood.org marks a significant step forward in making offsite wood construction more approachable for architects. Version 2.0 introduces a set of digital resources aimed at helping designers model, plan, and collaborate more efficiently. Free downloadable libraries are a central and expanding feature of the site. Additionally, new applications and services are now available that include wood material e-sample viewers, an advanced panelization and framing toolbar for Revit, and a collaborative workspace for project optimization. Read more »

Photographer Marc Goodwin has extended his Atlas of Architectural Atmospheres to Belgium, capturing the workspaces of architecture studios in Antwerp, Brussels, and Ghent. The series includes large offices such as B-architecten, POLO, and Binst Architects, alongside smaller-scale practices like Studio Okami, Stand Van Zaken, and Bruno Spaas Architectuur. Many of them occupy buildings with layered pasts from former workshops, to cinemas, and from storage facilities, to waterfront structures.

POLO.platform Antwerp. Image © Marc Goodwin Photographer Marc Goodwin has extended his Atlas of Architectural Atmospheres to Belgium, capturing the workspaces of architecture studios in Antwerp, Brussels, and Ghent. The series includes large offices such as B-architecten, POLO, and Binst Architects, alongside smaller-scale practices like Studio Okami, Stand Van Zaken, and Bruno Spaas Architectuur. Many of them occupy buildings with layered pasts from former workshops, to cinemas, and from storage facilities, to waterfront structures. In addition to photographing the studios, Goodwin asked each practice the same question: "What makes for a good office space and office culture for you?" Their responses accompany the images, offering insight into how architects define the atmosphere of their workplaces. Studio Okami describes its workplace as a "home office away from home," while Brut highlights the role of shared meals and greenery in softening their penthouse space. Read more »

History and Task - The initial situation before the conversion was a historic farmstead in the area north of the Danube. The existing ensemble is characterized by two separate building parts: a courtyard area, which was formerly used as living space, and an inn in the house floor (now disused), and an old barn, which had initially served as a pigsty since the 1970s and later as a partially rented area.

© Gregor Graf architects: Moser und Hager Architekten Location: Upper Austria Project Year: 2024 Photographs: Gregor Graf Area: 522.0 m2 Read more »

October will see the opening of Ibraaz, a new cultural space reimagined by Architect-in-Residence Sumayya Vally in central London. The initiative is led by the Kamel Lazaar Foundation and aims to highlight art, culture, and ideas from the Global Majority: communities of African, Asian, Indigenous, and Latin American heritage that together represent most of the world's population. The project seeks to bridge local and global conversations by creating a "world of many worlds" within a single venue: a six-floor, 10,000-square-foot building that has undergone multiple transformations, from synagogue to residence, club, and now cultural center.

Ibraaz center for art, culture and ideas at 93 Mortimer Street, London. Image courtesy of Ibraaz. Image © Ben Westoby - Fine Art Documentation October will see the opening of Ibraaz, a new cultural space reimagined by Architect-in-Residence Sumayya Vally in central London. The initiative is led by the Kamel Lazaar Foundation and aims to highlight art, culture, and ideas from the Global Majority: communities of African, Asian, Indigenous, and Latin American heritage that together represent most of the world's population. The project seeks to bridge local and global conversations by creating a "world of many worlds" within a single venue: a six-floor, 10,000-square-foot building that has undergone multiple transformations, from synagogue to residence, club, and now cultural center. Read more »

As cities and infrastructures evolve to meet shifting cultural, environmental, and social demands, new architectural projects are redefining how public spaces and civic institutions operate. This edition of Architecture Now brings together proposals spanning different contexts and scales: on Yakushima Island, Jean Nouvel embeds a boutique retreat for NOT A HOTEL into a UNESCO-listed forest landscape; in New York City, Rossetti and WSP are preparing a major renovation of Arthur Ashe Stadium to expand capacity and enhance the visitor experience; in Toronto, Diamond Schmitt and gh3* have broken ground on a mass-timber, net-zero paramedic station; and across the English Channel, Hollaway Studio is leading a transformation of LeShuttle's UK and French terminals into more seamless and sustainable gateways. Together, these projects reflect how design is being used to adapt existing systems and landscapes to new forms of public life.

Toronto Paramedic Services Multi-function Station 02. Image Courtesy of Diamond Schmitt Architects As cities and infrastructures evolve to meet shifting cultural, environmental, and social demands, new architectural projects are redefining how public spaces and civic institutions operate. This edition of Architecture Now brings together proposals spanning different contexts and scales: on Yakushima Island, Jean Nouvel embeds a boutique retreat for NOT A HOTEL into a UNESCO-listed forest landscape; in New York City, Rossetti and WSP are preparing a major renovation of Arthur Ashe Stadium to expand capacity and enhance the visitor experience; in Toronto, Diamond Schmitt and gh3* have broken ground on a mass-timber, net-zero paramedic station; and across the English Channel, Hollaway Studio is leading a transformation of LeShuttle's UK and French terminals into more seamless and sustainable gateways. Together, these projects reflect how design is being used to adapt existing systems and landscapes to new forms of public life. Read more »

In 2021, the architectural firm BERGER PARKKINEN + was commissioned to construct a new building for the Mozarteum University at the Kurgarten (UMAK) in Salzburg. The Mozarteum University at the Kurgarten is located directly next to the Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus, which was also designed by BERGER PARKKINEN + and completed in 2019. Both buildings now characterize the historic city center of Salzburg with their clear and distinctive architectural language.

© Ana Barros architects: Berger Parkkinen + Architects Location: Auerspergstraße 2, 5020 Salzburg, Austria Project Year: 2025 Photographs: Ana Barros Area: 3877.0 m2 Read more »

C104-9 is located in Chungmu New Town, a planned residential district rather than an organically developed neighborhood. The site is surrounded by a somewhat disordered urban landscape, so the design focuses on privacy and inward views instead of competing with the surroundings. Simple forms and carefully placed Madang allow the residents to enjoy open space, greenery, and natural light.

© Rohspace architects: AEA_Atelier Espace Architectes Location: Jinju, South Korea Project Year: 2025 Photographs: Rohspace Area: 120.0 m2 Read more »

An adaptive renewal project at the urban-rural junction — The Tangshan Ancient Ape-man Cave Scenic Area, nestled in a valley to the east of Nanjing city, is celebrated for the discovery of ancient ape-man relics and has long been a renowned tourist attraction on the outskirts of Nanjing. Situated at the rural-urban fringe, this area has historically served as a vital transportation corridor, with an east-west road traversing the valley. The close proximity and confined space between the mountain and the road, along with the existence of a drainage ditch, have led to mutual constraints in land use for the scenic area, parking facilities, and community public spaces. Consequently, the Tangshan Ancient Ape-man Cave Scenic Area has been persistently troubled by issues such as traffic congestion, a lack of distinctive features, and insufficient service amenities.

© Timeraw Studio architects: AESEU Architectural Technology and Art studio Location: Nanjing, China Project Year: 2022 Photographs: Timeraw Studio Area: 2382.0 m2 Read more »

The current project is the City Theater of Qazvin, a two-story structure with a basement. After long years of waiting, this public building provides a suitable space for professional theater performances in the form of a Black Box. It has also provided artists and theater enthusiasts with open spaces intended for street theater. The project was designed on a 2,200-square-meter plot acquired after demolishing an inefficient urban area, which included several stalls in disrepair. The total floor area is 1,970 square meters. The ground floor of the building consists of a glass volume where the general project spaces, including theater rehearsal rooms, meeting and arbitration rooms, management offices, information desks, ticket sales, and a cafeteria, are located. This glass volume serves as a base for the white cube above, where the main theater performance hall is located. The white cube is placed exactly above the glass volume, providing an abstract sense of suspension. The first floor (the white brick cube) includes the primary theater hall (the Black Box) along with its waiting area. The basement floor includes restrooms, a workshop for set construction, storage areas, and utility spaces. This building was envisioned by the Qazvin Municipality in 2018 in response to requests from Qazvin theater artists, who lacked a professional venue to perform theater.

© Deed Studio, Erfan Dadkhah architects: GRI co. (Golden Rectangle Idea Consulting Engineers) Location: Qazvin, Iran Project Year: 2023 Photographs: Deed Studio, Erfan Dadkhah Area: 1970.0 m2 Read more »

The structure designed to host multiple corporate social events is located in a special setting, at the edge of the urban sprawl between the Sacramento River and the Sierra de Nombre de Dios, and is conceived as a habitat that integrates with and frames the landscape. The pavilion sits at the foot of the hill, next to an existing masonry wall, among large trees and on a raised embankment designed to level and elevate the views towards the surroundings.

© Ricardo Arellano architects: OficinaTransversal Location: Chihuahua, México Project Year: 2025 Photographs: Ricardo Arellano Area: 850.0 m2 Read more »

Surrounded by nature, the locality of Santa Eufémia, near the village of Espinhal, is a region known for its high cultural and historical value due to its antiquity. Among its attractions, the watermills stand out.

© José Campos architects: há.atelier Location: União das freguesias de São Miguel, Santa Eufémia e Rabaçal, Portugal Project Year: 2024 Photographs: José Campos Area: 210.0 m2 Read more »

With a fine sense of design and targeted architectural interventions, the full potential of this pavilion-like 1960s single-family house has been unlocked. The renovation presents itself as an atmospheric blend of Prairie House and Japanese Pavilion.

© Björn Siegrist architects: DHPA Location: Brütten, Switzerland Project Year: 2025 Photographs: Björn Siegrist Area: 419.0 m2 Read more »

This blog wrapped in early 2024, though it continues as a Substack newsletter with the same name: archidose.substack.com

I'm breaking my blogging silence to do two things: Alert readers to the fact I am still writing reviews of architecture books under the title A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books, but over at Substack, not Blogger. Put a new post at the top of this blog so I don't have to look at those photos of me every time I come here to find an old post that I want to link to. That is all.

After 25 years of running this blog under various names — all of which can be lumped under the "Archidose" monicker — I've decided to shut it down, moving this hobby, this labor of love, to Substack, which I have used since mid-2021 and where I will continue to send out weekly newsletters focused on architecture books, but in a new format. (You can subscribe to my newsletter here or on Substack.) So, this isn't "goodbye" as much as it is "see you in your inbox." Grayer and hopefully wiser: me, John Hill, from the mid-1990s until today Besides thinking something along the lines of, Wait! 25 years?, you also may be wondering, Why stop now? The now, January 2024, is because I happen to like fives, it turns out — so much so that every significant thing related to this blog has occurred in five five-year intervals (this is by chance, not by design, I swear): 1999: Started A Weekly Dose of Architecture (with a post about the Kimbell Art Museum) 2004: Started A Daily Dose of Architecture (with a post about the World Trade Center Memorial Design Competition) 2009: Started working with World-Architects and got my first book deal (I was out of work at the time, so the writing that I began doing as a hobby in 1999 turned into my primary focus as of 2009) 2014: Stopped A Weekly Dose of Architecture (complete with five bullet points on why) 2019: Started A Daily Dose of Architecture Books (five more bullet points!) 2024: Stopped Archidose In terms of the why, I've thought of that question a little bit, and outside of it just feeling like it's the right time, here are a handful (again!) of reasons: Very few people read blogs anymore (true, that was also the case 10 years ago, but I kept at it until now, as I liked doing it) More people subscribe, open, and read my Substack newsletter than those who click on the links to this blog or find their way here in some other manner to read my posts (the logical step, therefore, is to put everything in the newsletter...but not behind a paywall, mind you) Blogger is outdated, with infrequent updates; its themes/templates are buggy; adding content is frustrating (this list could go on near endlessly) Substack’s formatting is much easier and more elegant than Blogger (see next bullet point, too) This blog takes up too much of my time, time I'd rather spend on other things (the new newsletter will be easier to produce than this blog, but hopefully it will be helpful and therefore worth people's time in opening it and reading it) But stopping this blog also makes me wonder what it amounted to, if anything. Is there enough good content on this blog to put some of it on paper, to make it a more permanent thing? Or is the content simply of its time and therefore best to leave here in the digital ether? I don't know, to be honest, and when I dig back through some of the posts I veer from thinking the things I wrote were really good to thinking they were garbage ... okay, not quite garbage, but not special enough for a bound volume tucked away in a library somewhere. The truth is somewhere between these poles, I reckon, so hopefully I'll come up with a way to make sense of this side project, this 25-year undertaking, and turn what I did into something else even more rewarding.

Instead of digesting a new book or diving into a novel, something others do often but I do rarely, I spent my holiday break reading a five-year-old book about a trio of intertwined topics I'm particularly fond of: drawings, exhibitions, and New York City. Drawing on Architecture: The Object of Lines, 1970-1990 by Jordan Kauffman, published by The MIT Press, 2018 (Amazon / AbeBooks) As the book's subtitle indicates, Drawing Architecture covers a two-decade period — the 1970s and 80s — when architectural drawings produced by contemporary architects increased in popularity: with architects, with museums, and with the wider art market. These decades, especially the 70s, are known for its so-called "Paper Architecture," which arose due to architects encountering a glut of commissions and offsetting it through theorizing and exploring ideas on paper. Although Jordan Kauffman, a researcher at MIT when he wrote the book and now an assistant professor at the University of Nottingham, does not restrict himself to New York City, much of the book takes place there, given the city's role as the epicenter of the art market, the numerous art galleries holding exhibitions of architectural drawings, and the willingness of local architects to promote themselves through those galleries. These display spaces included Judith York Newman's Spaced: Gallery of Architecture, the Leo Castelli Gallery, and the Max Protetch Gallery. There were also a number of museums and other institutions in and beyond NYC — CCA, DAM, MoMA, Getty — that increased their holdings of architectural drawings, in turn increasing value of such drawings until around 1990. Then, as architects found themselves with more projects and computers entered the realm of architectural drawing, the two-decade trend came to an end. I missed Kauffman's book when it was released in 2018, though I have to disagree with George Baird's review published in Architectural Record at that time. He finds the thorough documentation and explanation of this important moment in recent history "not completely satisfactory," due to the inability to grasp the individual drawings in the numerous photographs of gallery shows reproduced in black and white, as in the one below. Baird did appreciate the reproductions of individual drawings that are almost as numerous as the gallery photographs, but not enough to give the book a ringing endorsement. I'd counter that, since the book is about the galleries and institutions marketing and collecting the drawings rather than the drawings themselves, the illustrations selected for the book are ideal. They capture the seminal shows that led to the phenomenon that is the subject of Kauffman's book; without them, readers would be frustrated and have to rely on the author's extensive descriptions of the displays — descriptions that are important for the historical record but stultifying for narrative flow. (Kauffman also separately lists each piece in each seminal show, complete with values ascribed to the individual drawings.) Another review, by Paul Emmons at EAHN, is more gracious toward the book, calling it "a primary resource on the history of the commodification of architectural drawing." Installation view of "Architecture I" exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery, 1977 (Image source) Being a scourer of used bookstores and having a strong interest in the period explored by Kauffman, many of the museum exhibitions and gallery shows described in the book as "seminal" were known to me before I cracked it open last month. For example, the three "Architecture" shows held at Leo Castelli Gallery every three years between 1977 and 1983 were each accompanied by catalogs: the first one is short, unpaginated and stapled, but the second and third were published by Rizzoli, the publisher of choice for American postmodern architecture in the 1980s. Even though I'm familiar with these shows — and others, including Arthur Drexler's The Architecture of the École des Beaux-Arts (MoMA, 1975) and The Drawings of Antonio Gaudi by George R. Collins (The Drawing Center, 1977) — through their printed companions, Kauffman is able to elucidate considerably more information about the exhibitions themselves as well as how they relate to the publications. Architecture I, the catalog, would lead us now to assume that just a few drawings were in Architecture I, the exhibition, for each of the seven included architects (Raimund Abraham, Emilio Ambasz, Richard Meier, Walter Pichler, Aldo Rossi, James Stirling, Venturi and Rauch), but Kauffman reveals how misleading this assumption is, by describing the circumstances of the show, illustrating it through gallery shots like the one above, and exhaustively documenting what was on display. In this sense, Emmons' description of the book as "a primary resource" is spot-on. Covers of catalogs for three "Architecture" series exhibitions — "Architecture I," "Houses for Sale," "Follies" — held at Leo Castelli Gallery in 1977, 1980, and 1983, respectively While I found it rewarding to learn more about these and other exhibitions I had previous awareness of, Drawing on Architecture was not short on revealing new information to me. Take, for instance, Spaced, the gallery run by Judith York Newman, a name considerably less familiar all these years later than Castelli, Protetch, and the like. The first iteration of Spaced was located on the Upper West Side between 1975 and 1983, making it the first gallery in the city to display architectural drawings and therefore leading the way toward other art galleries doing the same. Although Newman was integral to the reception of architectural drawings in the period, as were Martha Beck, Barbara Jakobsen (aka B.J. Archer), and Pierre Apraxine, their names border on the forgotten, at least relative to the more famous gallerists mentioned above as well as Phyllis Lambert (CCA), Heinrich Klotz (DAM), and Kristin Feireiss (Aedes) outside of NYC. Drawing on Architecture therefore serves, in its focus, to give them much-deserved attention. The shift of architectural drawings toward art and as architecture in and of themselves can also be found in Drawing Ambience: Alvin Boyarsky and the Architectural Association, the exhibition and companion publication from 2015 about the drawings collected by Boyarsky when he was head of the AA in London. Although Boyarsky's two-decade directorship overlapped almost exactly with Kauffman's book, he is only touched on briefly. Instead, we learn a good deal about fellow Londoner Ben Weinreb, "the most eminent antiquarian bookseller of architectural books, prints, and drawings," per Kauffman. Not only did he buy and sell drawings (many of them to Lambert at the CCA), making him relevant to Drawing on Architecture, he produced 58 catalogs over the course of four decades: catalogs that "set new standards for cataloging and connoisseurship," in Kauffman's words. The value of Drawing on Architecture is in discovering about Weinreb and other lesser-known players, carried out through exhaustive research and scholarship, but it is also found in the vivid portrait of 1970s/80s New York, when the architecture and art scenes overlapped and converged, unlike any times before then or since.

For the fifteenth and last time on this blog, I'm highlighting my favorite books of the year, selected from the many books I reviewed or featured as "Book Briefs" on this blog, and the few titles that I reviewed at World-Architects. From the 86 books I featured in 2023, 15 (or 16) books made my list of favorites, organized into three categories: history, monographs, and exhibitions (the books are alphabetical by title within each category). As in previous years, not all of these books were published this year, given how slow I can be at digesting books and my departure from the annual spring/fall cycle of publishers. This last aspect, the timing of the books I draw attention to, will change next year, as I shutter this blog and transition it into something else — details on that will be announced next month. Until then, warm holiday wishes! 6 HISTORY BOOKS: Chicago Skyscrapers, 1934-1986: How Technology, Politics, Finance, and Race Reshaped the City (2023) by Thomas Leslie, published by University of Illinois Press — Thomas Leslie's followup to his 1871-1934 history of Chicago skyscrapers is even better than its predecessor, not only because the buildings covered are by Mies and other modern architects, but because the research is meticulous and the stories are really interesting. The Japanese House Since 1945 (2023) by Naomi Pollock, published by Thames & Hudson — The latest by Naomi Pollock, who has written numerous books on Japanese houses, benefits from a wide-ranging chronological presentation of nearly one hundred such houses but also the input of the architects and, most valuably, the people who lived in them. Lost in America: Photographing the Last Days of our Architectural Treasures (2023) by Richard Cahan and Michael Williams, published by CityFiles Press — In the right hands, archives can yield insights, themes, and presentations that are educational and unexpected, as in photo historians Richard Cahan and Michael Williams digging through the 90-year-old HABS archive at the Library of Congress to show Americans the wonders they have lost over that time. Mies van der Rohe: The Collective Housing Collection (2022) by Fernando Casqueiro, published by a+t architecture publishers — As I pointed out in my review at World-Architects, this book has some flaws in its graphics and text, but they don't detract from the comprehensive presentation of the apartment buildings designed by Mies van der Rohe in the middle of last century. Resisting Postmodern Architecture: Critical Regionalism before Globalisation (2022) by Stylianos Giamarelos, published by UCL Press — Architects who appreciate Kenneth Frampton's theorizing of critical regionalism starting in the 1980s should read Stylianos Giamarelos's scholarly book that explores and recenters the formulation of critical regionalism by Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre ahead of Frampton. Urban Design in the 20th Century: A History (2021) by Tom Avermaete and Janina Gosseye, published by gta Verlag — This carefully organized, beautifully presented, abundantly illustrated, and thoroughly cited history of urban design in the 20th century came out of a course taught by the authors at ETH Zurich, but it really should be a standard textbook for other schools, too. 5 (OR 6) MONOGRAPHS: A Book on Making a Petite École (2023) edited by Michael Meredith, Hilary Sample and MOS, published by Actar Publishers — There are very few practicing architects who produce books as an extension of their practice, and even fewer who do that extremely well. MOS is one of them and this is their latest. (Curiously, I saw an even larger, atlas-sized version of this book on display at Harvard GSD's Frances Loeb Library as part of The Book in the Age of ... exhibition in September.) Caruso St John Collected Works: Volume 1 1990–2005 (2022) and Caruso St John Collected Works: Volume 2 2000–2012 (2023), published by MACK — Released a year apart (will volume three follow a year from now?) but reviewed on my blog in February and December of this year, this monograph series on Caruso St John is stunning: beautifully made but also expressive of the words and images that inspire Adam Caruso and Peter St John in their quiet, poetic creations. Living in Monnikenheide: Care, Inclusion and Architecture (2023) edited by Gideon Boie, published by Flanders Architecture Institute — This book is about Monnikenheide, a residential care center for people with mental disabilities in Zoersel, Belgium, and the numerous buildings that have been designed there since the early 1970s. The book is beautifully produced and reflective of the place's myriad qualities. M³: modeled works [archive] 1972-2022 (2023) by Thom Mayne and Morphosis, published by Rizzoli — Fifty years of Thom Mayne and Morphosis are presented in more than 1,000 pages: a brick of a book centered on the models that the studio is known for, from the early models in wood and resin to the 3D-printed models they still produce. Speculative Coolness: Architecture, Media, the Real, and the Virtual (2023) by Bryan Cantley, edited by Peter J. Baldwin, published by Routledge — Architects my age will have flashbacks to Neil Denari, Peter Pfau, Wes Jones, and other machine-minded architects from the nineties when perusing Bryan Cantley's image-saturated monograph. The name says it all: page after page of speculative coolness, vague projects impeccably delineated. 4 BOOKS FROM EXHIBITIONS: Another Breach in the Wall: The City as a Common Good (2022) by Davide Tommaso Ferrando and Daniel Tudor Munteanu, published by Solitude Project — This two-volume book serves as the catalog to Another Breach in the Wall, the main exhibition of the Beta 2022 Timișoara Architecture Biennial in Romania, which focused on projects and actions in cities that subvert the norm. The book does that to some degree, too, with a foldout map serving as a wrapper for the two paperbacks and an elastic band holding the whole together. An Atlas of Es Devlin (2023) by Es Devlin, edited by Andrea Lipps, published by Thames & Hudson — It's hard to believe it, but the first monographic exhibition and monographic book on Es Devlin, the artist/designer behind sets for Adele, Beyoncé, and Cyrus (comma Miley) arrived this year, nearly thirty years after she launched her career in London. This big, expensive book is more artist book that exhibition catalog, and a highly revealing look at her creative process. Bernd & Hilla Becher (2022) by Jeff L. Rosenheim, published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art — A "captivating tribute to the renowned German photographic duo known for their systematic documentation of industrial architecture," according to ChatGPT, but in my words it is simply a "beautifully produced catalog" of the 2022 exhibition at The Met. For a duo who treated books as an integral extension of their photography, this catalog of their work is equally valuable. Yasmeen Lari: Architecture for the Future (2023) edited by Angelika Fitz, Elke Krasny, Marvi Mazhar and Architekturzentrum Wien, published by MIT Press — In early March, an exhibition on architect Yasmeen Lari, usually described as Pakistan's first woman architect, opened at Az W, and the following month the Oxford-trained architect won the Royal Gold Medal, RIBA's highest honor. Needless to say, the major exhibition and honor were justified for an architect who pivoted from commercial buildings for companies with money to houses and other zero-carbon buildings for the poor. The book is thorough, with essays and interviews accompany the numerous projects.

Just as last week's Places in Time III post featured a trio of books that were initially listed in my earlier holiday gift books post, two of the three monographs featured here were also on that list. As happened when I wrote this post, each book begins with a rhetorical question pertaining to monographs. This post features the last reviews of the year. A week from today I'll have a year-capping roundup of my favorites from the many books featured on this blog in 2023. An Atlas of Es Devlin by Es Devlin, edited by Andrea Lipps, published by Thames & Hudson, December 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Is it possible to love a monograph on a designer whose work you're largely indifferent to? Es Devlin is a phenomenally famous artist and designer who is best known for creating the sets and backdrops for U2, Adele, Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé, and other big-name musicians, and for such events as the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show. Her London studio's designs for these and other performances, such as plays on London's West End, are provocative and attention-getting, befitting their spectacle nature ... but they're just not my thing, they don't strike my fancy. Her immersive installations, on the other hand, though I've yet to experience one, resonate more strongly with me; these include Forest of Us in Miami and Memory Palace from 2019. And while I like the design and the labyrinthine layout of the monographic exhibition now at the Cooper Hewitt that is also called An Atlas of Es Devlin, the appeal of her work to me is just fractional: yes on installations, no on the rest. But reviewing a book or exhibition or some other creation is not about taste and personal preference; it's about judging the thing on its own merits and determining how good or bad it is relative to similar creations. For books, monographs are a genre in and of themselves, and some are better than others; some are notable for being hybrids. Though big, expensive, and with a print run in (I imagine) the tens of thousands, An Atlas of Es Devlin — the first Es Devlin monograph — is as much an artists' book as it is a monograph and exhibition catalog. The spreads displayed here give a taste of the way Devlin, editor Andrea Lipps, who also curated the Cooper Hewitt exhibition, and book designer Daniel Devlin veered from the typical construction of a book — they cut circles in the pages, inserted smaller page sizes and even smaller gatefolds into the binding, used a variety of papers, etc. — to give it an artists-book feel, but on a considerably larger scale: the book is more than 900 pages, though given the atypical nature of the book it's nearly impossible to count the exact number. It is so big it comes in a specially made orange cardboard box for storage and protection. Just as the exhibition features an "iris" formed by overlapping and shifted circles cut into the gallery wall, the hardcover book opens with ten pages with circular cutouts that frame a photo of Devlin on the floor of Memory Palace. The circular openings are rung with statements apparently in Devlin's hand, and radiating from the circles are complex, layered timelines of her studio's prolific output — the last a sign of how in-demand an artist and designer she is. But, befitting an artists' book, these pages go even further, adding raised dots and lines that accentuate parts of the timeline, veer from it entirely, and/or push us to find some meaning amongst the information saturation. The book then shows some full-bleed photographs of her studio's output before launching into the process-based presentations that comprise the largest chunk of the book. The presentation is chronological, moving from "A Student's Sketchbook" (spread above) that spans from 1985 to 1995 to the designs for plays, performances, and installations she is known for, one after the other for at least 250 pages. After those come conversations Devlin had with fellow creatives during COVID lockdown, then more projects, then another 250 or so pages of completed projects in color photos. The book is packed, fully. The parts that make me appreciate the book so much are the process-oriented project presentations. Very few projects are presented simply; most are accompanied by a smaller inserted page and/or a gatefold — something that requires readers to do extra "work" that heightens their awareness and increases their absorption of Devlin's creative process. Each project, furthermore, is keyed to one of the color photographs in the last half of the book, requiring more flipping-back-and-forth "work" and providing a peek at the finished products. Put another way, it's impossible to nonchalantly flip through this book. The design and construction of the book force a slow movement and entice a steady gaze. One gains so much in handling the book that they need not read every description of every project to understand a lot about Devlin as an artist and designer. I can't think of a more ambitious goal for a monograph than the way An Atlas of Es Devlin gives readers such an intimate understanding of her creative thinking. Caruso St John Collected Works: Volume 2 2000–2012 by Caruso St John, published by MACK, October 2023 (Amazon) Is it better for a monograph to have project descriptions written by the architect or by an external writer? The first type ideally give readers some insight into the architect's creative process, though at times these descriptions can read as promotional materials aimed at potential clients. Descriptions of the second type benefit from some objectivity and most likely a critical position, but they might suffer from a lack of information and the sense, on the reader's part, of not learning enough about the illustrated projects. Most monographs fit into one or the other, including the two other monographs in this post: Es Devlin's monograph features project descriptions in her words, while the latest monograph on Jones Studio was written by curator Marilu Knode. Like the first volume of Caruso St John Collected Works, put out last year by MACK but reviewed on this blog in early 2023, Volume 2 has a mix of project descriptions written by the architects and coming from magazines and other external sources, the latter often years earlier and outside of the context of the book. If we look at the "Chicago and Milan" chapter, one of seven chapters in Volume 2, two projects are presented: Nottingham Contemporary, the UK gallery completed in 2009; and the Europaallee Mixed-use Building built in Zurich in 2013. The words of the architects, Adam Caruso and Peter St John, are used for Nottingham Contemporary, in which we learn about the intentions behind their winning competition scheme and the inspirations for the lacy pattern on the facade's concave panels. The longer, more in-depth presentation of Europaallee is accompanied by an article by Ellis Woodman from a 2014 issue of Architectural Review. The architects' mixed-use building is part of the Europaallee development west of Zurich Hauptbahnhof, which was master planned by KCAP and is made up of low- and mid-rise buildings organized about a pedestrian street; Caruso St John's building is at an important spot at the western end of the street, adjacent to a square and near a new pedestrian bridge that connects this main part of Europaallee to a sliver of the development on the north side of the railway tracks. I've seen their building on trips to Zurich, though I can't say I paid much attention to it, as the whole Europaallee project — with buildings by Gigon/Guyer, Max Dudler, David Chipperfield, and others — is characterized by unrelenting grids of windows. It's a bit like Tativille come to life. The Caruso St John building is in line with the rest, though Woodman admits that the narrowing of the piers between windows as the building rises — an element in the competition scheme that would distance the building from the earlier "joyless" building by Dudler — "came to present a significantly less austere image than was suggested by the initial renderings." Although Woodman is primarily positive in his assessment of Caruso St John's Europaallee Mixed-use Building, it makes me think that very few architects would actually incorporate critical texts like this in their monographs. That Caruso St John did so here is following from the format of Volume 1, in which texts by critics about the architects' projects are included, as are texts by others — architects, critics, historians, etc. — as long as they pertain to the issues explored by the architects in some way or serve as some theoretical foundation for their work. So Louis Sullivan's "The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered" first published in Lipincott's Magazine in 1896, is also found in the "Chicago and Milan" chapter, as is "The Existing Environment and Themes in Contemporary Practice," an essay by Ernesto N. Rogers from a 1954 issue of Casabella; these two essays give the chapter, which otherwise just features the two projects in Nottingham and Zurich, its name. Although the essays are presented without comment, the relationship between them and Caruso St John's work can be grasped without difficulty, as Sullivan's essays coming a few pages before the "tall" 13-story building at Europaallee attests. Even without an awareness to such ties, I greatly appreciate the inclusion of inspirational and important texts; it is one element that sets this series of monographs apart from others. In addition to the projects spanning from 2000 to 2012 and the inclusion of articles and essays written by others outside of the context of the monograph, the book also features texts by Adam Caruso and Peter St John. Befitting the series, these texts come from other publications, from lectures and interviews, most of them within the years covered by the volume. An example is Peter St John's "Aldo Rossi's Gallaratese Housing," first published in Building Design in 2012. The architect first experienced Rossi's famous building in 1980, when he was a 20-year-old student on a scholarship, also seeing the buildings of Terragni and catching the The Presence of the Past, the inaugural Venice Architecture Biennale. He recounts his first impressions of the building, discusses it relative to Rossi's famous texts The Architecture of the City and A Scientific Autobiography, and revisits the building to find it "more charming than before." A few pages later we read Caruso and St John's text on Pasticcio, a composition of fragments of classical architecture in Sir John Soane's Museum in London, and see their installation of the same name at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale. That is followed by restoration work at Soane's Museum, a new chancel for St Gallen Cathedral in Switzerland ... the whole book unfolds in this manner: one unexpected piece after another, adding up to a thorough and varied portrait of the duo's quiet and occasionally timeless architecture. STRIVE: Jones Studio Adventures in Architecture by Marilu Knode, edited by Oscar Riera Ojeda, published by Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers, November 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Should monograph present many projects in just a few pages, or very few projects across more pages? Two years ago, Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers put out Jones Studio Houses: Sensual Modernism, a monograph billed as "a self-imposed limited look at the 40-year-plus career of Eddie Jones." The thick, square book limited itself to houses (minus Jones Studio's own "house") and featured just ten of them, highlighted by Prairie Raptor, a stunning house in Oklahoma whose sculptural peak was inspired by Herb Greene's "Prairie Chicken" built in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1954. Digesting the book with its many photographs and drawings accompanied by short blurbs by famous names lauding Jones's architecture, it was clear the book was an incomplete portrait of the studio run by Eddie and his brother and first partner Neal Jones — a first course, if you will, to a larger, more well-rounded presentation of their work. With more than 40 built and unbuilt projects spanning more than 40 years, STRIVE is that main course. If a food analogy for an architecture monograph feels a bit contrived, note that three of the book's five sections take on "Family Table" titles. Instead of a literal family coming to the table to eat, the "family" is made up of Jones and the other architects in the studio, and the "table" is a collaborative work surface about which everyone's desks are arrayed. "Family Table #1," as it's called in the book, was in an office building in downtown Phoenix designed by Alfred Newman Beadle in 1978. In 1984, Eddie moved the studio he had established in 1979 (Neal joined in 1986) from his house to the Beadle-designed building, and years later he expanded within it to create the open-plan family-table office space. (Some further synergy between Beadle and Jones can be found in the fact both of them relocated from the Midwest to Arizona: Beadle from Minnesota, Jones from Oklahoma.) Jones Studio stayed in the Beadle building for 32 years, moving into the purpose-built "Home and Studio" in Tempe that begins the book's "Family Studio #3" chapter. The floor plans in STRIVE show how the literal table in the Beadle building is also at the heart of the now seven-year-old Jones Studio Office; the table and branching desks are described in the book as the "nerve center" of the studio and an "open mosh pit of ideas." So, you might be asking, what about "Family Table #2"? This is the most interesting of the trio, at least in the context of the book, and in two ways. First, for the exhibition southwestNET: Jones Studio, Inc. that took place at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in 2006, the studio moved its operations into the gallery for its three-month duration, from May to September. Indeed, the studio — the family — literally became the exhibit, sitting at custom-designed desks that converged to form "Family Table #2." Photos in the book show a somewhat typical architecture office, with computers, phones, and lots of papers in the middle of a gallery with drawings on the wall, drawings suspended from the ceiling, and museum goers taking in the scene. The second thing of interest is that the exhibition was curated by Marilu Knode, who considers it "one of the most exciting of my career." She was later approached by Jones Studio to tell the story of the firm in what would become STRIVE. Her writing and consistent voice detached from the making of the projects help make this monograph so good, especially compared to the many monographs that are written in-house and read like marketing copy and therefore lack firsthand insight. People who actually read Knode's words that accompany the buildings will learn A LOT about the studio's process and what makes each project so interesting, beyond the obvious skill with which they've been designed. Having looked at numerous architectural monographs, I've come to the conclusion that the project that occupies the middle section of a monograph is often the most important — both for the architect and for the book itself. The five chapters of STRIVE start with "Jones Studio: The Early Years" and end with "Focused Future," chronological bookends for the three "Family Table" chapters. Given this structure, the second of those, "Family Table #2," sits in the middle of the book's nearly 500 pages. While the firm was working at the southwestNET exhibition, they submitted an RFQ for the Mariposa Land Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona. In 2007, Jones Studio got the job, which became a "colossal, firm-altering undertaking." While Knode's words partly reinforce my hypothesis for middle-project importance, the project's documentation in photos, drawings, and numerous texts over more than 40 pages cement it. The building, completed in 2014, is also found on the cover — another sign of the project's importance in the impressive Jones Studio portfolio.

This third and most likely last installment in the inadvertent "Places in Time" series looks closely at three books: the first about Chicago from the Great Depression to the mid-1980s; the second one about the broader American built landscape over roughly the same period of time; and the third jumping to Switzerland and tracing the urban development of Schlieren, near Zurich, over a 15-year period this century. All three of the books were in my roundup of holiday gift books a couple of weeks ago. The first two Places in Time posts looked at Detroit/Chicago/St. Louis and Paris/Indonesia/Flanders. Chicago Skyscrapers, 1934-1986: How Technology, Politics, Finance, and Race Reshaped the City by Thomas Leslie, published by University of Illinois Press, June 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) In my holiday gift books roundup a couple of weeks ago, I wrote that, of the four pieces in the subtitle to Chicago Skyscrapers, 1934-1986 — "technology, politics, finance, and race" — technology is the most prevalent throughout the book. That assertion was based on just a cursory look through the book, all I could manage at the time, but also on its relationship to architect and educator Thomas Leslie's previous book, Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934, published ten years prior. If I were doing that roundup now, having had more time to delve into the new book, I would write that politics and finance were, if not the most prevalent, the most illuminating and thoroughly discussed aspects in the book's presentation of skyscrapers over fifty years last century. Indeed, many of the drawings and photographs focus on the technical and technological aspects of skyscraper design and construction (just look at the cover!), but the stories of how certain skyscrapers came about and were shaped are rooted in Chicago's political machine, money, and the developers that Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, SOM, and others worked for. An example is in order. If any architect jumps to mind in the period covered by the book, it is Mies, who reshaped Chicago through his glass-and-steel towers but also who, through the replicable nature of their designs, reshaped cities around the world. To this day, his most notable tall buildings in Chicago are 860-800 Lake Shore Drive, the Federal Center, and the IBM Building, all boasting steel structures and glass curtain walls. But before that trio of towers (860-880 came first, in 1952) there was Promontory Apartments, completed in 1949 near the University of Chicago. Structured in concrete, not steel, and with windows sitting on brick spandrel walls rather than on the floor slabs or hung as curtain walls, Promontory is often seen as an anomaly or an awkward step toward the more refined glass boxes that would follow. But, Leslie tells us, concrete was "selected over steel because of postwar supply problems" and the brick spandrel wall was mandated by code as a means of stopping the spread of fire. Furthermore, even with the windows sitting on knee-height walls, lenders balked at their size, wondering "how people can live with so much glass" and making it hard for the developer to gain financing. One year later, in 1950, "Chicago's progressive building code eliminated the masonry spandrel wall requirement," leading to 860-880 LSD and other glass-sheathed towers designed by Mies and others. The book's nine chronological/thematic chapters are full of similar political and financial information that greatly helps put the many notable skyscrapers (as well as quite a few apparently insignificant ones) into context. For example, chapter five, "Daley's City: Commercial Construction, 1955-1972," tackles the most powerful political player the city saw in the half-century covered by the book, Mayor Richard J. Daley. In a flip from his predecessors, "'Daley's City' sprung from investment capital," Leslie writes, "wedded to a regime intent on gaining and exercising raw power to tip the market's balance wherever it could." Early on, Daley oversaw the creation of the Central Area Plan (1958), discussed at some length in the book, and during his lengthy tenure he saw the erection of many commercial and residential towers in the Loop. But the Daley era is also when the Chicago Housing Authority shifted to high-rises and built them as segregated enclaves primarily on the South and West Sides, just about all of which have been torn down in recent years for low-rise developments. As such, the race aspect of the book makes up a good chunk of chapter six, "High-Rise Housing in the 1960s," though the subject is present throughout the book, just not to the same degree as the other three subtitled terms. Oddly, Leslie's book ends with a lengthy discussion of Helmut Jahn's State of Illinois Center, the 17-story building in the Loop that opened in 1985 and was renamed in 1993 as the James R. Thompson Center, for the governor who championed the project and oversaw its realization. I say "oddly" because the squat, rotund building is hardly a skyscraper, at least not in my mind. It is shorter than most buildings around it as well as others being built at the same time, such as Jahn's own 40-story One South Wacker, and does not have the vertically of most towers. So why include it? I think, in part, because it was the climax of postmodern architecture in Chicago in the 1980s, but mainly because it is a case study where technology, politics, and finance converge to the utmost degree; it's a fascinating story deeply and ably recounted by Leslie. It comes at the end of the last chapter, "After Sears," and spreads across four three-column, image-free pages; only on the last spread do we see the building, but only its exterior, not the stunning atrium it is known for. While this ending leaves something to be desired in terms of page design and illustrations, it captures the incredible amount of research Leslie managed to put into this second installment in his skyscraper history of Chicago. I'm hoping there is a next one and that it is already in the works, so it doesn't take ten more years for the rest of us to hold it in our hands. Lost in America: Photographing the Last Days of our Architectural Treasures by Richard Cahan and Michael Williams, published by CityFiles Press, November 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) As an architect who writes primarily about contemporary architecture but who is increasingly cognizant of the importance in saving and reusing old buildings, even going so far as to preferring adaptive reuse over new construction, I have a love/hate view of "Lost ___" books. The ones in my library tend to be about places where I've lived: Lost Chicago by David Garrard Lowe, for instance, and Lost New York by Nathan Silver. Looking at page after page of black-and-white photos of buildings that will never be again is to be transported in time, which I like, but all to often the captions border on the finger-wagging: "How could you tear down this glorious building?" they seem to be telling me, even though I played no part in their destruction. Yet, as Thomas Leslie's skyscraper book featured above reveals, even buildings loved by later generations were often not appreciated in their day. Leslie writes that Henry Ives Cobb's 1905 Federal Building "suffered from grave planning and environmental deficiencies that led to calls for its replacement almost immediately after opening." Lowe, who put the domed interior on the cover of the 2000 edition of his book, calls it "an awesome feat of engineering" with "one of America's supreme interiors." "This magnificent edifice, the most notable example of civic architecture in Chicago," he summarizes, "was wantonly demolished in 1965–66," making way for the three-building Federal Center designed by Mies van der Rohe. While Leslie helps us understand something of why the building was demolished, Lowe looks at it through rose-colored glasses, making its destruction a scar on modern-day humanity. Photo historians Richard Cahan and Michael Williams are a bit more balanced in their description of Cobb's Federal Building, one of the one hundred buildings and bridges they gather from the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) for Lost in America. They give some background on how Cobbs designed the 1905 building in the Beaux-Arts style "that was all the rage in Chicago and across the nation following the 1893 World's Columbian Exhibition," where Cobbs had designed seven of its buildings. And the authors paint the picture in the 1960s, when the "once-majestic courthouse and post office had become lost in the canyons of skyscrapers" and was "covered by decades of city grime." They don't make demolition excusable, but their matter-of-fact description — of this building and the 99 other places in the book — tell interesting facts and appealing stories that do an excellent job in helping readers understand the photographs and the value of HABS. In this case, the photograph is, like the Lost Chicago cover, of the domed interior, taken in 1964 by Harold Allen, who "climbed high to the base of the dome to take this shot." Although Lost in America is limited to one photograph per structure, the descriptions invite readers to dig further into the HABS archive at the Library of Congress, where many of the photographs dating from 1933 to the present are digitized. In 1965, the dome atop the Federal Building was seen better than ever, we read, when neighboring structures were razed and opened up views unavailable before; Allen captured one such view, when one of Mies's glass boxes was already in place behind it. HABS was created in 1933 during the Great Depression and is considered the nation's first federal preservation program. In the ninety years since, the program has documented thousands of structures in the United States through photographs — all b/w large-format film photos, even to this day, it should be noted — drawings, and other materials, all of them archived in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress alongside the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) and Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) collections, which were created in 1969 and 2000, respectively. Why, you might be thinking, was Henry Ives Cobbs's Federal Building, which was completed in 1905, not documented until 1964? From the beginning, when Charles A. Patterson, an architect at the National Park Service, drafted a proposal for what would become HABS, the intent was to document antique buildings that were "diminish[ing] daily at an alarming rate." So photographing, measuring, drawing, and documenting them otherwise often took place when a building was threatened or demolition was imminent. The cover of Lost in America shows one instance where the act of demolition was actually captured by the photographer: Jack E. Boucher at the Ulysses S. Grant Cottage in Long Branch, New Jersey, in 1963. Cahan and Williams selected the structures and compiled them in a way that the book climaxes, for lack of a better word, with buildings like Grant's cottage, which are partially demolished — photographed just a bit too late. It's a sobering end to a sobering but excellent book that shows how the unfortunate flip side of American progress is erasure and forgetting. Urban Change Over Time: The Photographic Observation of Schlieren 2005–2020 Reveals How Switzerland Is Changing edited by Meret Wandeler, Ulrich Görlich and Caspar Schärer, published by Scheidegger and Spiess, October 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Although I've been to Zurich many times since I started working with World-Architects more than a dozen years ago, I've yet to visit Schlieren, the municipality on the western edge of Zurich. It's certainly an oversight, given that the town, which sunk into a post-industrial malaise from the 1980s onwards, "suddenly" turned the tide this century and "grew dramatically, attracting new residents and architectural tourists." This according to Caspar Schärer, one of the editors of the two-volume Urban Change Over Time, who drives the point home in the next sentence: "Architectural tourists!" How bad was the situation in Schlieren before the fifteen-year turning of the tide the book encapsulates? One newspaper, in a report from Schlieren, was titled "Life in the Cantonal Trash Can" (Schlieren is part of the Canton of Zurich), per another text in the book. So, how did things change, how did Schlieren get through this "difficult phase"? Proximity to Zurich and the town's location along a train line connected to the city surely helped, but much of it can be attributed to planning. In 2005, the town implemented the Schlieren Urban Development Concept (STEK I), which would determine where and how growth would occur, instead of letting it happen "uncontrolled and uncoordinated." STEK I became the basis for a photo project by Meret Wandeler and Ulrich Görlich, who decided on a 15-year timeframe — not shorter — as necessary for being able to see how the urban plan would physically take shape and impact the town. By 2020, when the project was done, the town had already moved on to STEK II, a new plan based on a reevaluation of STEK I in 2015/16, but the photographs nevertheless revealed that change in many parts of the Schlieren was dramatic. The first of the two volumes, which are packaged in a sleeve bearing the cover shown above, is a 152-page landscape-format book with spreads devoted to the 69 locations in town that were documented in photographs over the fifteen years, typically every two, odd-numbered years (some gaps are found in some places). The consistency of the photographic framing is exceptional, owing in part to the hiring of professional photographers after the initial photos were taken by the authors. The locations are keyed to maps in the back of the book, one for 2005 and one for 2020; seen together, the photographs and map illustrate the districts where STEK I was focused, where change was most pronounced. The town is basically bisected by the east-west rail line that connects it to Zurich; the most apparent change and increased density is visible to the north, while areas close to the train tracks on the south side were also filled in. Given the broad swath of the town documented by the project, it's interesting to see places where change is not immediately evident, akin to a real-life version of those find-the-differences cartoons. The second volume consists of essays, additional presentations of some of the photographs (focusing on typologies, on STEK I districts, the town's "building boom," etc.), and in-depth maps that help to give outsiders some orientation while also focusing on the development areas. These many pieces are presented beautifully across 480 pages in portrait format. The wide-ranging essays, which discuss the town, the project, "rephotography," and myriad other subjects, are particularly helpful but also, in the commendation of the book by the jury of the 2023 DAM Architectural Book Award, "very careful not to waste the reader’s time." The repackaging of some of the photographs from volume one is in some ways more helpful in understanding the town's urban change, since the authors use the photographs in ways that turns them into essays in their own right. The "Typologies" section, for example, groups photos of building entrances, parking lots, playgrounds, alleys, stores and restaurants, and garages, while "A New Town," which concludes the book, hones in on the places that would draw architectural tourists. Many of the photos in volume two are considerably larger on the page than the static format of volume one, accentuating one interesting quality of the photographs: they are devoid of people and other living beings, though not of signs of life. This rigorous approach, no doubt an impressive technical achievement, gives the project a strong anthropological quality and reveals that, while planning may be at the heart of the town's evolution this century, the shaping of the lives of the residents via planning was paramount.

This year's roundup of books to give to discerning architects for the holidays is presented in pairs. While at least one book in each pair is new, the other one isn't necessarily so — new, old, or not-so-old, it is related to the first in some manner, as explained in my descriptions. A few of these books will receive longer reviews next month. In the meantime, with this lengthy post and Thanksgiving coming up later this week, I'll be taking next week off, resuming regular posts the first week of December. HEADY STUFF FOR BRAINY ARCHITECTS AND ARCHITECTURE HISTORIANS: Architecture after God: Babel Resurgent by Kyle Dugdale, published by Birkhäuser, February 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Inhabited Machines: Genealogy of an Architectural Concept by Moritz Gleich, published by Birkhäuser, February 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Exploring Architecture is a new series of books from Birkhäuser that are focused "on thematic subjects [in architectural history and theory] that are relevant to contemporary architectural and urban discourse and practice." It aims to include "new and unexpected readings of built work, the analysis of the discipline's discourse and historiography, the study of architectural representation and media, and the consideration of socioeconomic and cultural-political forces on urban transformation." The peer-reviewed series, created under a six-strong advisory board chaired by Reto Geiser, launched in early 2023 with two books: Moritz Gleich's Inhabited Machines followed by Kyle Dugdale's Architecture after God. The pair of books indicate a serious tone for the series but also production values that are on par with monographs, found in the quality paper selection, quality image reproductions, page size that is slightly larger than the norm, and solid cover and binding. Having reviewed a few books made by Geiser, I'm not surprised at this attempt to elevate the design production of history/theory books. Still, these are not books the average architect will plop down in an armchair and read; their audience is small and focused on academia. (Hey, architectural historians like gift books, too!) Dugdale, a Yale professor based in New York City, has written a book set in Germany between the two world wars, using the Tower of Babel and the artistic output of Uriel Birnbaum from Austria as threads to explore how architects recreated a world where God is absent. Moritz Gleich, director of gta Verlag at ETH Zurich, appears to have turned his dissertation "on the genealogy of machinic concepts in architecture" into Inhabited Machines, which looks at technologies and architectural typologies in the 18th and 19th centuries as progenitors for some pretty famous machine analogies in 20th century architecture. TWO COOPER HEWITT TOMES: An Atlas of Es Devlin Es Devlin, edited by Andrea Lipps, published by Thames & Hudson, December 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Making Design: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collections by Cara McCarty and Matilda McQuaid, published by The Cooper Hewitt, February 2015 (Amazon / Bookshop) An Atlas of Es Devlin, the first monographic show devoted to UK artist and designer Es Devlin, opened at the Cooper Hewitt on November 18, 2023. Devlin worked with Cooper Hewitt curator Andrea Lipps on the exhibition, one that immerses museum goers in a recreation of Devlin's studio and moves them through a mirrored labyrinth presenting early drawings, models of the large-scale set designs she is known for, and much in between. Lipps is also the editor of the hefty book that is united with the exhibition in terms of its contents but also its execution: it immerses readers in Devlin's process to better understand her output. The exhibition presupposes that visitors do not know anything about Devlin (I'm guessing very few will not), and the book takes a similar approach, revealing insights to readers who are invited to patiently page through the book. At around 900 pages, there's a lot to see, from school-age drawings and glances of her studio to maquettes of theatrical set designs and photographs of concerts by the likes of Adele and U2. Thankfully, with its mix of paper sizes and types, and the insertion of small gatefolds that further explain her design process, the book's format makes a voyage through it anything but boring; there are surprises at every turn of the page. Boasting as many pages as An Atlas of Es Devlin is Copper Hewitt's guide to its own collection, made with designer Irma Boom when the institution completed a major overhaul of its Upper East Side home (the former Andrew Carnegie mansion) in late 2014/early 2015. While the book is big, the numbers on the cover indicate how small it is compared to the collection: it presents just 1,145 of the museum's 210,000 objects in its archive. The objects were selected by the curators, who also penned texts for the book — all expressing the museum's primary goal: "to inspire people to see how design impacts their lives." Boom, ever the innovative book designer, created different colored wraps for the paperback; it's not clear which color one gets on Amazon and Bookshop (red?), but the Cooper Hewitt offers pink and "glow in the dark" (light green) on its website. THE NEW YORK WILLIAM B. HELMREICH KNEW SO WELL: The Bronx Nobody Knows: An Urban Walking Guide by William B. Helmreich, published by Princeton University Press, August 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City by William B. Helmreich, published by Princeton University Press, October 2013 (Amazon / Bookshop) A few years after Princeton University Press published William B. Helmreich's well-received The New York Nobody Knows, it started putting out standalone "urban walking guides" to each of the five boroughs. Helmreich, a Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the City College of New York, famously walked every street in New York City, speaking with just about everybody he came across (or so it seems), be it a building super, a doorman, a shop clerk, someone leaving their apartment, someone leaving a synagogue, ... The New York Nobody Knows discusses immigration, gentrification, and other issues in thematic chapters; it is thorough, but it must have been evident for both author and publisher that the effort of walking the five boroughs and the results of talking with so many people would lead to more than just one book. The first guide published was Brooklyn, in 2016, followed by Manhattan, in 2018. Sadly, a few months before the Queens guide was released in 2020, Helmreich died, succumbing to COVID-19 in March of that year, the same month fellow CCNY professor Michael Sorkin also died. At that time, as recounted by his wife Helaine, William had already finished the manuscript for the Bronx and the couple was starting to work on Staten Island, walking (again!) the streets of that borough. It's too bad we won't see Staten Island, because it, like the Bronx, is not as widely known (for me, at least, and I'm guessing quite a few other people) as Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. But as the earlier guides made clear, there is more to the boroughs than the familiar sites found in other guidebooks; and the boroughs are made up of people, not just buildings and landscapes, and it was those people that interested Helmreich the most. Their voices permeate The Bronx Nobody Knows, just as in the other guides. For me, someone who lives in Queens, one thing I appreciate about Helmreich's books is the way he managed to get people to open up and say things that would both describe a place and convey the similarities binding people across the city and, on a wider canvas, across humanity. A BEAUTIFULLY MADE SERIES ON CAROSO ST JOHN CONTINUES: Caruso St John Collected Works: Volume 2 2000–2012 by Caruso St John, published by MACK, October 2023 (Amazon) Caruso St John Collected Works: Volume 1 1990–2005 by Caruso St John, published by MACK, October 2022 (Amazon) Twelve months after MACK released the first volume in the collected works of British architects Adam Caruso and Peter St. John, the publisher put out the second volume, which takes the qualities of the first book — qualities I wrote about earlier this year in "Three Lessons from Three Monographs" — and applies them to the studio as they started their second decade and a new century began. I wrote in that post that monographs "should be comprehensive if not complete, "should convey the voice of the architect," and "should function as archives." Collected Works: Volume 1, I wrote, does all three: "From its simple linen cover with drawing of the steel facade of their Swan Yard project, strong stitching, and matte paper selection, to its documentation of built and unbuilt works over the title's fifteen years and the incorporation of articles and interviews previously published in Quaderns and other venues, the book is a beautiful object that is rewarding and refreshing on every turn of the page." Given the consistency of the two books, the same applies Collected Works: Volume 2. The numerous buildings, projects, exhibitions, articles, lectures, and other artifacts informing Caruso St John's work are presented in seven chapters, most of them pairs: "History and the Modern," "Greece and Rome," "Chicago and Milan," "Competitions," "Thomas Demand," "Switzerland," "Art and Money." These places and themes reflect their work extending beyond the confines of England as well as their teaching doing the same, with positions in Mendrisio, ETH Zurich, Harvard GSD, and elsewhere. The two architects explain how the studios they ran at universities incorporated reference texts by Rosalind Krauss, T. S. Eliot, Louis Sullivan, and others; those text are found here, enriching the monograph's collection of texts and projects and capturing the interests of two maturing architects. (Note: the two volumes are available from MACK in a Caruso St John Bundle.) THE CHICAGO SKYSCRAPER HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED: Chicago Skyscrapers, 1934-1986: How Technology, Politics, Finance, and Race Reshaped the City by Thomas Leslie, published by University of Illinois Press, June 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934 by Thomas Leslie, published by University of Illinois Press, May 2013 (Amazon / Bookshop) In my 2021 review of Thomas Leslie's 2013 book Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871–1934, I pointed out how Leslie's book is described in another book as a "'recent study that includes thorough discussion of structural and constructive technologies,' as opposed to more prevalent architectural histories that focus on aesthetics, politics, planning, social history, and other issues with tall buildings." Such a focus is evident in the appendix listing the dozens of tall buildings built in Chicago between 1871 and 1934 (the years of the Great Chicago Fire and Great Depression) with such criteria as "facade type" (bearing masonry, cast iron, expressed frame, curtain wall, etc.) and "foundation" (piles, spread, caissons). It's an excellent book, as is the second installment in Leslie's series of books on skyscrapers in Chicago, but the subtitle of the second book, How Technology, Politics, Finance, and Race Reshaped the City, indicates the incorporation of those wider contexts eschewed in the first book. Even with these topics, technology is the most prevalent, based on a quick glance at the book's contents, which include numerous construction photographs and 3D "digital reconstructions" of a lot of the buildings discussed in the book. Spanning from the Great Depression to the recessions of the 1970s and 80s, the new book contains a large diversity of architecture — from Art Deco and modernism to brutalism and postmodernism — but also enormous social changes and other aspects (migration, civil rights, oil crisis, Mayor Richard J. Daley) that make the embrace of broader contexts sensible. While any book on skyscrapers in that period would include Marina City, Bertrand Goldberg's classic city within a city completed in 1967, Leslie also includes Goldberg's Raymond Hilliard Homes, a public housing project on the South Side for seniors and families. The latter allow Leslie to compare the forms and construction of the two projects but also the opportunity to touch on racial segregation in the city. (A couple addenda: While the two books have similar covers, three-column page layouts, and graphic design features, the use of different page sizes and proportions — from 10x10" to 8.5x11" — is unfortunate and a missed opportunity for consistency on the shelf, especially if a third book in the series is forthcoming. And just as my 2021 review of the earlier Leslie book coincided with the author speaking at the Skyscraper Museum, Leslie is giving a virtual talk tomorrow night about his new book and the city's residential high-rises in concrete; the talk will be archived on the museum's YouTube channel.) ADVENTURES IN HOUSING: Cohousing in Barcelona: Designing, Building and Living for Cooperative Models edited by David Lorente, Tomoko Sakamoto, Ricardo Devesa and Marta Bugés, published by Actar Publishers and Ajuntament de Barcelona, August 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Housing Redux: Alternatives for NYC's Housing Projects by Nneena Lynch, James von Klemperer, Hana Kassan and Andrei Harwell, edited by Nina Rappaport and Saba Salekfard, published by Yale School of Architecture, December 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) If life were fair, everyone would have access to decent, well-designed housing, and those projects would garner as much attention in the architectural press as the single-family houses that are commissioned by and built for the wealthy. A modicum of balance has been found in recent years, with social housing projects winning major architectural awards and gaining coverage, most notably Lacaton and Vassal's transformation of public housing projects in France and Lacol's La Borda Cooperative Housing in Barcelona. The latter is the star of Cohousing in Barcelona, which features case studies of eighteen built and ongoing projects that are the result of a partnership between the Barcelona City Council and non-profit social housing providers and housing cooperatives. Even though I was fortunate enough to visit La Borda with the architects last year, the book's thorough documentation through photographs, drawings, and lengthy commentary from the architects means I learned something new about it — and the other commendable projects in the book. If cohousing is endemic to Barcelona, what is the NYC situation? In the 20th century it was a mix of below-market subsidized housing, public housing, and middle-income cooperatives, aka Mitchell-Lama. Today, everything is lumped under "affordable housing," and it is typically created by developers as part of larger market-rate projects, with the city incentivizing the developers through zoning bonuses. One place proponents of affordable housing are looking is the open spaces of large public housing projects, in the vein of Carmel Place, a narrow stack of micro-units by nARCHITECTS built in 2016. A recent studio at Yale School of Architecture had students proposing affordable housing solutions for NYCHA's Washington Houses in East Harlem; the public housing project consists of more than a dozen towers on three superblocks that are the equivalent of seven city blocks, with open space comprising more than 85% of the site. The students developed master plans and then designed schemes ranging from reimagined brownstones to terraced housing and other ways of weaving more units between the existing buildings. It's refreshing to see architecture students tackling affordable housing in creative ways. MONOGRAPHS WITH A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA: Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism by MODU (Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem), published by Hatje Cantz, October 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Quiet Spaces by William Smalley, published by Thames & Hudson, November 2018 (Amazon / Bookshop) These two monographs are atypical — and refreshing — in that they incorporate content from outside the work of the designers who made them, but in ways that meld seamlessly with their own work. Although MODU, the Brooklyn studio of Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem, is so young and has built so little a monograph would seem a bit premature, their Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism is nevertheless chock full of projects, each one illustrating the multifaceted nature of their output: architecture, urban interventions, installations, and socio-economic research among it. The duo makes a statement by upending conventions, literally, by starting the book with a glossary — one where the terms and definitions clearly describe their unique points of view — and ending it with the foreword. In between are essays, projects, and a series of conversations with Japanese architects, including Fumihiko Maki, Itsuko Hasegawa, and Kengo Kuma. The last is what would be considered the outsider content, but even then the interviews were conducted by Hoang and Rotem as part of their research into Second Nature, which they define as "a dual expression of social and environmental contexts. Humans and nature as one." Quiet Spaces is an apt title for the first monograph on UK architect William Smalley, who established his eponymous practice in London in 2010. The coffee table book is full of full-bleed color photographs captured mainly by Harry Crowder but also Hélène Binet; each photographers' choice of film over digital jibes with Smalley's handling of interior spaces, which could be called, for lack of a better term, timeless. The cover photograph by Binet — of Smalley's Oxfordshire Farm, done in collaboration with James Gorst Architects — hints at this quality, but it also recalls the work of Luis Barragan. Hardly by coincidence, Oxfordshire Farm is preceded by Barragan's own house in Mexico City, one of six "quiet spaces" in the book by other architects, ranging in time from Andrea Palladio to Peter Zumthor, with Geoffrey Bawa and others in between. Smalley's way of treating his inspirations in the book with equal weight to his own work is refreshing and illuminating, revealing shared qualities but also Smalley's enduring fascination with beautiful design regardless of the who, when, or where. (The Record section of his website expresses this too.) The mix results in a monograph that is surprisingly cohesive regardless of the various voices and times, reinforcing the timeless quality of Smalley's architecture. CAPTURING AMERICA'S PAST IN PHOTOGRAPHS: Lost in America: Photographing the Last Days of our Architectural Treasures by Richard Cahan and Michael Williams, published by CityFiles Press, November 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Richard Nickel Dangerous Years: What He Saw and What He Wrote by Richard Cahan and Michael Williams, published by CityFiles Press, December 2015 (Amazon) Anyone with a strong interest in architecture in the United States should know and love HABS, the Historic American Buildings Survey that is maintained by the Library of Congress. The voluminous collection of photographs and drawings spanning from 1933 to the present is a great resource for, among other things, people making architecture books. Photographer Jeffrey Ladd creatively mined the survey for A Field Measure Survey of American Architecture, creating a portrait of the US through a small sampling of the hundreds of thousands of HABS photographs. Similarly, photo historians Richard Cahan and Michael Williams pulled photographs from the survey to draw attention to the buildings and bridges that America lost to decay, neglect, demolition, and destruction. One hundred notable, lesser known, and fairly generic examples are presented in four chapters: Timeless, Forgotten, Disgraced, Doomed. Even though the HABS photographs have remained remarkably consistent over its 90 years, with contemporary photographers still using large-format film (not digital) cameras, Lost in America has a notable arc to it, with famous buildings early in the book and actual scenes of demolition, as in the cover photograph, found at the end. It's hard not to feel a tinge of melancholy or even anger at the wanton destruction implied and captured by the HABS photographers in black and white — emotions tempered, or perhaps even magnified, by the information presented in captions by Cahan and Williams. Although Lost in America is available on Amazon, Bookshop, and other usual outlets, people buying it directly from CityFiles have the option of getting a limited edition with a slipcase featuring a Richard Nickel photo of Chicago’s Republic Building, a Holabird and Roche building that was erected in the first decade of the 20th century and pulled down in 1961. Nickel is one of the photographers inside Lost in America, but the photographer and preservationist is also the subject of Dangerous Years, an earlier book also by Cahan and Williams and also published by CityFiles, in 2015. Cahan had written an earlier, indispensable biography on Nickel, They All Fall Down: Richard Nickel's Struggle to Save America's Architecture (notably, that book features a self-portrait of Nickel atop the Republic Building), so it is logical that he would make another book on Nickel, one that "in his own words and with his own pictures, is his story." The coffee table book traces Nickel's brief but productive and passionate career through photographs, letters, notes, sketches, and other artifacts displayed on large 9x12" pages with black backgrounds. Like Lost in America, Dangerous Years is melancholy, not only because he gravitated to buildings that often met the wrecking ball, but because his widely known end while salvaging materials from one such building is made all the more real through letters to/from his fiancé and even notes for a missing person report made by his parents on the day he went missing. ILLUSTRATED STORIES FOR KIDS — AND GROWN-UPS: Modern New York: The Illustrated Story of Architecture in the Five Boroughs from 1920 to Present by Lukas Novotny, published by Rizzoli, September 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Shigeru Ban Builds a Better World by Isadoro Saturno, illustrated by Stefano Di Cristofaro, published by Tra Publishing, September 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) A pair of illustrated books: one for children and one for grown-ups. Modern New York is Lukas Novotny's second book, following the similar Modern London published in 2018. The colorful illustrations — all of them straight-on elevations, as evidenced by the cover — give the impression that the book is yet another repackaging of famous and predominantly tall buildings in New York City: the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building are there on the cover, as are the American Radiator Building, the Pan Am (MetLife Building), AT&T, Hearst, and 432 Park Avenue. But the inclusion of Paul Rudolph's Tracey Towers in the Bronx and the presence of the Goodyear blimp and a helicopter landing on the Pan Am Building hint at a wider presentation. Novotny is actually drawn (pun intended) to buildings obscure, plain, and off the beaten path — those well beyond what's found in tourist guides. The buildings and modes of transportation, which were potentially more modern than the buildings, are presented in ten chapters: one per decade, from 1920 to present. Each is given at least 16 pages, so relatively insignificant decades (what was built in the 1940s?) reveal surprises even so-called experts, like this reviewer, weren't aware of. I wish there were more children's books about architecture, not only because they provide parents a way to educate their kids about architecture and architects at an early age, but because the subject has such a great potential for doing interesting children's books. Pop-ups! Concertina books! (I reviewed one of those.) Books by architects for their own kids! (I reviewed one of those, too.) Isadoro Saturno's children's book on Shigeru Ban gets creative with format, from its cardboard-like cover with cutout framing a portrait of the architect to the choice of matter paper, cutout-like illustrations, and smaller book on Ban's disaster-relief projects inserted into the middle of the book. By focusing on the fact Ban has made many buildings from paper, from cardboard tubes, and not all of them disaster-relief projects, the book shows kids that what they didn't think was possible is possible. The book opens their minds to the possibilities in anything, architecture or otherwise, encouraging them to think creatively and without limits. CHANGING ZURICH (AND ITS ENVIRONS): Urban Change Over Time: The Photographic Observation of Schlieren 2005–2020 Reveals How Switzerland Is Changing edited by Meret Wandeler, Ulrich Görlich and Caspar Schärer, published by Scheidegger and Spiess, October 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) New Housing in Zurich: Typologies for a Changing Society, edited by Dominique Boudet, published by Park Books, April 2018 (Amazon / AbeBooks) Last month the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) and Frankfurt Book Fair announced the winners of the 2023 DAM Architectural Book Award: ten books, nine of them from publishers in Germany and Switzerland, six from Zurich alone, and four of the ten winners published by Park Books or its sister publisher Scheidegger & Spiess. A winner by the last is Urban Change Over Time, a two-volume book with fifteen years of photo documentation of Schlieren, a satellite town on the western fringe of Zurich. The jury praised the book for its vision and endurance: "The book’s structure derives from the topic, explores many different aspects of the theme, and yet is very careful not to waste the reader’s time." The slimmer of the two volumes has nearly 150 pages of photographs on landscape-oriented pages, with each spread showing the matching photographic documentation of one spot in town over those fifteen years. The matching of the framing in the photos is remarkable, as if dozens of tripods were cemented into place throughout the town for the fifteen-year duration of the project. In some cases the changes are in your face, in many they're subtle, and in others they're apparently non-existent. The longer volume — 480 pages in portrait format — has photographs as well, many of them larger on the page and in the context of the town's development areas or focusing on different typologies; there are also essays, interviews, and maps that aid in orienting oneself with the photos and understanding some of the development areas. The whole is a beautiful production worthy of its accolade. While I don't think New Housing in Zurich nabbed a DAM Award when it was released five years ago, this book from Park Books pairs well with Urban Change Over Time, for its equally high production values, for its geographic proximity, and for simply having the word "changing" in its subtitle. (This book, though hard to find, should also appeal to readers interested in Cohousing in Barcelona and Housing Redux, featured above.) The book presents 51 housing projects spread across Zurich, some of which I was able to visit years before when in Zurich for my work with World-Architects. The projects I visited, and most of the ones in the book, are fairly large and therefore have large sites where site planning is paramount; site plans or aerial views are then included for each of the 51 projects, as well as floor plans, photographs (or renderings), and project descriptions. What makes the projects remarkable beyond their architectural qualities is the fact they are predominantly middle-class and/or cooperatives — making the book a suitable reference for other places where there is a shortage of such housing, well-designed or not.

A review of a new book released this week: The Japanese House Since 1945 by Naomi Pollock, published by Thames & Hudson, November 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) What makes modern and contemporary Japanese houses so appealing? Much of it stems from the novelty of residential designs, which can be traced to a litany of factors, including a cultural acceptance of demolition and renewal that creates a constant stream of new architecture; a litany of legal requirements pushing architects — both young and established — to be formally creative; and let's not leave out the clients willing to take risks. Most of the houses that spark jealousy in architects outside of Japan are found in Tokyo and other urban areas where money, zoning, and architects converge to fuel unexpected creations. One factor, the country's exorbitant inheritance tax, leads many families to cut up their properties into smaller parcels to pay for the tax; the resulting, awkward pieces of land then require architects to squeeze a house into a wrapper defined by fire-safety requirements, sunshine laws, and practical concerns like a parking space. Such is the case today, but distinctive single-family houses in and beyond Tokyo have been prevalent since the end of World War II, when architects took part in the necessary postwar rebuilding that was buoyed by prosperity in the ensuing decades. Naomi Pollock's excellent The Japanese House Since 1945 traces the evolution of single-family houses across eight decades, focusing as much on the people who live(d) in the houses than the architects who designed them. The book is structured as a chronological, decade-by-decade presentation of nearly one hundred houses across 400 pages. Each house is documented in two to five pages with photographs, drawings, and a brief description. The photographs are of their period, rather than contemporary, probably done because most of the old houses have long been demolished. The floor plans are also original, rather than redrawn for the book, but they use a helpful numbered key that is consistent across the book. Last, and perhaps most important, are Pollock's descriptions, which incorporate quotes from the architects and/or the owners and provide details on the designs and living situations beyond typical surveys. Pollock has written numerous books on Japanese architecture, is an international correspondent for Architectural Record, and has elsewhere brought her firsthand accounts and access to architects in Japan to bear on architecture that many people outside of Japan are fascinated by. Compared to books such as New Architecture in Japan, co-written with Yuki Sumner, and Jutaku: Japanese Houses (see bottom of this review), The Japanese House Since 1945 is her most important and best book to date. Although the Japanese houses that are the subject of Pollock's new book are billed as, per the back cover, "many of the most exceptional and experimental houses in the world," it starts with houses that are more traditional than modern. Kunio Maekawa's own house in Tokyo, completed in 1942, has a wood exterior that "evoked traditional Japanese farmhouses," Pollock writes, but has a "spacious living room, exemplifying Maekawa's vision of the ideal house for the burgeoning modern era." Maekawa worked in the Paris atelier of Le Corbusier, later joining Antonin and Noémi Raymond in Tokyo, two foreign architects who moved to Japan after World War I (Antonin worked with Frank Lloyd Wright on the Imperial Hotel). The couple left Japan ahead of WWII but returned after its conclusion, building a house and studio (above spread) in Tokyo that is also rooted in traditional Japanese architecture but subtly signals this "burgeoning modern era." These two instances illustrate how outside influences entered Japan after the war, with tradition and modernity mixing in ways that would eventually lead to the exceptional architectural experimentation the country is known for. The chronological, decade-by-decade presentation allows the evolution of Japanese residential architecture to unfold gradually and be seen in the context of the 1964 Olympics, Expo 1970 in Osaka, the end of the bubble era, the March 2011 earthquake, COVID-19, and other epoch-defining events that are described by Pollock in intros to each decade. Readers see the introduction of concrete, steel, and other materials in the 1960s and 70s, followed by the light construction of the 80s and 90s, and the formal experimentation of our current century. Each decade has at least one icon — Kiyonori Kikutake's Sky House in the 50s, Kazuo Shinohara's Umbrella House in the 60s, Tadao Ando's Row House in Sumiyoshi in the 70s, etc. — but most readers will find something new among the 98 houses. Even those well-versed in modern Japanese houses will be pleased by the nine "At Home" pieces inserted throughout the book. In these, we learn about Yuki Kikutake, daughter of Kiyonori, growing up in Sky House; Fumihiko Maki writes about his own house built in Tokyo in 1978; and we read about the anonymous husband and wife living in Sou Fujimoto's House NA. A last ingredient is nine spotlights — one at the end of each chapter — that discuss the articulation of various elements: roofs, windows, stairs and corridors, gardens and courtyards, etc. The brief case studies, "At Home" features, and spotlights combine to create a compelling and vivid portrait of modern living in Japan over the last eight decades. Naomi Pollock's latest book prompted me to dig out a few other titles from my library that also present Japanese houses. They are described briefly below, presented in chronological order by date of publication, and are intended for anyone who wants do delve deeper into some of the decades or architects explored in Pollock's book; titles with links point to earlier reviews on this blog. Readers who want a more comprehensive overview of early modern Japanese architecture (not just houses) should find David B. Stewart's The Making of a Modern Japanese Architecture rewarding. The New Japanese House: Ritual and Anti-Ritual, Patterns of Dwelling by Chris Fawcett, published by Harper & Row, 1980 (Amazon / AbeBooks) The push and pull between tradition and modernity is the subject of this book by Chris Fawcett, the British critic who wanted to undo misconceptions in the West about Japanese houses. He focused on "Post-Metabolist" architecture, houses from the late 1960s and the 1970s that he presented as "ritual affirming" and "ritual disaffirming" houses. It's an intriguing book, but not one that seems to have had much of an influence all these years later; I wonder if Fawcett would have gone on to make more lasting and impactful books on Japanese architecture if he didn't die young. The New Japanese House can be bought inexpensively online, but harder to find is GA Houses 4: Ontology of House, Residential Architecture of 1970s in Japan, which features an essay by Fawcett and dozens of houses from that decade. Japan Houses in Ferroconcrete by Makoto Uyeda, photography by Junichi Shimomura, published by Graphic-Sha, 1988 (Amazon / AbeBooks) This book features 35 houses designed by 21 architects, all united by the use of concrete, varying from small applications, such as alongside wood, steel, and other materials, to expansive houses in reinforced concrete by the likes of Tadao Ando. Although dates are not provided for the houses, most are from the 1980s with some from the previous decade. One of the most rewarding aspects of this book, which I was chuffed to discover while browsing a used bookstore, is the fact all of the photographs — and there are A LOT of them — were specially taken for the book; they go much deeper inside the houses than the "official" photographs found in monographs and other publications. Tadao Ando 1: Houses and Housing, published by Toto, 2007 (Amazon / AbeBooks) 2G N.58/59: Kazuo Shinohara Houses edited by David B. Stewart, Shin-Ichi Okuyama and Taishin Shiozaki, published by Editorial Gustavo Gili, 2011 (Amazon / AbeBooks) One thing I find appealing about architecture in Japan is the way many famous architects there continue to design single-family houses even after getting hired for museums, office buildings, and other larger projects; houses are not merely a leg up to bigger commissions. In turn, monographs on architects' houses can occasionally be found. A couple favorites of mine are the first book in Toto's now-five-strong series on Tadao Ando (Houses and Housing was followed by Outside Japan, Inside Japan, New Endeavors, and Dialogues) and a double issue of 2G devoted to the houses of Kazuo Shinohara built between 1959 and 1988. In addition to them including some of the best modern Japanese houses ever built, the two publications are beautifully produced. Small Houses: Contemporary Japanese Dwellings by Claudia Hildner, published by Birkhäuser, 2011 (Amazon / AbeBooks) Another appealing aspect of Japanese houses is their size. Even though the petit houses prevalent in Japan can be attributed to the country's population density, the breaking up parcels to pay for inheritance taxes, as mentioned above, and other considerations that aren't necessarily geared to the sustainability of living small, it's refreshing to see so much creativity put into small houses rather than the oversized houses that are the norm in the US. This appropriately small book is a good collection of around two-dozen small houses by Go Hasegawa, Atelier Bow-Wow, Sou Fujimoto, and others, all of them completed within the few years leading up to the book's publication. The years since have seen many more creative Japanese houses but fewer house books for readers outside of Japan; websites are now the norm, but I'd be more than happy with more books like Small Houses. How to Make a Japanese House by Cathelijne Nuijsink, published by NAi Publishers, 2012 (Amazon / Bookshop) Astute readers may have noticed that most of the books featured in this post were authored by foreigners (Pollock from the US, Fawcett from the UK, Hildner from Germany, Nuijsink from The Netherlands), which goes hand in hand with the strong appeal Japanese houses have on people outside of Japan. I can't imagine a book titled "How to Make a Japanese House" coming from a Japanese architect; they would not need to explain the work they do on a daily basis to fellow Japanese architects doing the same. For Cathelijne Nuijsink, the premise of the book allowed her to explore the making of Japanese houses through in-depth interviews with four generations of their creators: Jun Aoki, Kazuyo Sejima, Junya Ishigami, and so on. It's an excellent book that remains in print a decade later. Jutaku: Japanese Houses by Naomi Pollock, published by Phaidon, 2015 (Amazon / Bookshop) Appropriately, this review of Naomi Pollock's The Japanese House Since 1945 ends with another book by Pollock: a compact Phaidon picture book with more than 400 contemporary Japanese houses, from Hokkaido in the snowy north to Kyushu in the subtropical south. Not surprisingly, most of the houses are found in Kanto Prefecture, which is anchored by Tokyo. It's a stellar collection that suffers from too much in a small package: there is only one photo per house, an exterior photo that shows readers what anyone would be able to see in public, just hinting at the qualities within. Two photos per house — one outside, one inside — could have been done with a slightly larger paper size. Alas, the book proves the creativity in Japanese residential architecture but leaves us wanting more — much more.

The recent publication of two books prompted me to ponder the future of cities and do a write-up of them together: Implementing Urban Design: Green, Civic, and Community Strategies by Jonathan Barnett, published by Routledge, June 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Renewing the Dream: The Mobility Revolution and the Future of Los Angeles edited by James Sanders, published by Rizzoli Electa, September 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Implementing Urban Design is the latest of many books about urban design and planning by Jonathan Barnett, whose career and CV span around fifty years. Over that time he has served as an architect, planner, educator, and an advisor to cities in and beyond the US, including Charleston, South Carolina, Omaha, and New York City, where he was Director of Urban Design in the Department of City Planning. When I received Implementing Urban Design, one of the first things I did was scour my bookshelves for other books by Barnett (something I do with most other reviews). There I found his first book, Urban Design as Public Policy: Practical Methods for Improving Cities, published in 1974. It, his first book, summarized his efforts in that role at NYC Planning, presenting the working methods behind the projects he worked on and doing it in ways that other urban designers in other places could learn from them. Just as Barnett's first book was "concerned with techniques of dealing with a number of significant urban and environmental problems which are found in existing cities, or are created when new areas are developed," his latest book focuses on the "complicated interactive process" that is required to move urban designs from their conceptual phases to completion. "What happens in between," in other words, is the subject of Implementing Urban Design, illustrated in ten chapters with case studies drawn from Barnett's experience as an urban design consultant. New York City is here, in chapter 3, "Designing Cities Without Designing Buildings," an echo of a chapter of the same name in the 1974 book. The chapter in the earlier book includes, among other projects, the Lincoln Square Special Zoning District, created in the wake of construction of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and developers rushing to build near it. A requirement to build to the sidewalk (to a height of at least 85') and including arcades for the buildings on the east side of Broadway were the most dramatic components of the special district. Too early to see its impact in 1974, Implementing Urban Design shows the area nearly fifty years later, with a hodgepodge of towers on podiums along Broadway but a street wall that is fairly cohesive. Although the arcade requirement was eventually eliminated from the special district (they're now "permitted" rather than required, such that recent projects like Robert A. M. Stern's 15 Central Park West don't have one), the bulk of the requirements are there, working to maintain that certain design aspects of Broadway north of Columbus Circle extend into the future. The same chapter in the new book also touches on the office campus of PPG in Pittsburgh and a streetscape handbook for Norfolk, Virginia, but other chapters often delve deeper into individual projects in individual cities. For example, chapter nine, "Mobilizing Support to Redesign an Entire City," presents Barnett's process in the fairly massive creation of a master plan for Omaha, Nebraska (the cover depicts a visualization from the plan). Another chapter, "Changing Regulations to Prevent Suburban Sprawl," documents his work with Wildwood, a town west of St. Louis that incorporated in 1995 and wanted to develop a new zoning ordinance that would be appropriate to the area and veer from the suburban norm. My wife being from St. Louis, a city I've in turn visited numerous times, attracted me to this chapter, whose theme — preventing urban sprawl — is of undeniable importance. Barnett walks through the process in detail, from initial contact and developing a team, to research, concepts, writing the master plan and development regulations, and devising a specific plan for the Town Center. The last is now just partially built out, about 25 years after Barnett was brought in. But if we learned anything from the Lincoln Square example, urban designs can take upwards of fifty years until they are "complete." Spread from Renewing the Dream: The Mobility Revolution and the Future of Los Angeles If the visuals in Implementing Urban Design are, to put it inelegantly, less than sexy, the opposite is true of Renewing the Dream, which was edited by James Sanders, author of Celluloid Skyline, and produced in association with Woods Bagot, the Australian firm that now boasts 17 offices around the world. The "freshest member" of the global studio, founded in 2020, is in Los Angeles, where numerous projects to date have focused on transportation, including a concourse at LAX and a proposal for turning gas stations in Los Angeles into EV charging stations with cultural components like drive-in theaters. This beautifully produced coffee table book is full of striking visuals by Woods Bagot and from the worlds of art, photography, and cinema. Even though Renewing the Dream presents a number of projects by the LA studio of Woods Bagot, including the ReCharge LA Prototype EV Station, I wouldn't call the book a monograph. Consisting of a half-dozen essays and two interviews alongside case studies of Woods Bagot projects — all geared around the theme of the "mobility revolution" in Los Angeles — the book's genre is indefinable: it is a hybrid that Sanders describes in the introduction as a "kaleidoscopic portrait" of LA, with "an unusually wide-ranging mix of content—research and data studies, urban design and public art projects, cultural and historical overviews, surveys of current and future technologies." ReCharge LA Prototype EV Station by Matt Ducharme and Woods Bagot Los Angeles Studio The book's wide-ranging content is predicated on what Sanders and Woods Bagot call LA 3.0, a new Los Angeles in the making, following LA 2.0, the freeway and tract-housing landscape of the mid-20th century, and, before that, LA 1.0, the streetcar and boulevard paradigm before WWII. Some of the in-progress LA 3.0 is mandated — extending the subway by 2028, the year of the LA Olympics, and the outlaw of gas cars and trucks for sale by 2035, accelerating the rise of EVs — but much of it comes from wider developments that aren't necessarily rooted in LA but have taken hold there, notably the climate emergency (think the Getty Fire in 2019) and digital technologies like Uber, which eliminate the need for personal cars on, for instance, nights out with friends. Los Angeles may seem like the most unlikely place for a book devoted to a mobility revolution, but my personal experience with LA gave me the opposite impression. My only trip to the city was around twenty years ago, when I spent two weeks there working on a competition with a short deadline. I stayed at the Biltmore in downtown, with a view of Pershing Square out my window. My morning commute was walking across the street to U.S. Bank Tower; my evening commute, 12 or 16 hours later, was the opposite. No car, no driving — a very un-LA experience of LA. But on weekends I walked around DTLA, took buses to the Getty Center and Santa Monica, and rode the subway to West Hollywood. Although I was a tourist, my experience showed me it was possible to navigate a good deal of LA without a car. An expanded subway network, more frequent buses, urban design focused on walkability and bicycling — it isn't hard to consider these and other efforts having dramatic changes on the car-centric nature of Los Angeles. Yet, the wide-ranging mix of content in Renewing the Dream reveals that the biggest impact of mobility advances on the city — any American city, really, not just LA — is found in parking. If changes in laws, increased public transit, technology advances, and other things lead Americans and Angelenos to have fewer cars, drive less, and use ride-sharing and take public transit more, then the many square miles of surface parking lots can be given over to spaces for people, not cars: densifying (sub)urban areas and providing housing and other much-needed functions. So, in addition to the ReCharge LA project, the book includes MORE LA, Woods Bagot's study for infilling lots previously used for surface parking, and Sanders' own California Court project, a denser version of the city's beloved bungalow courtyards apartments from a century ago. The last, documented in the 1982 book Courtyard Housing in Los Angeles, is one of a few-dozen books in the bibliography whose quotes and influence pepper Renewing the Dream. The older book and newer proposal illustrate that, while certain elements of the mobility revolution are linear and future-oriented, some of them are historical and cyclical. The answers to tomorrow's sustainable Los Angeles, in other words, are found as much in the city's existing built environment as they are in technologies and designs still to come.

In 1939, Otto Neurath's Modern Man in the Making was released by Alfred A. Knopf. Neurath was director of the International Foundation of Visual Information and used the Isotype (International System of Typographic Picture Education) system to "teach through the eye." A recent article describes Modern Man in the Making as a "pictorial statistical history of human technological adaptation and social cooperation [that] addressed a modern audience searching for optimistic narratives amid an economically, politically, and socially volatile era." The book is a classic, and for someone like me who veers toward arguments made in a combination of words and images, it is a book I should probably have — at the very least, I should know more about it. Although it was released as a trade book, can be found cheaply in b/w reprints, and is freely available on the Internet Archive, first editions of Modern Man in the Making go for hundreds and thousands of dollars. This is one of those books that screams out for a high-quality facsimile edition — and it will be getting that treatment early next year, courtesy of Lars Müller Publishers. The timing is curious, though, as Lars Müller just released Joy and Fear, in which Theo Deutinger brings the subjects and visual techniques of Neurath's magnum opus into the 21st century. Although Deutinger writes that his book "enters in dialogue" with Neurath's book, I couldn't help thinking that the two books side by side would heighten the differences and similarities, the constants and changes between the 1930s and the 2020s. Alas, I'll have to wait until February to do that. Joy and Fear is not the first book by Theo Deutinger published by Lars Müller. That was Handbook of Tyranny, which was published in 2018 and was recently released in an updated, expanded edition. I didn't see it upon its initial release, though I did catch Deutinger's display of the book's illustrations — the walls, fences, and other means of controlling human behavior in cities — in actual objects: plants, railings, barbed wire, a prison jumpsuit and other pieces of the "routine cruelties of the twenty-first century" at the Storefront for Art and Architecture. That 2019 exhibition prompted me to get the book and then write a review: "The straightforward illustrations look like they could have been pulled from Architectural Graphic Standards, making the book read at times like an actual handbook for tyrannical dictators." Deutinger's "detailed non-fictional graphic illustrations," as described by the publisher, also owe a debt to Neurath, as evinced by the publication of Joy and Fear. People who already own the first edition of Handbook of Tyranny won't find it necessary to buy the update, given that the changes amount to just eight new pages and consist mainly of some new paragraphs here and there, and the reordering of charts and graphics to reflect the state of the world five years later. Still, I appreciated the fact Deutinger went to the effort of an update, doing something that was de rigueur in books decades ago but is now rare, almost exclusively the province of the internet, which can be updated in close to real time. But Deutinger's illustrations — almost subversive in their dryness — are appropriate to the pages of a book; I feel like they would lose something on the screen, even though the changes impacting his illustrations happen at a clip much faster than in half-decade intervals. Spread from Handbook of Tyranny (Expanded Edition) by Theo Deutinger, published by Lars Múller Publishers, June 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) In between Handbook of Tyranny and Joy and Fear, Deutinger and Lars Müller put out Ultimate Atlas: Logbook of Spaceship Earth, a book that uses lines — and nothing else — "to create a total portrait of the planet." No wonder one review calls it "the ultimate simplification of reality." I haven't seen that book, but visually it seems that Joy and Fear strikes a balance between the highly detailed illustrations of Tyranny and the minimalism of Ultimate Atlas, as if Neurath's Isotype cannot be improved upon in describing the state of the world over time. As described above, Deutinger's book "dialogues" with Neurath's nearly century-old book. It does this by extending the timeline to the present and adjusting some data visualization from the original; the latter updates are highlighted with the icon of a person holding up a sign. What does the book reveal about the modern world? Clearly, yet unfortunately and not surprisingly, that progress is being made by the few, not the many: geographically, demographically, politically, economically, etc. Spread from Joy and Fear: An Illustrated Report on Modernity by Theo Deutinger, published by Lars Múller Publishers, September 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) The spread above can serve to illustrate how the book works. The red, blue, and black chart on the left shows household ownership of amenities in the USA, from 1910 to 2020, including such items as computers, phones, wifi, telephones (cell and landline separately), toilets, and electricity. Most of the amenities are full as of 2020, though only one — landline telephones — is in decline. Though the same chart for other geographical areas would be telling, the opposite page shows an update version of data viz. from Neurath's 1939 book: radios, TVs, and cars in the 1930s (top) and 2020s (bottom) in the six geographical regions used throughout Deutinger's book (USA and Canada, Europe, CIS, Latin America, Southern Territories, Far East). Although the scales change between the two charts, it's clear that the regions in the bottom rows (Latin America, Southern Territories, Far East) have become more modern in recent decades. But it's up to the reader to speculate on what so many cars mean, for instance, to our warming planet. Visualizing how the continued burning of fossil flues will impact our warming planet is one subject of Climate Inheritance, the latest book from Design Earth, the brilliantly inventive studio of Rania Ghosn and El Hadi Jazairy that previously wrote and illustrated Geographies of Trash (2015), Geostories: Another Architecture for the Environment (2018), and The Planet After Geoengineering (2021). The cover features one of the many beautiful illustrations populating the book: a diagram of aquifers refilled by injecting storm water into "bladders" that serve to raise the sinking city of Venice. Venice and its Lagoon is one of ten sites in the book, each one on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Others include the Galápagos Islands, Sagarmatha National Park, and the Statue of Liberty. What is the future of such places — heritage sites that are already preserved to a greater extent than other places — when the Anthropocene leads to inherited conditions future generations may not anticipate? Spread from Climate Inheritance by Rania Ghosn and El Hadi Jazairy (DESIGN EARTH), published by Actar Publishers, August 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) By way of illustration, the chapter on the Statue of Liberty indicates that Design Earth is not interested exclusively on the preservation and care of monuments, of places deemed heritage sites; what they symbolize is also important, revealing that inheritances involve myriad problems beyond the environmental and physical. To Ghosn and Jazairy, the statue gifted to the USA from France is about patina, poverty, and pollution: "The ecology of the color line is more than skin deep." Pollution led to damage on the skin of the statue and the need for numerous restorations, but well beyond that, "disparate exposure to pollutants," the book reads in regards to today's reframing of socioeconomic inequalities, "may help explain racial discrepancies in lung functioning." In Design Earth's imagined future, the Statue of Liberty appears to be joined by a "Brown Lady Liberty," the symbol of "a long awaited but not yet actualized freedom that was articulated over a century and a half ago." One more book that joins with the other three to be — in my mind, at least — an illustration of how images are effective in describing the world and the way it changes over time is Stephen J. Eskilson's Digital Design: A History. Eskilson's book, unlike the other three, does not use newly created images to create a narrative, but the story that he is telling is about images: design in its various aspects, from graphic and industrial design to architecture and data visualization. It's a history that needs to be told, especially since people now born into the digital world don't realize how developments in design from the 20th and even earlier centuries shaped our digital present — and likewise will shape our digital futures. Architecture is the subject of two chapters: "Digital Architecture I: Origins" and "Digital Architecture II: Parametrics and 3D Printing." (The latest buzz in architecture — and just about every realm, really — AI, is treated in its own chapter.) In the first architecture chapter, Eskilson moves from the Sydney Opera House, in which "[Ove] Arup pioneered the use of computational analysis," to Peter Cook and Colin Fournier's Kunsthaus Graz via Frank Gehry in Bilbao, Deleuze and Guattari's A Thousand Plateaus, and Greg Lynn. The second chapter jumps ahead to Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher, especially the latter's wholehearted, sometimes controversial embrace of parametricism, while also looking at how digital software bridges construction via 3D printing and robotics. This is design history, remember, so there is nothing novel in what Eskilson discusses, but he succinctly traces some of the most important developments to describe our current condition. (Unfortunately, one typo — and I hope it's just that — distracted me while reading the first architecture chapter: Eskilson calls AD, the "magazine that associated digital architecture with aspects of structuralist theory," Architectural Digest instead of Architectural Design! I can't think of more polar opposites than these two publications sharing the first term and abbreviation but having very little else in common.) Spread from Digital Design: A History by Stephen Eskilson, published by Princeton University Press, October 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Even with two architecture chapters among its twelve chapters, most interesting to me is the chapter devoted to data visualization, a subject that is also strongly aligned with Neurath and Deutinger. Like other chapters in the book, Eskilson briskly covers decades and centuries in just around twenty pages, moving from 18th-century charts and graphs to digital data on websites, across buildings, and on the walls of galleries. Some of what makes this chapter so appealing is the abundance of examples unknown to me, such as Nam June Paik's Electronic Superhighway (1995), which is pictured above, has a permanent home at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and now I feel I must go see. (That said, I wish the book had a list of books for further reading, and I am surprised that a book published by a university press has no footnotes at all.) More recent examples are really interesting, including Oliver O'Brien's Tube Tongues (2014), an interactive map that shows the prevalence of non-English speaking in different London neighborhoods. Rising to the fore re: data viz., though, is the importance of design/the designer in making data in digital environments visible and understandable, especially when the output is on a website and via an API, for instance, rather than in a book and done by an illustrator. The books above may be old-fashioned, just by the fact they are books rather than digital environments, but they offer plenty to consider in regards to thinking about and visualizing the world around us — now and in the future.

Over at World-Architects I reviewed As Found: Experiments in Preservation (Flanders Architecture Institute, 2023) edited by Sofie De Caigny, Hülya Ertas and Bie Plevoets, the companion to the exhibition of the same name at the Flanders Architecture Institute. Read my review here.

The recent receipt of two review books got me thinking about the past and the future of architecture books. The first one is This is Architecture: Writing on Buildings, a collection of excerpted texts about buildings, spanning from the mid-1800s to the 2010s. This is Architecture: Writing on Buildings edited by Stephen Bayley and Robert Bargery, published by Unicorn Publishing Group, October 2022 (Amazon / Bookshop) Edited by Stephen Bayley and Robert Bargery, respectively chair and executive director of the UK's Royal Fine Art Commission Trust, This Is Architecture is billed as "different" from the typical "writing on building by architects [that] is limited to exculpatory manifestos or technical sermonizing to a captive congregation of converts." They describe the nearly 100 excerpted texts as "exceptional examples of writing on buildings by writers which merit inclusion on the quality of the writing alone" (emphasis in original). So readers find Lewis Mumford, Ada Louise Huxtable, Ian Nairn, Martin Pawley, and others who wrote (well) about architecture for a living, but also Virginia Woolf, Umberto Eco, Jean Baudrillard, Blaise Cendrars, and others far removed from the field of architecture. The aims of the "non-partisan" and "non-didactic" selection are to "enhance popular appreciation of architecture and to celebrate those who are architecture's eloquent champions." Presented in a "running order [that] is essentially random," each writing is accompanied by a biography of the author in a narrow column; in a few cases the excerpt is so short the bio runs longer on the page, as in the four lines from Louis Kahn's Conversations with Students from 1969. As in any book that is basically a survey, a collection of things united by a theme, it's easiest as a reviewer to focus on organization, presentation, and selection. In order, I find the "essentially random" organization interesting at times (Kahn's text opposite Rem Koolhaas's Delirious New York, for instance) but for the most part insignificant, since many entries span multiple pages, each one serves as a self-contained statement, and such a book can be read in many ways beyond the usual front to back. The presentation is very good, from the glossy papers with occasional images to the inclusion of a ribbon bookmark and the list of sources in the back matter. The selection is fittingly UK-centric, with numerous English critics alongside Nairn and Pawley, for instance, and far too many writings about London and buildings in London. But where are Michael Sorkin and Herbert Muschamp, two US critics who I read for "the thrill of their prose" and "the stimulation to be had from their insights," qualities the editors find lacking in architectural criticism? Unfortunately, they are missing: a shame, given that Muschamp's nearly iconic critique of Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Bilbao is far more interesting than Jonathan Glancey's piece excerpted here. Judging the book based on what it includes, rather than what it omits, and doing so in the context of me thinking about the past and future of architecture books, This Is Architecture says a few main things to me: writings on buildings are not the sole purview of architects and architecture critics, since architecture is "the most important art because [it is] the one that cannot be ignored," as the editors assert; architecture is more than aesthetics and style, as evidenced by the texts that focus on other aspects of the built environment; and the most influential writings on architecture have not been exclusively in books, given the numerous texts excerpted from magazines and journals, some of which were later collected in book form (think Martin Filler's NYRB essays and his Makers of Modern Architecture series). These three points are hardly groundbreaking — they're obvious, really — but it's good to be reminded now and again about such things. While the point of This Is Architecture is to take pleasure in things written in the past, it inadvertently says some things about the future by focusing on a diversity of voices, approaches to writing about architecture, and media. Which brings us to the second book, Future Book(s), in which editors Pia Pol and Astrid Vorstermans asked journalists, artists, architects, and others to speculate on the future of the book, specifically "books on art, design and architecture, and cultural-critical publications." Future Book(s): Sharing Ideas on Books and (Art) Publishing edited by Pia Pol and Astrid Vorstermans, published by Valiz, June 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) The occasion of the recently published book is the twentieth anniversary of Valiz, the Amsterdam publisher started by Vorstermans in June 2003 (Pol joined in 2008). The last twenty pages of Future Book(s) shows the covers of the many books put out by Valiz over those twenty years, some in series (Antennae, Vis–à–Vis), many in Dutch and almost as many in English, and all on art, design and architecture, and culture, as expected. I have not read any Valiz books before Future Book(s) (one of their books, Binational Urbanism: On the Road to Paradise, was featured on this blog, but reviewed by an outside contributor), but it's clear the publisher focuses on the margins, presenting work by artists, practitioners, and academics that explore new territory in their fields. The design of Future Book(s) accentuates their position; in many ways the book is the antithesis of This Is Architecture, from the voices included in its pages to the materiality and layout of the same: the glossy This Is Architecture has a staid, consistent format from piece to piece, while the various chapters of Future Book(s) were laid out by different graphic designers, limited only by the monochrome palette of the lightweight matte paper. If This Is Architecture's random order makes flipping through the book one of surprising adjacencies, Future Book(s) is the same times ten. Each thematic chapter may be united by a single graphic designer, but each contribution is treated singularly, meaning they are visually unique but often wholly unexpected takes on the subject at hand. A fairly academic text with footnotes but sans illustrations may be followed by a two-page spread that is entirely illustrated content, followed by six pages of artworks, followed by a personal anecdote, and so on. The themes that structure the book (Personal Threads, Histories Unfolding, Digital Realms, Shaping Future Form, etc.) are vague enough that contributions could fit in just about any of them; in fact, the editors admit the dozen themes were came later, meaning the contributors were not beholden to any themes in speculating on future books. Still, the editors give some hints in their introduction: "By definition, books are made for the future. They solidify knowledge while at the same time generating new ideas. They make sure that the now finds a place where it is accessible to the future." While the comments of Vorstermans and Pol make it seem that threats to the future of the book are hyperbolic, there is no shortage of contributors imagining distant futures where books take on forms different than the bound books we are familiar with. Books 200 years in the future, as seen in Elisabeth Klement and Pieter Verbeke's contribution, look like books, but they are made underwater, celebrated at the New York Art Book Fair Under Water 2223, and read by dogs, who have evolved considerably in the ensuing two centuries. In Tricia Treacy's piece, "What If?," shortages of paper are addressed through algorithms that "design and print several different texts of interest, overlapping on individual sheets of paper throughout a custom book..." More than one contribution examines how AI will be involved in the making of books, but nobody denies that ChatGPT and other will be involved to some degree. Uniting the texts, as I mentioned, are the nearly dozen designers, whose treatment of the contributions illustrates the importance of graphic design and the inadequate nature of web pages and other digital media by comparison. My reading through of This is Architecture and Future Book(s) coincided with me visiting The Book in the Age of ... exhibition at Harvard GSD's Loeb Library, which I reviewed for World-Architects a couple of weeks ago. Curated by Rem Koolhaas, Irma Boom, and Phillip Denny, among other elements the exhibition had (it ended yesterday after six weeks) a large three-part "book" on a table near the entrance to the library. Across the three parts, it moved from books in the age of "the hand" to the age of "press" to the age of "machine." One page in the last included this statement relevant to the blog post you're reading: "The future book is local. It is made from locally produced materials, printed nearby, and delivered to homegrown readership. Hyper-local publishing will lead to a renaissance of book innovation." Positioned beneath an image of the cover of Elements of Architecture, the massive book by Rem Koolhaas and Irma Boom that came out of Koolhaas's 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale, but not attributed to anyone, the statement (image above) comes across to me as Boom's, given how she has spoken about the appeal of books from the 1500s, the 1600s, and the 1960s: "periods [that] demonstrate freedom and creativity in the use of materials, typography, sizes of the books, and structure of the texts" (source). An example from the 1960s is Art of the Sixties, published by the Wallraf-Richartz Museum with plastic covers, a plexiglass spine, metal screws, color photos pasted on brown paper, and portraits of the artists on transparent foils (take a look). The 1500s and 1600s follow the invention of the Gutenberg press, while the sixties came after the war and coincided with great social change. Similarly, the digital software and other tools that led to e-ink, ebooks, and other potential book-busting technologies will most likely herald this "renaissance of book innovation." The statement from the exhibition also indicates that bookmaking will have to respond to climate change, dwindling resources, and other things that will (continue to) impact our globalized world. Books tend to be produced in one place (unknown for This Is Architecture, Netherlands for Future Book(s)) and then are shipped around the world from there; "hyper-local publishing" would reduce the need for books to be loaded on container ships and sent halfway around the world, using digital technologies and local printers to create variations on a book based on papers, inks, bindings, etc. It would also lead to more variations on subjects, as seen in these two books, considering the UK-centric nature of This Is Architecture and the numerous Dutch voices in Future Book(s). Actually, the UK- and NL-focus of these two books are what made me think of the statement from The Book in the Age of ... exhibition. If the future book is hyper-local, not just national or local, dramatic changes in production and distribution should lead to changes in content and design. Who knows, maybe the 2030s will be as exciting as the 1500s, 1600s, and 1960s?

Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, the English architect who was born in 1869 and died in 1944, that is. Although a famous name, Lutyens was not an architect I had much familiarity with before I received a review copy of the first volume of The Architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens. Flipping through it prompted me to do a little digging on Lutyens in other publications. Racking my brain, it seems my classmates and I learned very little about him in architecture school a few decades ago. As a traditionalist with buildings in Arts and Crafts, Edwardian, and neoclassical garb, Lutyens was far removed from the concerns of postmodernism, deconstructivism, and any other –isms in vogue a half-century after his death. If we had heard his name, it was most likely in regards to what's referred to as Lutyens’ Delhi in New Delhi, the British colonial capital in India that he laid out and designed buildings for between 1912 and 1931. The Beaux-Arts plan culminated in the Viceroy's House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan), the grandiose domed presidential residence, inaugurated in 1931, that is arguably his greatest building. Yet, when I dig into my library to find some mention of Lutyens, the few titles I can find emphasize his country houses rather than his work in India. The trusty Encyclopedia of 20th-Century Architecture (2004), for instance, devotes one short paragraph to New Delhi, it coming after a handful of paragraphs listing his many notable country houses. In her entry on Lutyens, Hilary J. Grainger calls him "one of the most noteworthy English architects of his generation," one who was "above all, a domestic architect." In another instance, the first US edition of Nikolaus Pevsner's A Dictionary of Architecture (1976) praises the "genuine monumentality" of the Viceroy's House but goes further in describing his early Arts and Crafts houses as "excellent" and his later Edwardian houses as "really spectacular." Although Lutyens is nowhere to be found in Pevsner's An Outline of European Architecture (1943) or in his influential genealogical history of modernism, Pioneers of Modern Design (1949; originally published as Pioneers of the Modern Movement in 1936), Pevsner did write a lengthy reassessment of Lutyens for Architectural Review in 1951. The occasion was the then-recent publication of the three-volume The Architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens by A.S.G. Butler and The Life of Sir Edwin Lutyens by Christopher Hussey. Pevsner admits he did not find Lutyens as important in the development of European architecture as C.F.A. Voysey and Charles Renee Mackintosh, two contemporaries both in Pioneers, but given that Lutyens built more than them and his "success was so much bigger and maintained over so much longer a period," Pevsner found the large three-volume monograph and 600-page biography sufficiently warranted. What stands out to me are how Pevsner praises Lutyens' "immense care over details," which is paralleled by the many exquisite detail drawings in the three volumes by Butler, and "the fun he had with space," a bit of a surprise given the traditional nature of the plans he developed. Pevsner's statement that "Lutyens’ handling of space has not in the past been sufficiently appreciated," says to me why this noteworthy English architect failed to impact the architects who overlapped with him chronologically but went down different avenues in the 20th century: with modernism's focus on space, especially open and flowing space, Lutyens offered little overt inspiration. Similar sentiments to Pevsner's are explored in Architectural Monographs No. 6, published by Andreas Papadakis in 1979. The foreword to the monograph edited by David Dunster and featuring a lengthy essay by Peter Inskip starts: "This issue of Architectural Monographs is something of a departure" from previous issues, among them Michael Graves and Alvar Aalto, because Lutyens "has never been canonized by architectural historians as a predecessor of the Modern Movement." It continues: "His vast output of over 300 buildings and projects shows a continuing fascination with traditional construction techniques and borrowing from the past," as evident in "the scale and detailing of the functionally distinct rooms." No new technologies and no open plans — no wonder Lutyens has remained influential with classically trained architects but not with modernists (not that there are just the two camps, of course). While Inskip looks at Lutyens' houses from a "modernist point of view," he was not the first to do so. A decade earlier, in the pages of Perspecta 12: The Yale Architectural Journal, architect Allan Greenberg explored architectural similarities between Lutyens and Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier. Greenberg's 1969 essay, "Lutyens' Architecture Restudied," was later put into book form, in 2007, as Lutyens and the Modern Movement. In the earlier essay he presents numerous floor plans of Lutyens' houses from the first decade of the 1900s and points out a few characteristics common to them: a symmetrical disposition of rooms; a solid mass (or void) at the crossing of the main axes; an independent circulation pattern overlaid on the first two; and an intricate plan hidden by the formal, symmetrical massing and elevations. It is in the plan where he links Lutyens and Wright, finding the same four characteristics in Wright's Ward Willits House from 1901. The departure in the two architects' contemporaneous plans are rooted in space: "Wright's space is continuous and flowing," Greenberg writes, while "Lutyens seldom planned continuous spaces [...] but he was aware of the potential." Greenberg finds some of the same with Corbusier's houses of the 1920s, though he also discusses the similarities between New Delhi and Chandigarh at length. Which brings me to the impetus for this post: The Architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens, Volume 1: Country Houses by A.S.G. Butler with George Stewart and Christopher Hussey, published by ACC Art Books, April 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) As mentioned above, The Architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens — aka the Lutyens Memorial Series, given that it was published six years after his death — was first published in 1950 in three volumes, the first on "Country Houses"; the second on "Gardens, Delhi, and Washington"; and the third on "Public Buildings, Etc." The originals (now fetching thousands of dollars) were published by Country Life, the British magazine founded by Edward Hudson in 1897. (Country Life also published the Lutyens biography by Christopher Hussey mentioned above.) Not only did Hudson commission Lutyens for several houses, most notably Deanery Gardens (1901) and Lindisfarne Castle (1903), and the magazine's offices, he regularly published the architect's buildings in his magazine. The photos, drawings, and text from the magazine are what became the three-part Memorial. The large-format books (12x16"!) were reprinted by the Antique Collectors Club at least twice that I gather, in 1984 and 2002, each in limited print runs. The new reprints are being published by ACC Art Books, the successor to the Antique Collectors Club, which was bought by The Images Publishing Group in 2016. The first volume, featured here, was published in spring of this year, the second volume came just last month, and the third volume is forthcoming. Around the time of the 2002 reprint, Gavin Stamp wrote an extensive introduction for Edwin Lutyens: Country Houses (From the Archives of Country Life), published by Aurum Press and The Monacelli Press. Although Stamp was, from the best of my limited knowledge of him, an architectural historian more interested in Greek, Victorian, and other architectures predating modernism, he also felt the need to align Lutyens with modern architecture, specifically Wright. His introduction quotes a review of the Memorial series by Wright himself, from a 1951 issue of Building magazine: "[I] voice admiration of the love, loyalty, and art with which this cultured architect, in love with Architecture, shaped his buildings. To him the English chimney, the Gable, the Gatepost monumentalized in good brickwork and cut-stone were motifs to be dramatized with great skill. He was able to idealize them with a success unequaled." So, basically, in the 20th century, the relevance of Lutyens relied on his architecture being influential on younger generations of architects who were trained in modernism or, in later decades, were dabbling in postmodernism. Even A.S.G. Butler and his collaborators wrote in Country Houses that, while "Sir Edwin was not a notable exponent of the slick modern mode," they did not believe "the architecture of Lutyens was outside the main stream [sic] of modern work." Does the same striving to align Lutyens with modern architecture apply today, in the third decade of the 21st century, more than 150 years after the birth of Lutyens and more than 75 years after his death? My opinion, and it is just that, is no, the archive of Lutyens' architecture can stand on its own without the need for it to be aligned with more forward-thinking contemporaries. If anything, the opposite of previous attempts is most valid today: his work is an inspiration for architects more inclined to vernacular, classical, and other traditional styles of architecture. While I'm not a proponent of 21st-century classicism, I'm all for a plurality of architectural expressions — if they're done intelligently, capably, and, dare I say, beautifully. And with the superrich getting superricher, our current age isn't too far off from the late 1800s, when Lutyens started designing country houses for people of means. Put another way, large houses on par with those in Country Houses are being made today, unfortunately as lousy McMansions rather than tasteful and complex compositions rooted in architects like Lutyens. I'm generalizing, to be sure, but the audience for this book is both well-defined and likely to buy it. The series, it should be noted, is the winner of the inaugural ICAA Book of the Year from the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. With all that said, is The Architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens, Volume 1: Country Houses, keeping in mind that it is a reprint of a nearly 75-year-old book, good? The quality of the reprint is nearly perfect, with a good selection of papers for the three sequential parts of the book: the texts, the drawings, and the black-and-white photographs. Text and drawings are on matte heavyweight pages, while the photos are on glossy paper. The inks make everything read well; in particular, the drawing reproductions are exquisite. The book is big and apparently well-built, but a tear at the hinge of the paste-down endpaper and free endpaper indicates it might not be strong enough. Hence, not quite perfect. My main frustrations are with the format of the book, which obviously goes back to the original. The text is page after page of wide justified columns — four to a spread, roughly fifty pages without a single illustration; it's a bit of a slog. Houses in the roughly chronological text are keyed to the drawings, which are numbered I to CX and logically follow the text. I often appreciate properly keyed texts, like here, but without any inline images this format requires a lot of flipping back-and-forth in a very big book. And the photos that come third and last in the book? They are numbered, 1 to 271, but they not keyed to the texts or the drawings. What is the result of this three-part structure? Unless you follow the text closely, dutifully flipping to the drawings and searching for the related photographs, forming a mental image of each house (and there are many) based on description, drawing, and photographs is difficult. The Papadakis and Monacelli books mentioned above use project structures more common in architectural monographs, with text descriptions alongside photographs and drawings; these make knowing Castle Drogo, Grey Walls, The Salutation, Tigbourne, and other houses by name that much easier. Familiarity in The Architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens comes with a bit more effort, but it's an effort architects interested in Lutyens will find rewarding. Spread from The Architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens, Volume 1: Country Houses Spread from The Architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens, Volume 1: Country Houses Spread from The Architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens, Volume 1: Country Houses

Blue Dream is a house designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro for Julia "Julie" Reyes Taubman and her husband Robert "Bobby" Taubman. The house, located in East Hampton, on the South Fork of Long Island, was completed in 2017, nearly 30 years after the architects were commissioned to design their first house on Long Island, the Slow House. A book devoted to Blue Dream, written by Paul Goldberger, was released last month by DelMonico Books. Blue Dream and the Legacy of Modernism in the Hamptons: A House by Diller Scofidio + Renfro by Paul Goldberger, photography by Iwan Baan, published by DelMonico Books, September 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Like other architects educated in the United States in the early 1990s, the architecture of Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio was an inspiration to me. Diller + Scofidio had built very little then, but their beautiful drawings and means of presenting them exhibited a clear desire to build. The only constructing they did then was temporary, almost exclusively in theaters and galleries. Even without a building to their name, their first monograph, Flesh: Architectural Probes, was published in 1994 (the butt cheeks on the front and back covers and butt-crack binding set it apart from every other architecture book). A standout project, coming near at the end of the monograph, is the Slow House, which had already brought D+R attention when it won a P/A Award and graced the cover of Progressive Architecture's January 1991 issue (PDF link). Model of Slow House from DS+R website. The Slow House arcs and expands in plan from a single front door to a two-story picture window facing the water (locals referred to it as a banana). Of relevance here is the house's site in North Haven, Long Island, and the view through the picture window of Long Island Sound. The view's importance is accentuated by a second chimney, opposite a functioning chimney, that would have held a video camera framing the water view for the owners to look at while in the house or back in Manhattan. Page 229 in Flesh shows a photograph of the Slow House taking shape, the formwork for its foundation walls and columns ready to be filled with concrete. Alas, that photo captured the furthest extent of construction: the house was a victim of insufficient assets and the early 90s recession, never to be completed. L: Slow House drawing in the collection of MoMA. R: Slow House under construction in 1991. I never knew exactly why the Slow House wasn't completed, but Paul Goldberger reveals some of the story in Blue Dream, writing that "the house was to be funded by the sale of two Cy Twombly drawings." The collapse of the art market kept that from happening, but the importance of Slow House can be found in the Museum of Modern Art's acquisition of the project's drawings and models for its permanent collection. The most iconic piece is a floor plan and series of building sections drawn on a transparent sheet over wood with what appears to be a schmear of joint compound. Moving from the view in the rearview mirror to the view through the picture window, the sections radiate from the floor plan, in a sequence that is logical yet confounding, given how the sections overlap as they increase in height. Most remarkable is the way the drawing implements remain part of the presentation, and how the compass armature is a custom creation, what I see as a clear extension of Diller's education and Scofidio's teaching at Cooper Union. Needless to say, I was chuffed to see the drawing in person back in 2013, when Pedro Gadanho pulled it out of the MoMA archives for Cut 'n' Paste: From Architectural Assemblage to Collage City. Goldberger mentions Slow House in a chapter of Blue Dream that finds Julie and Bobby considering Diller Scofidio + Renfro for their East Hampton house. Charles Renfro, who joined Diller + Scofidio in 1997 and became a name partner in 2004, recounts to Goldberger their initial meeting with Julie at their office, in 2010, when they showed her Slow House "and our small residential oeuvre of mostly unbuilt houses." While hearing "unbuilt" would push most clients to look for another architect, Julie was not a typical client. A few years before the meeting, the Taubmans held an invited design competition, with Thomas Phifer standing out above Shigeru Ban, whose design was "remarkable" but impractical and "more suited to a house in the tropics," and Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, whose design was "more restrained and perhaps less daring than what [Julie] wanted." Phifer sensed that Julie wanted something more sculptural than his first scheme, with three linear pavilions connected by glass-enclosed walkways, so over time it morphed into striking sail-like forms appropriate to its site on the dunes facing the Atlantic. But designing and building a house, architecturally daring or not, is as much about personal relationships as it is about architectural design. Phifer and Julie Taubman "had not connected as closely as [Phifer] wanted his clients to connect," Goldberger explains, and "the immaculate quality of Phifer's architecture was never the right match for Julie's taste." Blue Dream as captured by Iwan Baan. Who was the right architect for Julie's tastes? It was Charles Renfro, who "seemed to connect easily with Julie Taubman in a way that Phifer had not," Goldberger writes. Another reason DS+R got the job was their ability to connect with the precedents Julie was drawn to, namely the houses of John Lautner, Kendrick Bangs Kellogg, and Jacques Couëlle, as well as Frederick Kiesler's iconic, site-less, unbuilt Endless House (also in MoMA's collection). The cave-like qualities of the houses designed by Couëlle and Kiesler appear to have inspired Renfro the most, as Julie selected the "Ravioli" scheme from the four initial concepts the studio generated after their meeting. The others were the "Mobius," the "Roof," and the "Dunes." Any of them would have led to statement house dramatically different from the Hamptons norm, but continuing on the path started by the Ravioli scheme led to the built Blue Dream, a sculptural house unlike another DS+R project, yet one that is hard to see coming from another contemporary architect. Spread from Blue Dream in "Where Modernism Flourished" chapter. By the time we read about the Taubmans selecting DS+R for the commission, we have absorbed much of the house through the numerous full-bleed color photographs by Iwan Baan that sit between early chapters about the Taubman's background and wishes, about the history of modernism on Long Island (this chapter echoes Goldberger's essay in Houses of the Hamptons from 1986), and about the aborted project with Phifer. The chapters that follow move forward in time, tracing the development of its formal design; documenting the efforts to engineer the design and turn it into an actual building; presenting the interior contributions that turned the house into a Gesamtkunstwerk; and revealing the personal issues that make the house as melancholy as it is exuberant. The book has a clear narrative sweep, one that is aided by the coffee table format, with its large paper size, large photos, and the easy integration of images with Goldberger's text. The format, I feel, is appropriate to the house and its circumstances. Even if you're not a fan of Blue Dream (I'm still more partial to the Slow House), it's hard not to get pulled along on the ride of its realization as recounted in these pages. The view from the picture window at Blue Dream, photographed by Iwan Baan.

(Covers of some of the books discussed in this post) If your first reaction to the title of this post is something along the lines of, "Wait, isn't critical regionalism just 40 years old?," then everything you think know about critical regionalism is partial, in both senses of the term: incomplete and biased. Yes, Kenneth Frampton's "Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance" was published in Hal Foster's The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture in 1983, exactly 40 years ago, but the term "critical regionalism" was coined two years earlier by Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre in their article "The Grid and the Pathway: An Introduction to the Work of Dimitris and Susana Antonakakis" in Architecture in Greece. But as the term took hold in architectural circles that decade, and to a lesser but still lasting degree in the decades since, it has more often been associated with Frampton's essay, even though he acknowledged the earlier essay at the time and that acknowledgment brought Tzonis and Lefaivre a good deal of attention beyond their native Greece. Yet, if critical regionalism is some sort of –ism, then should it be defined by just one critic? Is it unfair, in other words, that Frampton's take should take precedence over Tzonis and Lefaivre's? First thing's first: what is critical regionalism? If we take a step back and look at the more general term "regionalism," the entry for it in the three-volume Encyclopedia of 20th-Century Architecture (2004, edited by R. Stephen Sennott) describes regionalism in architecture as "the desire to shape buildings according to the particular characteristics of a specific place." Further describing it as "the oldest and most pervasive of all building ideas," the entry omits mention of critical regionalism but includes Frampton's essay in its bibliography. Richard Weston, in his excellent introduction to architecture from 2011, 100 Ideas that Changed Architecture, while he doesn't include critical regionalism among the hundred, he describes it in the entry for regionalism like so: "Attempting to come to terms with the ethical dilemmas of practicing in a globalized world, [... Tzonis and Lefaivre] argued that while welcoming the benefits of interaction and exchange, designers should think critically about their impact and value the uniqueness of the local/regional culture, environment, and resources." Furthermore, they "hoped to avoid both the commercialization of 'folk' traditions and their political use — as in Hitler's promotion of volkisch culture — as a means of excluding others." Weston goes on to describe how Frampton took up the couple's approach but "argued for an emphasis on topography, climate, light, and the tactile rather than the visual [...] advocating tectonic rather than scenographic form as exemplary of the approach," as found in the work of Alvar Aalto and Jørn Utzon. In just a few sentences, Weston draws a basic distinction between the concepts of critical regionalism proffered by Tzonis, Lefaivre, and Frampton, namely that the social and political implications of regionalism nullified the concept for Tzonis and Lefaivre, thereby requiring a critical approach to regionalism, while Frampton saw critical regionalism as a valid response to "scenographic form," by which he means the postmodern architecture that was taking hold of the American architecture profession at the time. Although the architecture and ideas influencing Frampton's "Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance" date back to at least the mid-1960s, the direct impetus for his essay was the 1980 Venice Architecture Biennale, curated by Paolo Portoghesi with its famous "street," the Strada Novissima. Frampton was invited by Portoghesi, alongside fellow critics Charles Jencks, Christian Norberg-Schultz, and Vincent Scully, to contribute to the inaugural architecture biennale in Venice, but he stepped down, writing in a letter to Robert A. M. Stern (a page of it is shown in OASE #103: Critical Regionalism Revisited) that the exhibition "seems to represent the triumph of Post-Modernism" and that he had already "written a text which is categorically critical of this position." Frampton's letter to Stern was dated May 13, 1980, but the text he mentions he had already written was not "Towards a Critical Regionalism" as it would be found in The Anti-Aesthetic. Most likely it was "The Need for Roots: Venice 1980," which was published in the winter 1981 issue of GA Document. (I have not seen that essay so can't comment on it.) Between the Biennale in 1980 and the release of Foster's collection of postmodern essays, Frampton worked out his concept of critical regionalism, or at least the seeds of the concept can be seen in those years. Modern Architecture and the Critical Present, published by AD in 1982, was basically devoted to his 1980 book Modern Architecture: A Critical History (the fifth edition arrived in 2020), so alongside its other contents it included "Place, Production and Architecture: Towards a Critical Theory of Building," an excerpt of the book's last chapter. It also included "The Isms of Contemporary Architecture," revised to add "Regionalism" as one of the –isms. Although Frampton mentions the thesis of a "hybrid 'world culture'" advanced by philosopher Paul Ricoeur, whose words preface his Anti-Aesthetic essay, and he discusses the work of Aalto, Mario Botta, Alvaro Siza, Gino Valle, and other architects who fit the mold of critical regionalism, the –ism was not yet explicitly "critical." That same year, 1982, Frampton contributed "Proposals for a Critical Regionalism" to Perspecta 20: The Journal of the Yale School of Architecture. Similarities to the essay that will follow in 1983 are found in the Ricoeur quote prefacing the article and a mention of "The Grid and the Pathway." While the "Six Points" essay is abstract, with mention of just two or three architects, the Perspecta article is loaded with buildings and projects that illustrate Frampton's concept. Tadao Ando, J. A. Coderch, Ricardo Bofill, Raimund Abraham, Botta, Valle, and others serve as examples of "recent regional 'schools' whose aim has been to represent and serve, in a critical sense, the limited constituencies in which they are grounded." The essay concludes with mention of "The Grid and the Pathway," but Frampton does not give credit to the authors for coining "critical regionalism," instead using their subjects, Dimitris and Susana Antonakakis, as exemplars of the regional "school" in Greece. Curiously, even though the Perspecta editors give full credit to Tzonis and Lefaivre in the citation to their text, Frampton only mentions Tzonis, referring to "The Grid and the Pathway" as "his article"; this is indicative of the sexism still entrenched at the time but also a lack of understanding of Tzonis and Lefaivre's concept for critical regionalism beyond their 1981 essay. The information described above can be cobbled together from various sources, as cited, as well as from the recently published Kenneth Frampton: Conversations with Daniel Talesnik, in which Frampton is forthcoming about the origins of "Towards a Critical Regionalism" and the debt it owed to Tzonis and Lefaivre. (His recital of the facts to Talesnik makes it seem that it is a story he has told numerous times in the decades since his essay.) But to gain a considerably deeper understanding of the overlapping theories of critical regionalism and their origins, one recently published book is extremely valuable and highly recommended: Resisting Postmodern Architecture: Critical Regionalism before Globalisation by Stylianos Giamarelos, published by UCL Press, 2022 (Amazon / Bookshop) There are too many revelations in Giamarelos's history/historiography of critical regionalism, but only enough space here to mention three. First is the role of Robert A. M. Stern in the 1980 Venice Architecture Biennale, The Presence of the Past. Giamarelos describes Stern as "the show's overlooked protagonist [...] historically overshadowed by Portoghesi." Frampton, remember, was invited to participate, but by the time he and the other critics went to Venice, in November 1979, the direction of the exhibition was already determined during a September 1979 meeting where Stern presented his detailed proposal that "practically formed the backbone of the exhibition," per Giamarelos. No wonder most of the architects contributing to the Strada Novissima were from North America rather than Europe or Asia, and no wonder Frampton addressed his resignation letter to Stern. A second revelation is the contribution of Anthony Alofsin, who was a student of Tzonis's in the 1970s, when he was teaching at Ivy League schools in the US. Alofsin is known now for numerous books on Frank Lloyd Wright, but in the 1970s his work as a sculptor and architect in New Mexico "stimulated his interest in the historic processes that lay beneath" the area's historic buildings. He brought this interest in regionalism to Harvard GSD in 1978, where he took courses from Tzonis that "familiarized him with critical theory," per Giamarelos. Alofsin ended up joining Tzonis and Lefaivre on a paper, "The Question of Regionalism," for a conference in 1980 organized by Swiss sociologist Lucius Burckhardt. Alofsin's text submitted to Tzonis, "Constructive Regionalism," served as the basis for the paper, but Tzonis and Lefaivre modified Alofsin's conclusion, introducing the critical regionalism they would expand upon for the Architecture in Greece esssay. (Vincent B. Canizaro's excellent Architectural Regionalism: Collected Writings on Place, Identity, Modernity and Tradition includes Alofsin's original text.) So, while "The Question of Regionalism," when published in 1981, was the first appearance of critical regionalism in print, it was only in German and therefore not cited by Frampton, unlike the bilingual "The Grid and the Pathway." A third illuminating thread of information from the book involves Frampton's proposed 18-book series of "monographs on critical architecture practices of 'unsentimental regionality'" for Rizzoli, who would have published them over a period of two to four years. First proposed at the end of 1981, Frampton moved forward with two titles — on Tadao Ando and Atelier 66, the practice of Dimitris and Susana Antonakakis, published in 1984 and 85, respectively — before Rizzoli discontinued the series. (Such an ambitious, audacious proposal no doubt stemmed from Frampton serving as an acquisitions and editorial consultant at Rizzoli from 1979 to 1988.) Outside of Vittorio Gregotti, whom Frampton would have written about on his own, each book would have been edited by Frampton, included a short introduction by him, and featured a longer essay by an author familiar with their work; naturally, then, Tzonis and Lefaivre contributed to the book on Atelier 66. Giamarelos also discusses the book Frampton started to work about critical regionalism, given that his essay made such an impact in the 1980s that it warranted a book-length exposition. That never happened, but Frampton rolled some of his version of critical regionalism into Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture, an excellent and well-respected book but not one with the lasting impact of the 1983 essay. So, if Frampton did not write the book on critical regionalism, who did, assuming one exists? The first architecture book bearing the critical regionalism moniker was written by none other than Tzonis and Lefaivre. Critical Regionalism: Architecture and Identity in a Globalized World was published in 2003, the third in Prestel's "Architecture in Focus" series, which also included books on "Minimal Architecture" and "Light, Mobile and Floating Architecture." The authors used the book to provide a deeper history of regionalism, tracing it from Ancient Greece to ca. World War II in an essay by Tzonis, and delving into the ideas of Lewis Mumford in an essay by Lefaivre that looked at the three decades after the war. The other half of the book has twenty examples of critical regionalism, mainly in photos, making it as much a picture book as a text of history and theory. Given the impact of critical regionalism on architects — it is one of the few architectural concepts/theories with direct application to professional practice — I wanted to include something on it in Buildings in Print: 100 Influential and Inspiring Illustrated Architecture Books. Although Critical Regionalism is the book I chose, Giamarelos describes their later book, Architecture of Regionalism in the Age of Globalization: Peaks and Valleys in the Flat World (first published in 2011 and expanded in 2020) as the couple's definitive statement on critical regionalism, signaling its greater importance. While this review can only touch on a few points in Resisting Postmodern Architecture: Critical Regionalism Before Globalisation, Giamarelos's goals are two-fold: articulating the formulation of critical regionalism by Tzonis and Lefaivre, since it has long been overshadowed by Frampton's concept; and, in the book's second half, exploring the cross-cultural roots of critical regionalism in Greece, the home of Tzonis, Lefaivre, and their original subjects, Dimitris and Susana Antonakakis. Giamarelos wraps up the book by arguing for the continued relevance of critical regionalism today, shifting it from "an architectural theory of the 1980s into a manifesto for architectural historiography in the 21st century." If architectural historians embrace the seven points of Giamarelos's manifesto remains to be seen, but the value of the history the book tells is abundantly clear, given the lack of a history of critical regionalism before it.

Like many people with a lot of books, I keep track of my library with an app/website, tagging books with keywords to better filter and find them. The tags I use move from general terms like "architecture" (the most) and "fiction" (the least) to specific terms that reflect a high number of books by a particular author ("frampton," as in Kenneth) or maybe about a certain architect ("wright," Frank Lloyd). One of the oft-used tags on the specific end of the spectrum is "moma," which includes books published by the Museum of Modern Art, be it Robert Venturi's Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture or exhibition catalogs, as well as books actually about MoMA, like Terence Riley's The International Style: Exhibition 15 and The Museum of Modern Art. As of today, I have 34 books tagged "moma" in my library, spanning from The International Style in 1932 (the 1990s reprint, mind you, not the first edition) to Emerging Ecologies: Architecture and the Rise of Environmentalism, the catalog to the exhibition of the same name that opened yesterday at MoMA. In between the books from 1932 and 2023 are catalogs for MoMA exhibitions I attended and wrote about; exhibitions I wish I would have seen in person; and exhibitions, many of them seminal, held well before my time. The value of exhibition catalogs is evident in the latter two: they enable people who did not see an exhibition to be exposed to what the curators put together, often with the added input of scholars on the subject. One could even go further and say the catalogs are more important than the exhibitions themselves, since they have longevity, serving as archives of the exhibitions well after they've been demounted and destroyed. While I don't fully agree with such a statement, since exhibitions benefit from being spatial experiences and often — and increasingly — feature films and other media that can't be replicated in books, the value of catalogs is undeniable. Emerging Ecologies: Architecture and the Rise of Environmentalism edited by Carson Chan and Matthew Wagstaffe, published by the Museum of Modern Art, September 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) How does Emerging Ecologies compare to previous catalogs from MoMA exhibitions on architecture? Based on my exposure to them, I would group MoMA's architecture catalogs into two broad types: printed companions to the drawings, models, and other artifacts on display in the galleries; and scholarly essays on the exhibition's subject. Often these two strands are combined, with essays prefacing plates of the works on display. But if we go all the way back to MoMA's first architecture exhibition — Modern Architecture: International Exhibition, curated by Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcok in 1932 — we find these two types in two separate publications: a companion catalog (PDF link) and the more familiar, polemical book by Johnson and Hitchcock (sans Lewis Mumford's contribution on housing from the exhibition/catalog) that "defined 'the International Style'" at the time and in the decades to come. Emerging Ecologies, as edited by Carson Chan and Matthew Wagstaffe, falls into the "printed companion" camp. Visitors to Emerging Ecologies between now and its closing on January 24, 2023, will approach the third-floor architecture galleries in one of two ways. Stepping out of an elevator, they will be confronted by a timeline of relevant events and dates for the artifacts in the exhibition, while those arriving via escalators and the bridge next to the atrium will see the yellow wall pictured at the top of this post and then go either left or right into the exhibition's two galleries. The various exhibits are laid out thematically, but when I previewed the exhibition last week, I found the layout and presentation fairly laid back, conducive to a leisurely stroll through the numerous colorful projects comprising "the first expansive survey of the history of environmental thinking in architecture," spanning primarily the 1960s and 70s. The exhibition is also the first from MoMA's Emilio Ambasz Institute for the Joint Study of the Built and the Natural Environment, which was created in 2020 and helmed by Chan the following year. In lieu of a thematic organization following from the layout of the exhibition (e.g., "Prehistory of Environmental Architecture," "Enclosed Ecologies," "Life Forms," etc.) or one following the timeline visitors see by the elevators, the book is in alphabetical order by the names of the architects or other authors of the works in the exhibition (there is an expanded timeline in the back matter). While this results in putting Emilio Ambasz first among the more than thirty names, it more broadly puts an emphasis on the personalities behind environmental thinking, rather than the works themselves. Like other surveys, be they exhibitions or not, the structure allows comparisons to be made based on quantities: the number of pages given to each name helps signal their importance. So who is most important in Emerging Ecologies? No contest it's R. Buckminster Fuller, not only because he earns sixteen pages while most others have four or six, but because the "pathbreaking architect, writer, designer, inventor, and philosopher" (per the book) infiltrates other names in the book. Cambridge Seven Associates built one of Fuller's geodesic domes for Expo 67 and Murphy & Mackey built one at Missouri Botanical Garden; these are just the most direct permutations of Fuller elsewhere in the book. Architecture exhibitions at MoMA are, by virtue of their setting, geared to general audiences. As such, the catalogs are where the curators expend the effort in digging deeper, usually in more scholarly ways. That isn't the case with this "field guide," as Chan and Wagstaffe label it, but that doesn't mean architects and others with prior knowledge of environmentalism in the 1960s and 70s will not find something new, or new perspectives on the subject, in the book. Beyond names like Fuller, there are such groups as the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and Warren County Citizens Concerned about PCB that capture today's emphasis on equity and citizen engagement. It's not all hero worship, in other words. For me, a big fan of buildings merging with landscapes, I was pleased to learn about Malcolm Wells, who pivoted his practice from "conventional" to "earth-sheltered," sticking to his beliefs from the mid-1906s to his death in 2009. I was also surprised that I hadn't known about him earlier. Surely, I won't be alone in making such discoveries in Emerging Ecologies, a rich survey of a period with obvious relevance today.

Last week dose explored three "places in time": St. Louis in the early decades of the 20th century; Detroit between 1935 and 1985; and Chicago suburb Oak Park ca. 1906, when Frank Lloyd Wright completed Unity Temple. Those three US-centric books were split between two historical surveys and one case study. The same applies to the European/Asian books here, with a survey of brutalist architecture in Paris followed by a survey of Indonesian architecture trained in Germany around 1960 and a case study of a care center for people with mental disabilities in Belgium. Brutalist Paris: Post-War Brutalist Architecture in Paris and Environs by Nigel Green and Robin Wilson, published by Blue Crow Media, July 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Dipl.-Ing. Arsitek: German-trained Indonesian Architects from the 1960s edited by Moritz Henning and Eduard Kögel, published by DOM Publishers, July 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Living in Monnikenheide: Care, Inclusion and Architecture edited by Gideon Boie, published by Flanders Architecture Institute, April 2023 Before receiving Brutalist Paris from the folks at Blue Crow Media, I thought of the UK company simply as a maker of maps. I reviewed Concrete Map Chicago back in 2018 and since then have noticed them putting out maps of modern architecture, brutalist architecture, public transit — even trees. If the Chicago map is any indication, the others put out by Blue Crow Media excel at assembling a mix of quality buildings and presenting them in a way that allows people to orient themselves to the locations of the selected buildings in a particular city; that's the power of maps: orienting oneself physically, in place, and mentally, at a distance. So I was a bit surprised to find the maps on the inside front and back covers of Brutalist Paris to be, frankly, practically useless. Their scale is too small; the contrast between streets and blocks is too low; it's not clear how the four maps join up; the lists of buildings keyed to the maps do not extend to the book's pages. I could go on, but that's not necessary because this book is not about the maps. Rather it is about the words of Robin Wilson and the photographs of Nigel Green. The maps give some cursory, almost ghostly, geographic information, but they are not there to structure the book. Brutalist Paris features seven essays by Wilson and four geographical sections with Green's photos inserted between the essays. Although the duo collaborates as Photolanguage, words and images are distinct. "Whilst the photographic component provides an extensive, general survey of the production of the period as a whole," Wilson explains in the first essay, "the text necessarily develops a more selective interpretation of a smaller range of key works." Paris does not spring immediately to my mind as the city of brutalist architecture par excellence (that would be London or Boston), but Wilson's words and Green's images do a good job of arguing for the importance of Paris as a brutalist city. Jumping to the fore are not the famous examples (Breuer's UNESCO, Niemeyer's Communist Party HQ, Corbu's Maisons Jaoul) but the complex, fractal-like constructions of Jean Renaudie and Nina Susch, Renée Gailhoustet, and others. Wilson describes "a properly oblique and combinatory architecture" and Green captures the light, scale, and in some cases decay of the complexes. The photos may be just a couple of years old, but the choice of presenting them as duotones helps transport readers to the sixties, seventies, and eighties, when parts of Paris really embraced creative concrete architecture. The next book covers roughly the same timeframe as Brutalist Paris — the few decades following the year 1960 — but in two locales thousands of miles and two continents apart: Indonesia and Germany. The two places don't immediately strike me as intertwined, but editors Moritz Henning and Eduardo Kögel discovered a link between them that is quite interesting: a dozen architecture students from Indonesia who studied at TU Berlin and other schools in West Germany in 1960/61. The editors found out about them while working with the curators of Occupying Modernism, the Indonesian contribution to Encounters with Southeast Asian Modernism, an ambitious, multifaceted program directed by Henning and Kögel with Sally Below and Christian Hiller. (Out of the same program came Contested Modernities: Postcolonial Architecture and the Construction of Identities in Southeast Asia, a publication I "briefed" last year.) Like other parts of Encounters, Dipl.–Ing. Arsitek focuses on cross-cultural cooperation between Southeast Asia and Western Europe, and it even comes across subtly in the book's title, words that are probably enigmatic to English speakers: Dipl.–Ing. Arsitek is the Indonesian equivalent of the German Diplom–Ingenieur Architektur. Dipl.–Ing. Arsitek is number 171 in DOM Publishers' longstanding "Basics" series as evidenced by the square format and orange, geometric cover (like this one). While the subject seems too niche to me to be a "basics" book, the structure and presentation of the book are very clear and well done, aiding in one's understanding of the subject and recognizing its importance. Following spreads of period photographs in West Berlin, Hannover, Aachen, and Jakarta, the book's contents are fitted into five parts: "Context," with a handful of essays give relevant background on Germany and Indonesia in the period of the book; "Diplomas," a presentation of ten of the students' final projects; in-depth "Biographies" of eight of the architects; "Positions," excerpts of a few texts by some of the architects; and contemporary "Photographs" of buildings in Indonesia the architects designed after returning there to practice. So, who are these architects that studied in Germany but took their knowledge back home to Indonesia? Soejoedi Wirjoatmodjo and Han Awal were known by the editors beforehand, but the rest (Herianto Sulindro, Jan Beng Oei, Mustafa Pamuntjak, Bianpoen, Suwondo Bismo Sutedjo, Yusuf Bilyarta Mangunwijaya) were primarily discovered in the archives of TU Berlin, which kept their drawings, model photographs, and even some of the models. I can't think of a better arguments for architecture schools — and the future architects attending them — to carefully document their thesis projects and maintain them in archives. The third place-in-time book, Living in Monnikenheide, heads to Zoersel, in Belgium, and jumps forward in time to near the present. The book's subject, Monnikenheide, is a residential care center for people with mental disabilities that was created around 1973 and has seen more than a dozen buildings added to its "campus" in the half-century since. I had never heard of the place — neither Monnikenheide nor Zoersel, the Flemish village now home to around 22,000 people — so reading some of the essays and perusing the case studies of the buildings were acts of discovery. Gideon Boie, the book's editor and instigator of the book project, describes Monnikenheide as "an unprecedented housing project" that "searched for the normalization of housing for people with mental disabilities" and, in wording that echoes recent trends in architectural culture, "a testing ground for care architecture." The book's subtitle, Care, Inclusion and Architecture, sets up the half-dozen essays that carry the titles "Living with Disability," "At Home in the Care Centre," and "Caring for the Landscape of Care," among others. The essays capably address the myriad issues around the place, from its niche typology to the politics of "inclusion" and the important role of the beautiful wooded landscape connecting the various buildings. The bulk of the book — 70 of its 160 pages — is devoted to the case studies of the buildings, primarily the ones built between 1997 and 2021; the early, "first-period" (of three periods, per Boie) buildings are just described briefly at the beginning of this long section. Architecturally, the buildings range from somewhat typical modern Belgian brick dwellings to low-slung glass-walled updates to older buildings, pitched-roof care homes clad in corrugated metal, and a three-story care home covered in blackened wood. While each building is pleasing in one way or another, Monnikenheide is not about any individual building: it is about the interaction of the buildings with each other and the landscapes between them and, in the case of the brick dwellings in the village, the logical extension of "inclusion" to a context more urban than pastoral. Full-bleed photographs between the different sections of the book do a decent job in capturing the character of the landscape and the village; I say "decent" because their silver duotones, akin to the cover, are more aesthetic than informative. But in concert with the essays, case studies, and the book's design, the photos contribute well to a beautiful document of a special place that architects interested in this facet of care will find valuable.

Like most human beings, I can be contradictory at times. One area where this manifests is architectural surveys: books that usually collect buildings of a certain typology, but also ones spanning a particular timeframe or through some other theme. I've written a few of them myself, so I don't inherently hate them. But I tend to pass on them when it comes to new books, which most likely boils down to the fact I'm not a practicing architect and therefore don't need to look at, say, a roundup of libraries when I'm designing one. Yet, when it comes to old surveys — as in my latest #archidosereads — I have a hard time saying no to them after spotting them in used bookstores. I think part of their appeal is the way they capture the character of a certain time, and often, with the occasional geographical focus of surveys, a particular place in time. Being seen decades after they were made, the best ones manage to transport me back to a certain place in time — something I find irresistible, even if subconsciously, before putting it down in words here. A book need not be old to do such a thing, so this week and next week I'm featuring books that manage to capture certain places at certain times. The six books aren't all surveys, but the majority of them do fall into that subcategory of architectural books. Following the three US-central books here, next week's installment will head to Europe and Asia. Detroit Modern: 1935–1985 by Peter Forguson, photography by Amy Claeys, published by Visual Profile Books, November 2022 (Amazon / Bookshop) Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple: A Good Time Place Reborn by Pat Cannon, photography by James Caulfield, published by Unity Temple Restoration Foundation, December 2022 (Amazon / Bookshop) A. A. Fischer's St. Louis Streetscapes by Nancy Moore Hamilton, published by Missouri Historical Society, June 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) In its geography and name, Detroit Modern sounds like a sequel to Michigan Modern: An Architectural Legacy, the 2018 book written by preservationist Brian D. Conway with photographs by James Haefner, also published by Visual Profile Books. But they are two different beasts, given that the earlier book was the product of the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office, which received a grant from the National Park Service for the project, while the nearly one-year-old Detroit Modern was written by Peter Forguson, a landscape designer and landscaping contractor who has worked on the grounds of some of the 70 houses collected in his book. Forguson's book, in turn, is a labor of love, one that draws attention to an overlooked geographical subset of mid-20th-century modern residential architecture, something Michigan Modern similarly did for a wider array of building typologies on a larger geographical scale. The 70 houses spanning 50 years were designed by names both familiar and lesser known: from Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Minoru Yamasaki, Edward Durell Stone, and Gunnar Birkets among the former, to Irving Tobocman, Don Paul Young, Louis DesRosiers, and Robert L. Ziegelman in the latter. While those last four names, among numerous others in the book, are new to me, they may be fairly well-known names in the larger Detroit area (the book is more Grosse Pointe Farms and Bloomfield Hills that Detroit proper, it should be noted), given that they designed roughly 20 of the book's 70 houses. This book will no doubt appeal to locals interested in mid-20th-century houses, but it should also appeal to people living outside the Detroit area who like the same. It should be pointed out that although photographer Amy Claeys is billed as photographer, many of the houses feature photographs by others, including Haefner and occasional period photographs by the great Balthazar Korab. As such, the book doesn't have the visual consistency of Michigan Modern (it's also lacking in floor plans, valuable elements in any good book on residential architecture), but the book's ability to capture the high-quality architecture created in a place over a fairly long time period makes it a valuable document. The buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright, unlike the houses of suburban Detroit, don't need to worry about being overlooked. There are more than 400 extant buildings designed by Wright, and although only a small number of them are considered masterpieces, that number is higher than most — save perhaps Le Corbusier. One way of quantifying greatness is via UNESCO, which put 17 Corbu sites on its 2016 list but only eight Wright buildings on a similar list a few years later. One of those eight is Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, the Chicago suburb home to Wright at the time; ground broke on the building in 1906 and it was dedicated in 1909, the same year Wright left for Europe to work on the Wasmuth Portfolio. Given the importance of Unity Temple in Wright's oeuvre, it made sense that Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple: A Good Time Place, a celebration of the edifice, was released in 2009. Although restoration plans, led by T. Gunny Harboe, began around 2006, the "award-winning transformative restoration" would not be complete until 2017, twelve years after the building celebrated its centennial. With Unity Temple carefully restored and open to the public for about five years, the time was right to update the 2009 book by Patrick F. Cannon with photographer James Caulfield. I have not seen the earlier book, but it appears to be a square book of approximately nine inches, whereas the newly "reborn" book taking on a larger page size — nearly 10 x 12 inches. The slim, 120-page book has a brief history of the commission, its design and its construction, at the beginning, with a text by Harboe on the restoration, a selective bibliography (including Robert McCarter's 1997 case study from the "Architecture in Detail" series), and some texts from ca. 1909 in the back matter. In between are approximately 75 pages of photographs by Caulfield. Unfortunately, what should be the best part of the book — post-restoration photographs of Unity Temple's exterior and interior — is the most disappointing. Without knowing the details, Caulfield appears to have a preference for HDR photography, which makes the concrete building look like a computer model on the outside and too evenly illuminated on the inside. Only in the photos where Caulfield lets shadows be dark (the cover photo being one of those) can readers fully appreciate what Wright accomplished more than a century ago. I'm from suburban Chicago so am quite familiar with the numerous Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in Oak Park. But even though my wife hails from St. Louis, and therefore I've been there quite a few times and have seen firsthand various parts of the city and county, I was not previously familiar with Alexander August Fischer, the subject of this hefty book by his inadvertent biographer, Nancy Moore Hamilton. I say inadvertent because in retirement Hamilton, a longtime resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and former geographer and data analyst who had spent just one year of her life in St. Louis, found herself drawn to St. Louis and the streetscapes built by A. A. Fischer. As the photos on the cover of the book (some of many in the book shot by photographer Reed R. Ratcliffe in 2022) attest, the streetscapes of Fischer are a pleasing lot — or, at least the ones that have survived intact to 2022, a century or more after they were created, are. After all, when I think of the streetscapes of St. Louis, what comes to mind are vacant lots and vacant or condemned buildings being just as numerous on any block as extant and/or occupied buildings, such is the unfortunate present of the Midwestern city. Hamilton's large book published by the Missouri Historical Society is like two books in one: a biography of Fischer and a directory of the many buildings by Fischer's company. Following Hamilton's semi-autobiographical introduction, which goes into some detail on how she ended up spending close to two decades focused on the subject of Fischer and his buildings, is the biography: four chronological chapters on Fischer's life, from his German ancestors to his death (in 1936 at the age of 70) and legacy. The subject may only seem appealing to residents of St. Louis, but it is a lavishly illustrated biography, with numerous large photographs by Ratcliffe as well as archival photographs and other documents. At just 120 pages and accompanied by the illustrations, the biography is a fairly quick read. The bulk of the book follows: the 340-page "Directory of A. A. Fischer Builds" that methodically presents one building per page with data and illustrations. It doesn't matter if a building was razed, it is given a page and indicated as such. While extant buildings receive photos by Radcliffe, buildings long-gone have older photographs or just maps. And speaking of maps, the book is accompanied by a foldout poster that locates every building in the book — very helpful. The pros of the book are obvious, mainly that Hamilton fills a void in the scholarship of the built environment in St. Louis. A. A. Fischer was a prolific builder of residential buildings across the city in the first decades of the 20th century, though his impact was basically unheralded. In this sense, the book is more than welcome. My only con with the book is its hefty format. With a 10 x 12" paper size and nearly 2" thick, it is a large, unwieldy book. The pages are nearly full in the biography, but the photos in the directly are small and the margins across those same pages are large. With the layout of the directory apparently sized to entries with the most available information, most of the these pages are therefore empty space. I feel that either the photos should have been larger across the directory pages, or the whole book should have opted for a smaller page size. Of course, the latter would make the book a less impressive object — one that wouldn't have immediately conveyed the size of Fischer's contributions to St. Louis.

Of the numerous books publishers send me for review — be they requested by me, pitched by them, or arriving at my doorstep unsolicited — the highest percentage of them are monographs. This fact goes against the occasional sirens over the irrelevance and anachronistic nature of monographs in our digital age, with free access (for now) to voluminous amounts of information on buildings and architects readily available online. But books, in my opinion, are better archives than websites, offering architects a further level of control over the finished product compared to websites. It's not uncommon today to find architecture firms, no doubt driven by savvy marketing departments and PR firms, merging their brands across platforms, such that their monographs resemble their websites. But in five or ten years time, only the books will retain that expression, thereby making them important archives of architects' work and the means of presenting it. The four recently published monographs that follow provide four diverse expressions for architectural monographs today. Speculative Coolness: Architecture, Media, the Real, and the Virtual by Bryan Cantley, edited by Peter J. Baldwin, published by Routledge, April 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Merging City and Nature: 30 Commitments to Combat Climate Change by Batlleiroig, published by Actar Publishers, March 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) I'm not sure when I came across the architecture of Bryan Cantley, but for sure it was through his popular Instagram account — with nearly 30,000 followers now, at least it is popular by architecture standards. The images saturating his account transport me to my undergrad days in the early 1990s, when Neil Denari, Peter Pfau and Wes Jones, and other machine-minded architects were in vogue. Building; Machines, the twelfth issue of Pamphlet Architecture, was the bible of this strain of contemporary architecture, where structure and services were exposed, elements moved (or at least appeared to do so), and surfaces (almost always metallic) featured curves that echoed the form of concrete mixer trucks. I figured I wasn't alone in connecting those aesthetic dots, but I also assumed such a reading was overly superficial and potentially unfair toward whatever Cantley is doing through his designs and illustrations. Neil Spiller actually mentions Neil Denari and Wes Jones in his introductory essay to Speculative Coolness, but only briefly, lumping them with a wider swath of visionaries ("the Wright brothers, Barnes Wallace, Archigram, Norman Foster and Richard Rogers") and stating that "nowadays these preoccupations have their epicenter in SoCaL." Cantley is a professor at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) and has taught at SCI-Arc and Woodbury University, all SoCal schools, though his bio at the start of the book also points out that "his work is in the permanent collection at SFMOMA, as well as in the personal collection of Thom Mayne." If such "preoccupations" have their epicenter in and around Los Angeles now, they did so thirty years ago, too, when Denari, Jones, etc. taught and practiced there. This network with shared interests and formal similarities is accentuated by Wes Jones's essay in the pages of Speculative Coolness and Mayne's afterword in the same. A major thing separating the work of Denari and Jones with that of Cantley is the brief, or program, or whatever one wants to call it. Although much of the machine-inspired architecture of the nineties remained on paper or in model form, the projects were clearly proposals to be built, be it an unlikely monastery, a more reasonable house or apartment building, or most obviously an industrial structure (an example of the last, by Holt Hinshaw Jones, was built at UCLA in 1994). But it's difficult to grasp what Cantley's projects might function as if they are considered as models for actual buildings, or if they were designed in response to particular briefs, for instance in the way Brodsky and Utkin created designs for competitions but hardly ever had them approach being recognizable buildings. But do I care if Cantley's designs are speculative, self-generated programs rather than proposals for specific briefs from others? Do I care if I grasp his intentions, further obscured by the texts accompanying the images? Well, frankly, no. His projects, as rendered in sketches, drawings, models, perspectives, and collages, are just too beautiful. No wonder his website sells prints of his architectural imagery — and no wonder this monograph is saturated with the same, sure to woo architects and architecture students too young to remember the nineties. Half a world away from Southern California is the equally warm-and-dry region of Catalonia and the metropolis of Barcelona, where the multi-disciplinary firm Batlleiroig, founded by Enric Batlle and Joan Roig in 1981, is located. Forty years is a long time for an architecture firm, and across those years Batlleiroig has realized many projects spanning multiple disciplines: architecture, landscape, and planning. Those same disciplines structure the book, which features ten chapters with three projects per chapter — one planning project, one landscape, and one building per chapter. But let's not call them chapters: Batlle describes them as "ten concepts that we believe must be incorporated into our daily lives to combat the climate emergency and improve living conditions on the planet." 10 x 3 = 30, hence the thirty projects presented in Merging City and Nature are also "30 commitments to combat climate change." Over Batlleiroig's 40-plus years, the firm has grown to 140 people, making them a large firm in any of their three disciplines. Such size often means, at least in terms of architectural monographs, a business-like approach over an artistic one. This approach is definitely on display in Merging City and Nature, from the 10x3 structure and the descriptions of the projects/commitments (more bullet points than narratives) to the design and layout of the book, which resembles a textbook at times. Structure trumps reality, such that even though the firm has fifteen times more architects than planners and twice as many architects as landscape architects (as expressed in a bubble diagram at the back of the book), there are ten projects presented for each discipline. I would have loved to see more landscapes, which are the strongest parts of Batlleiroig's output (the Garraf Controlled Waste Landfill project is one of many highlights). As is, the book's rigid structure enables the firm to show how each of their disciplines addresses each of the ten concepts: commendable from a marketing perspective but dry and fatiguing for anyone looking for inspiration. So, if you're looking for a practical book loaded with well-designed examples of how architects and planners can address the climate emergency, Merging City and Nature is the book for you. Allied Works Architecture 2003- 2022 (TC 156) by Brad Cloepfil and Allied Works, published by TC Cuadernos, July 2022 (Amazon) Skylab: The Nature of Buildings by Skylab and Jeff Kovel, published by Thames & Hudson, June 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Often my excitement with learning about an architectural imprint is tempered by the fact I didn't know about it sooner. How did Valencia's TC Cuadernos put out dozens and dozens of monographic issues on contemporary architects in and beyond Spain before Allied Works sent me number 156 without me knowing about them? Am I that out of touch with European architectural publications? Or are there just too many to keep track of? The quality of the issue devoted to about twenty years of Allied Works' buildings is exemplary, indicating that the wider TC Cuadernos oeuvre melds the qualities of, say, El Croquis with Detail: offering color photographs on high-quality paper accompanied by detailed architectural drawings. (That said, I do wish the font for the project descriptions and essays was easier to read and that all the drawings were labeled, not just the wall sections — reading floor plans without labels is not very helpful.) Allied Works Architecture 2003- 2022 is the first expansive monograph on Allied Works since Occupation, the 2011 release covering the first sixteen years of the studio founded by Brad Cloepfil in Portland, Oregon, in 1994. I have not seen that earlier monograph, but the level of control I mentioned in the prologue to this post is naturally eschewed in the new book (essentially a periodical), in terms of page design and the couple of things I quibbled about above. Still, for the most part it is an Allied Works product, with the drawings, models, photographs, and text provided by the studio. Most refreshing is the span of the book, with fourteen completed buildings over nearly twenty years presented; it even includes Cloepfil's fairly well-known early essay/project "Sitings: Five Reflections on Architectural Domain" (PDF link), which functioned as a statement of intent when he founded his firm now nearly thirty years ago. Back in 2017, I attended the Vectorworks Design Summit in Baltimore, where Cloepfil gave the keynote and I was able to speak with him one-on-one after his presentation for an article at World-Architects. Before that talk, the projects I was most familiar with were the Maryhill Overlook (1998), the Wieden+Kennedy Headquarters (2000), the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (2003), and the Clyfford Still Museum (2011). These four projects are thoroughly orthogonal buildings, but the projects he presented in Baltimore, such as the National Music Centre of Canada (2016) and National Veterans Memorial and Museum (2018), are dramatic departures from the apparent norm: curved and spatially complex constructions that see Cloepfil and Allied Works apparently striving to create architectural icons. Not surprisingly, these last two projects are found at the beginning of TC 156, signaling their importance in this phase of Cloepfil's career and the output of his studio. The diversity of Allied Works' designs can be seen in the other cultural, residential, and commercial projects that fill the monograph, including the issue's closer: Providence Park Stadium Expansion (2019), a project that hardly screams "Allied Works" but exhibits the studio's attentiveness to form, material, and structure — especially as presented in the pages of TC 156. Also based in Portland, Skylab was founded by Jeff Koval in 2000 — more than twenty years ago, meaning it was about time for the firm to produce its first monograph. Although Skylab is best known for a series of projects with Nike — especially the Serena Williams Building (2021) and a temporary installation for the shoe brand at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials for Track & Field — the format of the book reflects the music business: The square book features foldout cover boards, a circular cutout and "parental advisory" sticker on the cover, multiple large double-fold gatefolds, and "sides" rather than chapters (Side-A, Side-B, etc.). There isn't even a table of contents, something that makes flipping through the book a voyage of discovery, much like dropping a needle on an album, putting on headphones, and listening deeply. From the photographs of the ten presented buildings under construction to photographs of them completed and everything in between, there is an almost rock n' roll aesthetic suffusing Skylab — a certain coolness that makes the LP format appropriate, if a bit quizzical at times. (If taken to its logical conclusion, wouldn't each "side" be the same length, instead of just 12 pages for Side A, for instance, versus 130 pages for Side B?) One can easily flip through The Nature of Buildings without any awareness of the LP metaphor and gain just as much understanding of Skylab's work: digesting the projects through images layered with green text and drawings; relishing the surprise each gatefold elicits; and reading the trio of conversations between Kovel and others, including clients. The latter are presented sideways on the page, a bit like liner notes, I assume, though they can also be seen just as readily as print elements meant to stand out from the projects that are right side up throughout the book. Like fellow Portlanders Allied Works, the portfolio of Skylab is formally and typologically diverse. Kovel and company's projects might not be as geographically widespread as Cloepfil's, with most of Skylab projects keeping Portland weird, but with commissions in Utah and Idaho they're gaining in popularity beyond their local following.

From the middle of March, when a family emergency put this blog on hiatus, until the middle of July, when a funeral mass was held for my dad, my life was split almost evenly between my home in New York City and my parent's home in Central Florida. The emergency in March was an incident putting my father in the hospital, and it was followed by numerous diagnoses, the need for him to go into assisted living, and eventually him going back into the hospital, where he died — peacefully, with me, my mother, and my sister at his bedside. Back in March I anticipated, even with his diagnoses, to be helping him in various capacities for a few years, not just a few months. They were difficult and taxing months that found me as relieved as saddened when he passed; the obvious pain and frustration he felt are gone, but memories of him remain and in some ways are stronger and more prevalent now than before. Over those three months, I managed to eke out a half-dozen posts on this blog: a roundup of some books published during the first part of this year; some thoughts on the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, which I managed to attend between trips; a couple work-related posts, one on self-publishing by architecture firms and the other featuring books from my trip to the Venice Architecture Biennale; a "cheater" revisiting an old post as an excuse to explore ChatGPT; and my first installment of "Book Briefs" this calendar year. That sporadic frequency will continue for the rest of the summer, as I take time to do things with my wife and daughter and just generally decompress. But one thing the last three months did, in the context of this first blog post in six weeks, was push me toward a local focus. So here I present two books on the phenomenon of supertall residential towers, the most high-profile ones found along 57th Street, aka "Billionaires' Row." Billionaires’ Row: Tycoons, High Rollers, and the Epic Race To Build the World’s Most Exclusive Skyscrapers by Katherine Clarke, published by Currency, June 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Sky-High: A Critique of NYC's Supertall Towers from Top to Bottom by Eric P. Nash, photography by Bruce Katz, published by Princeton Architectural Press, June 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) In the prologue to Billionaires' Row, Wall Street Journal reporter Katherine Clarke describes the construction of 40 Wall Street, the Chrysler Building, and the Empire State Building nearly a full century ago as "a veritable race to the sky as wealthy titans of industry vied to build a succession of towers, each taller than the last." (It's a race recounted by Neal Bascomb in Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City back in 2003.) The brief historical anecdote gives the new book an angle, one expressed clearly in its subtitle. Yet I have a hard time buying that the developers of One57 (Gary Barnett/Extell), 432 Park Avenue (Harry Macklowe and CIM Group), 111 West 57th Street (Michael Stern/JDS), 220 Central Park South (Steve Roth/Vornado), and Central Park Tower (also Barnett/Extell) were involved in any sort of race, figurative or otherwise. I've been paying attention to this handful of buildings along Billionaires' Row as long as Clarke has, though not nearly to the same in-depth and insider degree as her, I'll admit, yet I still struggle to find a correlation between these towers and the Manhattan office buildings from the 1920s and 30s. Yes, there is synergy in that each grouping was born from the circumstances of the time (architectural, technological, economic, etc.), but the only "race" I find now is not between the developers themselves, but between the developers and the market — the developers had to quickly sell their eight- and nine-digit aeries before the market for them dried up. If anything, the assemblage of these five towers sitting mainly along 57th Street, a wide street they exploited for unused FAR (floor-area ratio) and reshaped in the process, are less an example of competition and more so an instance of geographical synergy, like a row of car dealers along a busy thoroughfare. People looking for a behind-the-scenes look at the development of these Billionaires' Row towers will be very happy with Clarke's book. The focus is squarely on the four men listed above, the developers behind the five towers. Readers will learn a little bit about the architecture, interior design, engineering and other physical attributes of the towers, but they will learn a lot more about the legal and economic means of how each individual tower happened, as well as the personalities of those men and the people they had relationships with, both business and personal. I have given walking tours of 57th Street and other parts of the city where luxury residential towers are in abundance, and while I tend to focus on aspects of architecture, engineering, and zoning, I never forget to mention how much celebrities and other high-worth people pay for the units; slenderness ratio is exciting to some, but the most audible gasps come from patrons hearing about condos selling for tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. Similarly, Clarke knows her audience; she is attuned to the public's interest in money — plus how much people love to hear about bad things happening to rich people. So the book, a chronological account spanning just over a decade, has plenty of information on the money problems, leaks and creaks, lawsuits, and personal squabbles playing out over that time. If you like hearing that sort of thing, you'll love this book. Although I found Billionaires' Row at a used bookstore a few weeks ago, it was released just last month, exactly two weeks before Sky-High, by former New York Times writer Eric P. Nash. Was there a publishing race to get the first book about Manhattan's supertall towers for the super rich in print? I doubt it, especially since Nash's book has a wider scope than Clarke's, and his book is as much about the photographs by Bruce Katz as it is Nash's critical takes on a dozen 300-meter-plus towers, residential and otherwise, in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Also, the two books lag two years behind Andi Schmied's wonderful and artsy Private Views: A High-Rise Panorama of Manhattan (VI PER Gallery, 2021), arguably the first book on the phenomenon. Last year, well before it was published, an editor at Princeton Architecture Press sent me a preview of Sky-High for a potential blurb on the cover. It wasn't used (the book ended up without any blurbs), but this is what I wrote: "I don't know whether to join Eric P. Nash's fact-filled, opinion-laden chorus and decry some of the dozen supertalls that have reconfigured New York City’s skyline this century, or adore them all through Bruce Katz's loving wide-angle lens. All I know for sure is that this is a much-needed book." Now seeing the book in print, sent to me recently by the publisher, I stand by my statement and its implication that it's nigh impossible to reach any conclusions on the phenomenon of NYC skyscrapers this century when imbibing critical takes, mainly of the aesthetic variety, joined by architectural photography presenting the buildings in the best possible manner. No wonder the back-cover description calls it "part architectural guidebook and part critique." Nash's thirteen numbered chapters are grouped in three parts — "A Short History of the Tall Building in New York City," "Supertalls," and "Is Bigger Better?" — with Katz's documentation of the dozen towers inserted as project spreads with black backgrounds. The latter would seem to demarcate photo contributions from text, but more of Katz's photographs are provided alongside Nash's text, making the book more visual than textual. As such, the tug of war between verbal critique and visual praise is near constant. Unfortunately, in the last part of the book, when Nash states that "the real question skyscrapers of any height pose is [...] how they impact the quality of street life," very few photos of that condition, where a skyscraper meets the sidewalk, are provided — and we only see the good examples, including the pedestrian plaza next to One Vanderbilt. Perhaps this dearth is due to timing (the retail at the base of 111 West 57th is still empty, for instance, while its residential entrance on 58th Street sits behind scaffolding), but perhaps it's an inadvertent commentary on the fact these towers contribute very little to the quality of street life. Yes, 432 Park Avenue has a nice POPS between the tower and its detached retail component, but 220 Central Park South puts a private drop-off along 58th Street, opposite where Central Park Tower has an entrance to the pricey Nordstrom department store. Most of these Billionaires' Row towers put their loading docks along narrow 58th Street, but photos similar to those I captured recently would stand out like proverbial sore thumbs in this book. Instead, Nash references Edward Soja, Rebecca Solnit, Shoshna Zuboff, and Henri Lefebvre in a chapter in part three, when he quotes Elizabeth Diller, architect of the near-supertall at 15 Hudson Yards, as saying skyscrapers like 432 Park Avenue and 111 West 57th Street "damage the city fabric." If they do, visual evidence of it is hard to find in Sky-High.

The most recent numbered installment of "Book Briefs," the series of occasional posts featuring short first-hand descriptions of some of the numerous books that publishers send to me for consideration on this blog, was #48, back in December. I wasn't planning on continuing the series this year-of-doing-things-differently (or so I thought), but a couple of weeks ago I brought back the "Briefs" to play around with ChatGPT, which I had been hesitant to dive into but was told by numerous people that I MUST try it. At that time I also mentioned an in-progress "Brief" with eight books — here they are. Concrete in Switzerland: Histories from the Recent Past edited by Salvatore Aprea, Nicola Navone, Laurent Stalder and Sarah Nichols, published by EPFL Press in May 2022 (Amazon / Bookshop) Concrete in Switzerland is a companion publication to Beton, the exhibition held at S AM (Swiss Architecture Museum) in Basel from November 2021 to April 2022. In addition to the involvement of S AM, both the exhibition and the book boast three partners: the gta Archiv, ETH Zürich; the Archives de la construction moderne, EPF Lausanne (EPFL); and Archivio del Moderno dell’Academia di Architettura, Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). The editors from each of these three institutions — Salvatore Aprea (ETH), Nicola Navone (USI), and Laurent Stalder (EPFL) — also contributed one essay each among the book's thirteen essays: Aprea's contribution is about the famous Hennebique System; Navone's focuses, appropriately, on reinforced concrete architecture in Ticino; and Stalder traces about a century of technology's role in the Swiss pastoral, moving from Bruno Taut's Alpine Architecture to near the present day. Appropriately, Stalder's essay is first in the book, effectively serving as an overview or appetizer, if you will, for the essays that take deeper dives into individual subjects. Some standouts include: Silvia Berger Ziauddin's take on concrete bunkers, reminding me of my visit to Sasso San Gottardo; Lorenzo Stieger's essay on terraced hillside housing; Giulia Marino's presentation of the IGECO heavy prefabrication system; and Roberto Gargiani's piece on concrete in the early works of Herzog & de Meuron. This being a companion to an exhibition, the essays comprise about two-thirds of the book, the remainder filled by a lengthy visual essay, "Concrete Stories," by Sarah Nichols, curator of Beton. Her nearly 100-page contribution is broken down into shorter sections with such names as "Concrete is Rock," "Concrete is Energy," and "Concrete is Immaterial." The last shows how ideas around concrete are as important as the physical material itself. Urban Design in the 20th Century: A History by Tom Avermaete and Janina Gosseye, published by gta Verlag in January 2021 (Amazon) In its selection of Urban Design in the 20th Century as one of the ten recipients of a 2022 DAM Architectural Book Award, the jury described the book as "a handy and extensive" publication that is "an exciting, informative, and likewise uncluttered read, giving the complex mass of material a good structure and making it easy to consume." That is an apt description for the 100-plus urban design projects described through hundreds of illustrations across nine chapters spanning 440 pages. Organization is paramount, from the chronological-thematic structure of the chapters to the layout of said images (on black pages) and text (on white). Born from a course in urban design history taught by the authors at ETH Zurich, the book traces a history along the lines of what has been covered before (e.g., the books of Peter Hall and David Grahame Shane) but occasionally broadens the scope beyond a European center, and does it in a way that is appealing for students today: lots of images, large text, and bite-sized (sub)chapters. Today, one might expect a more culturally relevant take on the subject, but the authors point out in the book's coda that most developments in urban design the 20th century were "informed by a European point of view" and that telling a more global history would "undermine current attempts to decolonize history." The last point hints at some forthcoming scholarship that should flesh out histories like this one, presenting alternatives to familiar European perspectives. Modern Architecture in Japan by Manfredo Tafuri, edited by Mohsen Mostafavi, published by MACK in October 2022 (Amazon) Even though, as my collection of books has grown, my appetite for first editions has increased, I still have a soft spot for reprints. (It was one of the likes in my Valentine to architecture books, after all.) They allow hard-to-find, often prohibitively expensive books to be readily available once again and appreciated by new generations of audiences. Even if the ideas in an old book are dated, decisions regarding what merits reprinting point to some renewed interest in a subject or an author's take on a subject, among other things. A few months ago I happened upon a 1982 reprint of Ralph Adams Cram's Impressions of Japanese Architecture and the Allied Arts, first published in 1905 then revised in 1930; I had never heard of the book, but the fact it was reprinted and was relatively cheap led me to buy it. It has a little bit of overlap with one of the fall 2022 books MACK sent me, a handsome reprint of Manfredo Tafuri's Modern Architecture in Japan from 1964. The differences between the two books are as great as their similarities: Both are outsiders' views of Japan (Cram from the US, Tafuri from Italy), but the ensuing changes in the half-century between books meant Tafuri focused on modern architecture over Cram's exploration of temples, shrines, and other creations from previous centuries. (Only in the brief conclusion does Cram jump to the present and Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel and the influence of European architecture on Japan.) Although Cram based his book, as the name indicates, on travels to Japan, curiously, when Tafuri wrote his guide to the country's modern architecture at the age of just 29, he had never even been to Japan! But the biggest difference, at least in terms of the reprints themselves, is that Tafuri's book was originally released in Italian, so the book put out by MACK is notable as the first English translation of his armchair guidebook. The nearly 60-year lag between original and translation means its importance is minor relative to Architecture and Utopia (just six years between the 1973 Italian original and English translation in 1979) or even Theories and History of Architecture (twelve years: 1968 and 1980). Still, Mohsen Mostafavi's preface argues for the relevance of Tafuri's book today "despite its reliance on secondary sources and its occasional inaccuracies," while a handful of essays following Tafuri's text put it in a greater context. A most interesting take is Tafuri writing the book as much to influence contemporary architecture in Italy as to understand it in Japan. Modern Architecture in Japan was part of a series edited by Leonardo Benevolo, in which other architects and writers wrote about the Soviet Union, Great Britain, Brazil, and a few European countries. I can't help but wonder if those books will find their way into English, or if Tafuri's book, thanks to the longevity of his name, will be the only one meriting a reprint. The Pliable Plane: The Wall as Surface in Sculpture and Architecture, 1945–75 by Penelope Curtis, published by MACK in October 2022 (Amazon) Just as MACK's translated reprint of Tafuri's book reminded me of an older book on Japan, the subject of Penelope Curtis's The Pliable Plane — the manipulation of the wall surface bridging art and architecture in the decades after WWII — made me think of another old book: Paul F. Damaz's Art in Latin American Architecture. I became aware of the 1963 book when writing 100 Years, 100 Buildings, using it as a reference on two of the buildings: Oscar Niemeyer's Saint Francis of Assisi Church at Pampulha (1947) and University City of Caracas by Carlos Raúl Villanueva (1953). Niemeyer actually wrote a preface for Damaz's book, and no wonder, considering the author called his church "the best instance of collaboration between an architect and artists"; the expressive azulejo artwork on the street facade is the most famous instance of many artistic contributions integrated with the church, outside and in. Are these or other examples of wall-heavy art in Damaz's survey also found in Curtis's book? Not that I could see. Her short yet very interesting book is limited to European and US examples, with an abundance of Henry Moore — no surprise, given her former role as director of the Henry Moore Institute. While some of the projects are very well known, Curtis examines them in atypical ways. Paul Rudolph's A&A Building at Yale (now Rudolph Hall), for instance, is bound to come to any architect's mind when considering wall surfaces, but Curtis focuses on the lesser-known sculptural plaster casts from classical architecture integrated into the hammered corduroy concrete walls. Part of the joy in the book, at least for me, was discovering previously unknown projects, a standout being the Mausoleum Fosse Ardeatine (1949) in Rome. Foundations of Urban Design by Marcel Smets, published by Actar Publishers in January 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) The latest by Marcel Smets, whom I know of as the author, with Kelly Shannon, of the excellent The Landscape of Contemporary Infrastructure, is a short book with short texts that aim to "open up the core ideas of urban design to the wider public." The Foundations of the title are 29 numbered chapters (F01–F29) that consist of apparently oppositional yet complementary pairs that touch on organizational strategies (Ribbon/Cluster, Ladder/Star), urban spaces (Market Square/Parade Ground, Hole/Void), circulation corridors (Street/Road, Path/Avenue), waterways (Brook/Detch, River, Canal), and other less formal aspects of urban design (Use/Morphology, Creator/Curator), among other things. The short texts (none appeared to be more than four pages) are accompanied by pairs of images that capture the essence of Smets's lessons. Given the intended audience, the text is far from challenging and is further leavened by the illustrations, though I wouldn't go so far to say it's a stimulating read. Still, the book is a good introduction to urban design for students — and that wider public curious about the field. Spatial Infrastructure: Essays on Architectural Thinking as a Form of Knowledge by José Aragüez, published by Actar Publishers and Public Space in January 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop) Back in 2016, José Aragüez's The Building was released. I never saw the book back then, but I recently picked it up and, despite its occasional academic abstruseness, really like the collection of 43 brief, three-page theoretical takes on what the title indicates: buildings. Born from symposia at the Architectural Association in 2014, it reads a bit like TED Talks for architectural educators and theoreticians. Clearly not a followup, even though it does include the introductory essay from the earlier book, Aragüez's second book, Spatial Infrastructure, takes a different, longform approach, featuring just eight essays across roughly 150 pages (that's nearly 20 pages per essay, on average). The topics in the essays spanning from 2010 to 2022 are very much aligned with The Building, with heady theoretical takes grounded in discussions of real-world examples, such as Toyo Ito's Taichung Metropolitan Opera House in Taiwan (the subject of "Sponge Territory") and FOA's Yokohama Ferry Terminal among other buildings in the essay that lends the book its title. Em obras: história do vazio em Belo Horizonte (Under Construction: History of the Void in Belo Horizonte) by Carlos M. Teixeira, published by Romano Guerra Editora in 2022 (Amazon) Think of cities in Brazil and most likely the three most-populous ones spring to mind: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Brasilia. Sixth on the list of Brazilian cities by population, though right up top in the life of architect Carlos M. Teixeira, is Belo Horizonte, a not-too-small city of 2.5 million in Minas Gerais. The name of Teixeira's studio, Vazio S/A, translates as "empty" but refers to the voids in Belo Horizonte that have preoccupied him for decades. In my review of his 2012 monograph, Entre, I wrote how "the stagings and sets [of his performance-based projects] attempt to activate the leftover voids of his home city," using the second Topographical Amnesia as an example. For his latest, more thematically ambitious and chronologically sweeping book, Teixeira presents the 100-plus-year history of Belo Horizonte (it was founded in 1897) with a focus on everything that has not been built: "The city, fragmented and prosaic, accepted with no nostalgic sentiment and exalted as what is most important in the city." This atypical history is told through photographs — "anti-postcards" — and numbered texts (001–122) that are interspersed with the photos. (The English translation placed at the end of the book means some back-and-forth flipping is needed to see any relationships between image and text.) Architects outside Brazil will see something familiar when they reach number 82, circa 1947: Oscar Niemeyer's buildings at Pampulha, what Teixeira calls "the occupation of a suburban void." In 1994, Teixeira writes, when residents were give a referendum to select a symbol of the city, Niemeyer's Pampulha Church was in the running but, in the end, the Serra do Curral — a sprawling natural void at the southern boundary of the municipality — won with 270,000 votes. With that "victory," I can't think of a stronger argument for Teixeira's ongoing infatuation with the void in the city where he lives and works. Lina Bo Bardi: Material Ideologies edited by Monica Ponce de Leon, published by Princeton University School of Architecture in October 2022 (Amazon / Bookshop) The Womxn in Design and Architecture (WDA) formed at Princeton University School of Architecture in 2014, and three years later the graduate student group held its first annual conference, commemorating the one-year anniversary of Zaha Hadid’s passing. But it would be the second conference, Lina Bo Bardi: Material Ecologies, that became the first in WDA's Publication Series, published as a beautiful linen flexicover with numerous gatefolds among the numerous contributions coming out of the March 2018 conference. The conference had a three-part thematic structure (Concrete Brut, Natura, Material Re-Use) stemming from the "Material Ecologies" subtitle, and while the contents of the book follow the schedule of the conference's keynotes and panels, with two notable additions (Beatriz Colomina and Mario Gandelsonas), the book does not belabor the three themes, instead letting the essays stand out on their own merits. An obvious highlight is "Betwixt and Between" by Zeuler R. M. de A. Lima, author of an excellent 2013 monograph on Bo Bardi. Photo contributions by Veronika Kellndorfer ("Sprawling Nature") and Joana França ("Lina, In Situ") are stunning. Mike Cooter's "Artifacts of Work" is an unanticipated standout, one that translates a piece of one of Bo Bardi's buildings into an installation in an architecture exhibition. Kudos to CLANADA (Lana Cavar and Natasha Chandani) for the lovely design of the highly tactile book.

Last week I cobbled together eight books, some of which publishers had sent me more than a year ago, in an effort to write a "Better Late Than Never" installment of "Book Briefs," something I had done back in April 2018 with Book Briefs #35. But, sensing I would not be able to absorb the books quickly enough to get the post done in less than a week, I thought that revisiting that five-year-old post would be a great way of (finally) dipping into the timesaver that is AI, asking OpenAI's ChatGPT to write similar one-paragraph reviews and see what it came up with. So that's what I did. Specifically, I told ChatGPT to "Give a short, one-paragraph review of 'X Book' by Y author." Its output is featured below, in four of the six books that were part of Book Briefs #35, accompanied by my own "briefs" from 2018 and blurbs from the publishers. How do the reviews compare, my own vs. OpenAI? My takes are certainly more personal, with first-person commentary that isn't always germane to the book at hand but indicates where I'm coming from and what I find of interest and/or value. ChatGPT is, on the other hand, formulaic, with four sentences in a clearly repetitive structure for each review: statement of importance; two descriptive sentences; a closing statement indicating relevance to a particular audience. The AI "reviews" read well and have a clear position, but they are prescriptive, repetitive, and boring (so many rules of three!), especially when read in multiples, as here. I included the blurbs to see if OpenAI was drawing any phrases from them in shaping the reviews; that does not appear to be the case, nor does it appear that it used my "briefs" to formulate its speedy takes (each one took about five seconds to generate) on the books I gave it. Maybe ChatGPT is more effective in longer reviews, but this exercise does not lend any urgency to such an attempt on my part. African Modernism: The Architecture of Independence. Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Zambia edited by Manuel Herz, published by Park Books in 2015 (reprinted in 2023) (Amazon | Bookshop) Blurb: "In the 1950s and 1960s, most African countries gained independence from their respective colonial power. Architecture became one of the principal means by which the newly formed countries expressed their national identity. African Modernism investigates the close relationship between architecture and nation-building in Ghana, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and Zambia. It features one hundred buildings with brief descriptive texts, images, site plans, and selected floor plans and sections. The vast majority of images were newly taken by Iwan Baan and Alexia Webster for the book’s first edition. Their photographs document the buildings in their present state. Each country is portrayed in an introductory text and a timeline of historic events. Further essays on postcolonial Africa and specific aspects and topics, also illustrated with images and documents, round out this outstanding volume." JohnHILL: Although the size of a coffee table book and graced by full-page Iwan Baan photographs, African Modernism is a deep, scholarly work, not just something to flip through. Focused on the five subtitled African countries that gained their independence in the late 1950s and early 1960s (5 of 32 countries on the continent that did so), the book examines how architecture played a role in expressing their independence and modernity. Each country is given an introduction, a timeline, a photo spread by Baan, documentation of important buildings in photos (most by Baan) and words, and an in-depth academic essay. Though many buildings show signs of wear (not surprising, given the time between their realization and today), the architectural quality is astounding. That the buildings in the book are largely unknown points to a deficit in architectural education and publishing — and the need for more books like this one and Adjaye Africa Architecture. ChatGPT: "'African Modernism: The Architecture of Independence. Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Zambia' edited by Manuel Herz is a groundbreaking book that sheds light on the architectural legacy of African modernism. With a focus on five countries, the book explores the post-independence era and the architectural projects that emerged during this period of political and cultural transformation. The book's rich collection of photographs, plans, and essays provides valuable insight into the unique blend of local and international influences that shaped African modernist architecture. It is an essential resource for anyone interested in the intersection of architecture, history, and cultural identity in Africa." The Architecture of Paul Rudolph by Timothy M. Rohan, published by Yale University Press in 2014 (Amazon | Bookshop) Blurb (excerpt): "Based on extensive archival research and unpublished materials, The Architecture of Paul Rudolph is the first in-depth study of the architect, neglected since his postwar zenith. Author Timothy M. Rohan unearths the ideas that informed Rudolph’s architecture, from his Florida beach houses of the 1940s to his concrete buildings of the 1960s to his lesser-known East Asian skyscrapers of the 1990s. Situating Rudolph within the architectural discourse of his day, Rohan shows how Rudolph countered the perceived monotony of mid-century modernism with a dramatically expressive architecture for postwar America, exemplified by his Yale Art and Architecture Building of 1963, famously clad in corrugated concrete. The fascinating story of Rudolph’s spectacular rise and fall considerably deepens longstanding conceptions about postwar architecture: Rudolph emerges as a pivotal figure who anticipated new directions for architecture, ranging from postmodernism to sustainability." JohnHILL: A lot has happened in the four years since this book's publication [between 2014 and 2018]: Bertrand Goldberg's Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago was demolished, Paul Rudolph's own Orange County Government Center was maligned through a partial demolition and insensitive addition, and the famed Robin Hood Gardens was demolished. A new exhibition, in fact, hones in on the demolition of Brutalist structures, something that books like Rohan's haven't been able to reverse. This isn't to say that saving Rudolph's buildings and others like it was Rohan's goal, but as Alexandra Lange points out in her 2014 review of The Architecture of Paul Rudolph, "it's a timely publication." That time seems to have slid by rapidly, but given that 2018 is the centennial of Rudolph's birth, we might just see a renewed appreciation in his work. If so, Rohan's thorough, well-researched book will surely play a part. ChatGPT: "'The Architecture of Paul Rudolph' by Timothy M. Rohan is a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the influential architect's work. Rohan delves into Rudolph's distinctive design language, innovative use of materials, and his significant contributions to modern architecture. Through detailed analysis and stunning visuals, the book captures the complexity and dynamism of Rudolph's buildings, showcasing his mastery of space, form, and light. This book serves as an invaluable resource for architects, students, and enthusiasts seeking a deeper understanding of Rudolph's architectural legacy and his lasting impact on the field." Brodsky & Utkin by Alexander Brodsky and Ilya Utkin, published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2015 (Amazon) Blurb: "From 1978 to 1993, the renowned Soviet 'paper architects' Alexander Brodsky and Ilya Utkin created an incredible collection of elaborate etchings depicting outlandish, often impossible, buildings and cityscapes. Funny, cerebral, and deeply human, their obsessively detailed work layers elements borrowed from Egyptian tombs, Ledoux's visionary architecture, Le Corbusier's urban master plans, and other historical precedents in etchings of breathtaking complexity and beauty. Back by popular demand following the sold-out original 1991 edition and 2003 reprint, Brodsky & Utkin presents the sum of the architects' collaborative prints and adds new material, including an updated preface by the artists' gallery representative, Ron Feldman, a new introductory essay by architect Aleksandr Mergold, visual documentation of the duo's installation work, and rare personal photographs." JohnHILL: I'm not certain when I first learned about Russian Architects Alexander Brodsky and Ilya Utkin. Maybe it was in a 2005 blog post at Pruned. For sure it was well after the title Princeton Architectural Press put out on the duo in the early 1990s, as well as the 2003 first edition they put out and then printed again (with new preface) in 2015. The duo's intricate etchings are more art than architecture (they're represented by Feldman Gallery, after all), though many were submissions for architectural competitions hosted by Shinkenchiku and others in the 1980s. At 9x12 inches, the book isn't small, but with so many layers of information in their images it could easily be twice as large. ChatGPT: "'Brodsky & Utkin' by Alexander Brodsky and Ilya Utkin, published by Princeton Architectural Press, is a captivating and visually stunning retrospective of the renowned Russian architectural duo. The book showcases the imaginative and whimsical architectural drawings and etchings that Brodsky and Utkin are known for. With their unique blend of historical references, surrealism, and social commentary, their works transport readers to a dreamlike world of fantastical structures. This publication serves as a valuable tribute to their distinctive artistic vision and is a must-have for architecture enthusiasts, artists, and anyone captivated by the power of architectural illustration." Le Corbusier, Homme de Lettres by M. Christine Boyer, published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2010 (Amazon) Blurb (excerpt): "On his French identity card, legendary architect Le Corbusier listed his profession as 'Homme de Lettres' (Man of Letters). Celebrated for his architecture, which numbers fewer than sixty buildings, Le Corbusier also wrote more than fifty books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of letters. Le Corbusier, Homme de Lettres is the first in-depth study of Le Corbusier as a writer as well as an architect. [...] In Le Corbusier, Homme de Lettres author M. Christine Boyer focuses on the development of his writing style as it morphed from romantic prose to aphorisms and telegraphic bulletins. [...] Le Corbusier, Homme de Lettres shows for the first time how his voluminous output — books, diaries, letters, sketchbooks, travel notebooks, lecture transcriptions, exposition catalogs, journal articles — reflects not just a compulsion to write, but a passion for advancing his ideas about the relationship between architecture, urbanism, and society in a new machine age." JohnHILL: When I received this book way back in 2010, I had every intention of reading the whole thing — all 702 pages (780 pages with notes and index). Well, life got in the way and I only got through two of the book's twelve chapters before putting it down and, unfortunately, not returning to it again. I recall those hundred or so pages being, though not an easy read, certainly an enjoyable one. Boyer managed to mine Le Corbusier's original documents and discuss them in a way that pulls the reader along. A strong interest in Le Corbusier and his writings (the book focuses on 1907-1947) helps greatly; though there are plenty of architects out there meeting that criteria. ChatGPT: "'Le Corbusier, Homme de Lettres' by M. Christine Boyer is a compelling exploration of Le Corbusier's lesser-known role as a man of letters. Boyer sheds light on the prolific writings of the renowned architect, showcasing his literary talents and intellectual pursuits. Through a meticulous examination of his letters, essays, and manifestos, the book reveals the breadth and depth of Le Corbusier's ideas on architecture, urbanism, and society. This book is a valuable resource for scholars and enthusiasts seeking a deeper understanding of Le Corbusier's multifaceted contributions to the fields of architecture and literature." As an expansion of my partial revisiting of Book Briefs #35, below are catalogs of two exhibitions I wrote about for World-Architects back in 2022 (MoMA's The Project of Independence in February of that year, The Met's Bernd & Hilla Becher in July) but never got around to reviewing here. These are books I consulted after my initial visits and while writing my exhibition reviews, so I have some familiarity with them, albeit now from a distance of roughly a year or more. But given that I'd yet to articulate my thoughts on them, I decided to write "briefs" on them after inputting the same prompt into ChatGPT — a reverse of the reviews above. Will the AI-generated affect how I write about them? Should I adopt the style of ChatGPT in my one-paragraph reviews? Read on to see... The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947–1985 edited by Martino Stierli, Anoma Pieris and Sean Anderson, published by the Museum of Modern Art in March 2022 (Amazon | Bookshop) Blurb (excerpt): "Anchored by a newly commissioned portfolio of images from architectural photographer Randhir Singh, this richly illustrated and meticulously researched catalogue features essays by the curators and leading scholars in the field on subjects such as the politics of concrete, institution-building, higher education, housing, infrastructure and industry, landscape, and design, as well as presentations of seventeen transformative projects from around the subcontinent. While several of the architects appearing in these pages have in recent years received monographic exhibitions, The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947–1985 marks the first attempt to consider their work within the ideological frameworks of its creation and the political context of the region as a whole." ChatGPT: "'The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947–1985' edited by Martino Stierli, Anoma Pieris, and Sean Anderson is a thought-provoking and enlightening anthology that explores the architectural landscape of South Asia during the post-independence era. Through a collection of essays, case studies, and visual documentation, the book examines the complex interplay between politics, identity, and architectural production in the region. It sheds light on the diverse range of architectural projects that emerged during this transformative period, offering valuable insights into the decolonization process and its impact on the built environment. This book is an essential resource for architects, historians, and anyone interested in the intersection of architecture, history, and postcolonial studies." JohnHILL: Museum of Modern Art curator Martino Stierli, in an interview at World-Architects that I edited ahead of the opening of The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947–1985, described that exhibition as "a continuation of the 2018 exhibition, Toward A Concrete Utopia," subtitled Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948–1980 and notably his first major show at MoMA. Stierli actually proposed the exhibition on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in his 2014 interview for the MoMA post, a clear sign that he sees the contemporary importance in "destabilizing the Western-centric canon of modern architectural history," one notably fostered by MoMA for decades. The catalog is as good as the exhibition was, with a portfolio of contemporary photographs by Randhir Singh, essays by architects and scholars (on cities, housing, infrastructure, education, and other subjects), and case studies on more than a dozen buildings, from Antonin Raymond' s Golconde dormitory in Pondicherry, India, to Yasmeen Lari's Anguri Bagh Housing in Lahore, Pakistan. As befits Stierli, an architectural historian, the catalog is more thorough and wide-ranging than the exhibition it accompanied. Bernd & Hilla Becher by Jeff L. Rosenheim, published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in August 2022 (Amazon / Bookshop) Blurb: "For more than five decades, Bernd (1931–2007) and Hilla (1934–2015) Becher collaborated on photographs of industrial architecture in Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Great Britain, and the United States. This sweeping monograph features the Bechers’ quintessential pictures, which present water towers, gas tanks, blast furnaces, and more as sculptural objects. Beyond the Bechers’ iconic Typologies, the book includes Bernd’s early drawings, Hilla’s independent photographs, and excerpts from their notes, sketchbooks, and journals. The book’s authors offer new insights into the development of the artists’ process, their work’s conceptual underpinnings, the photographers’ relationship to deindustrialization, and the artists’ legacy. An essay by award-winning cultural historian Lucy Sante and an interview with Max Becher, the artists’ son, make this volume an unrivaled look into the Bechers’ art alongside their career, life, and subjects." ChatGPT: "'Bernd & Hilla Becher' by Jeff L. Rosenheim is a captivating tribute to the renowned German photographic duo known for their systematic documentation of industrial architecture. The book delves into the Bechers' distinctive approach to capturing the beauty and functionality of industrial structures, presenting their work as a unique blend of art and documentary photography. With insightful essays, stunning reproductions of their iconic images, and a comprehensive overview of their artistic journey, this book is an essential resource for photography enthusiasts, art historians, and anyone fascinated by the power of visual storytelling." JohnHILL: In the last of six numbered galleries of the Bernd & Hilla Becher exhibition at The Met last year, a glass vitrine displayed a selection of books published by the photographers in their lifetime. I wrote in my review of the exhibition that "books [were] an integral part of their career — the primary means of making their work accessible to artists, architects, historians, and the general public." Their books, furthermore, are highly prized — expensive even as reprints, and somewhat scarce — so any book on the Bechers, in my mind, is welcome, especially this one by Met curator Jeff L. Rosenheim. Highlights of the beautifully produced catalog include Gabrielle Conrath-Scholl's essay on the Bechers' documentation of Zeche Concordia between 1967 and 1970; Rosenheim's interview with Max, the Bechers' son; and 120 pages of plates that include a couple gatefolds. The plates may not be a substitute for seeing the Bechers' photographs — larger — in a gallery setting, but their accompaniments make them that as valuable here.

Two weeks ago I was in Venice for the Biennale, covering the 18th International Architecture Exhibition curated by Lesley Lokko for World-Architects. It was my first trip back to Venice since the 2018 Biennale, which was the 16th edition and was curated by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects. Like other writers outside of Europe, the interim edition, though delayed from 2020 to 2021 due the pandemic, still opened at a time when international travel was difficult. I passed on it, as many others did. My 2018 trip yielded a pair of "book briefs" on this blog with two handfuls of catalogs from the main exhibition, some from the national pavilions, and some on collateral events. Although a similar number of books from the current Biennale is featured below, it felt this year that print catalogs were slimmer than in years past. For instance, the national pavilions were focused more on digital than print publications, making them available via QR codes and offering to ship print versions later. And only one pavilion, Bahrain, had a large stack of books that whittled down over the course of the two-day vernissage. The FOODSCAPES book in the Spanish Pavilion I have a hard time passing up any printed catalog, but I could only carry so much with me, so the below list is limited to the ones I felt were important enough to bring home with me. What's missing? The most exceptional printed catalog I came across was for the Spanish Pavilion, FOODSCAPES, whose website indicates part of the exhibition includes "an archive in the form of a recipe book." The book I flipped through on the large table in the middle of the venue (photo above) was large, the size of an atlas; its large pages were full of essays, images, architectural projects, and other content related to the theme. But only a newsprint was distributed during the vernissage and, while the Biennale bookshop was selling catalogs to other pavilions, Spain was not one of them. For now, this book remains a mystery. The days leading up to the opening of the Biennale on May 20 were also packed with book launches, some that I signed up for ahead of time but, for one reason or another, didn't make it to, and others that I happened upon as I trekked the Biennale grounds or ventured around Venice. These books I missed include: Sketches on Everlasting Plastics, the first iteration of an ongoing editorial intervention around the US Pavilion exhibition Everlasting Plastics; Architecture in Islamic Countries: Selections from the Catalogue for the Second International Exhibition of Architecture Venice 1982/83, the first English translation of the Italian catalog for the second Venice Architecture Biennale, directed by Paolo Portoghesi; and the launch of the first volume of Khōrein: Journal for Architecture and Philosophy. Main Exhibition: Biennale Architettura 2023: The Laboratory of the Future edited by Lesley Lokko, published by Silvana Editoriale (Amazon / Bookshop) As seems to be the norm in Biennales this century, the catalog for the International Architecture Exhibition is published in two sizes (small and large) and, at least in the large size, in two volumes: one volume devoted to the main exhibition and one volume cataloging the dozens of national pavilions. The latter for this year is the slimmer volume (176 pages) and is basically unnecessary, given the numerous standalone catalogs for the national pavilions and the only cursory, preliminary content available for each contribution. The volume basically serves as a reference, with two-page spreads providing a curatorial statement, list of contributors, and an image giving a sense of the theme for each pavilion and collateral event. On the other hand, the longer, 440-page volume devoted to Lesley Lokko's exhibition, The Laboratory of the Future, is more than necessary. Not only does it provide similar statements, team information, and images on the 89 contributors to the exhibition, it helpfully presents them in the multifaceted structure Lokko set up for the exhibition. Within the theme are a handful of sections (Force Majeure, Dangerous Liaisons, Curator's Special Projects, etc.) that are split between the Giardini and Arsenale venues but also intertwined. The catalog presents the contributions within this thematic structure and in alphabetical order; plans of the venues with numbered keys indicate their physical location. Short essays and images inserted between the color-coded sections round out the beautifully produced volume. National Pavilions: Cloud-to-ground edited by Oren Eldar, Edith Kofsky and Hadas Maor, published by Park Books (Amazon / Bookshop) Open for Maintenance – Wegen Umbau geöffnet edited by Anh-Linh Ngo, published by ARCH+ / Spector Books (Amazon / Bookshop) Partecipazione / Beteiligung edited by AKT and Hermann Czech, published by Luftschacht Verlag (Amazon / Bookshop) Walkers in Amazonia: The Calendar Project edited by Alexia León and Lucho Marcial, published by Patronato Cultural del Peru (PDF download) With just two days of the vernissage to take in the large main exhibition, dozens of national pavilions, and even more collateral events and other exhibitions around the city — and with most visitors to the Biennale spending a day or two there anyways — catalogs are valuable for allowing visitors to devote more time to exhibits of interest. They're particularly valuable for the national pavilions, which are major efforts that often treat the catalogs as extensions of the materials on display. A case in point is Israel's pavilion, cloud-to-ground, which is empty this year and just consists of a few models of buildings on stands in the adjacent courtyard. The concrete models depict old telephone exchanges that are, in reality like the Israel Pavilion, closed off, symbols of how technological change leads to a residue of "black boxes" and provoke the obvious question: What will happen to today's server farms tomorrow, when their technology is obsolete? If the pavilion is slim on information, the book is thorough — and lovely, in its own way — overloaded with essays, interviews, a 112-page "telephone exchanges index," an index of data centers, and much more content. Brazil and Great Britain won the jury's awards for national pavilions, but two of my favorites didn't: Austria and Germany. Though markedly different in content, each pavilion is about connecting to the Venetian context; Austria does it through a proposal to physically link its pavilion to the Sant'Elena neighborhood just beyond its walls, and Germany does it by turning its pavilion into a materials depot and workshop for Venetian students and craftspeople to use scrap from the 2022 Venice Art Biennale for school and building projects. Austria's bilingual catalog gives a background on the Biennale's gradual encroachment into Sant'Elena as the reasoning behind the temporary footbridge the curators wanted to build for this year's exhibition; the book also catalogs the expansion of the Biennale this century into the rest of the city via small venues and has essays on the right to the city and other relevant topics. It's a strong, politically charged idea — no wonder the Biennale and other authorities shot down the proposed temporary bridge. The German Pavilion is curated in part by the editors of ARCH+, so logically the catalog to Open for Maintenance – Wegen Umbau geöffnet is published by the German architecture magazine; it has been released in separate German and English issues, the latter done with Spector Books. The 208-page matte-paper issue, number 252, comes with a 24-page glossy insert that explains the premise of the pavilion and documents its realization through color photographs. The various pieces of the pavilion — exterior ramp, material repository, workshop, kitchenette, waterless toilet, and meeting space — are both illustrative and functioning parts of the circular economy promoted by the curators. The numerous contributions to the issue proper address everything from maintenance and care to race and gender, from the politics of disability to squatting and the right to the city. The issue even has built projects, set off from the rest on gray pages, that follow from the pavilion's theme. Last of the national pavilion catalogs I brought home is Walkers in Amazonia: The Calendar Project, Peru's contribution to the Biennale. Housed in a smallish building at the Arsenale alongside a few other nations that don't have their own pavilions in the Giardini, Walkers in Amazonia is structured as an A-frame displaying colorful calendars created by indigenous communities in the Peruvian jungle. The catalog contains all of those calendars on glossy pages, but at a smaller size that means many of the words accompanying the drawings are too small to read (they're all in Spanish, obviously, but still). The calendars clearly express a circular understanding of time that is rooted in natural cycles, of reciprocally living in and caring for the jungle. Coincidentally, I met architect Marta Maccaglia, who was in town to accept the inaugural divia award (see below) for the work she's been doing in Peru for about a decade; she told me how happy she was to see the Peruvian jungle as the subject of the pavilion, especially its expression in the colorful circular calendars. Elsewhere in Venice: divia award 2023: Diversity in Architecture edited by Ursula Schwitalla and Christiane Fath, published by Hatje Cantz (Amazon) Kengo Kuma: Onomatopoeia Architecture edited by Elena Caldara, published by Dario Cimorelli Editore Quaderns Biennale, 2023: Following the Fish edited by Daniel Cid, Francesc Pla and Eva Serrats, published by Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC) Zero Gravity Urbanism: Principles for a New Livability published by NEOM La Biennale di Venezia has a structure that is clear but can be confusing for people visiting Venice during the Biennale — which is about half of every year, when considered between the alternating art and architecture exhibitions. The official exhibitions and events for the Venice Architecture Biennale consist of the International Architecture Exhibition (the one curated by Lesley Lokko this year), the national pavilions (in the Giardini, traditionally, but also in the Arsenale), special projects like V&A's Applied Arts Pavilion, and collateral events that are distributed around the city. But many unofficial exhibitions and events overlap with the Biennale, taking advantage of the people visiting the city to look at architecture exhibitions but also giving the impression that any exhibition in Venice in that time is part of the Biennale. Of these four books, only one is for an official Biennale event. One of the just nine collateral events in this year's Biennale is Catalonia in Venice_ Following the Fish, which is strongly aligned with Lesley Lokko's exhibition. (National pavilions, or in this case a regional collateral event, don't need to follow the theme of the main exhibition, but they have every right to — and often they do.) It looks at the community of vendors ("manters") in Barcelona who traveled there from Senegal for better opportunities, but instead of being able to ply their trades they are left to hustle cheap wares on the sidewalks, always on the lookout for police ready to arrest them. The story is more complicated than this description, but the exhibition bravely addresses the racism the manters confront on a daily basis; and it reveals to visitors the unseen or ignored community that the curators have formed an alliance with, one aimed at much-needed reparations. Architecturally, the pavilion includes some small-scale solutions for community places in Barcelona, but the catalog focuses on texts that contextualize the complex issue. Want an experience that is the near-opposite of Following the Fish? Head to Abbazia di San Gregorio and the over-the-top, non-Biennale exhibition of The Line and other NEOM projects. Zero Gravity Urbanism—Principles for a New Livability is, I wrote, more marketing than culture: numerous models of various scales for The Line, the inane — or it it insane? — proposal for a 170-km-long "city" in the Saudi Arabian desert that would house 9 million people and somehow be a model for sustainable living. I'll admit that the models on display are impressive, and the architect in me who was educated in the early 1990s liked seeing designs that were almost plucked from the decade ... but this is irresponsible planning, to say the least. Yet, with the country's deep pockets and architects willing to go along with it, at least a portion of it is being realized: The Hidden Marina, clearly catering to the super rich and their vessels. The catalog I was able to get a hold of is "not for sale," per its insides, but like the exhibition it's more marketing than anything else of value. Not far from the NEOM exhibition, at the Berührungspunkte venue along the Grand Canal, the inaugural divia award was celebrated the Friday of the vernissage. The event was not the unveiling of the winner, Marta Maccaglia, which had taken place a couple weeks prior in Berlin, but a celebration of the award taking place during the Biennale and the distribution of a few copies of the book on the award. (World-Architects is a media partner for divia, which is short of Diversity in Architecture, so I was able to get a copy.) The book is slim, at less than 100 pages, but is very well done, from its red cover boards to the color photos with projects of the winner and finalists, and interviews with the same. While the inaugural award created by Ursula Schwitalla and Christiane Fath is focused on women in architecture, future iterations of the award are supposed to branch out to encompass other areas of diversity within the profession. Directly across the Grand Canal from Berührungspunkte is Palazzo Franchetti, a venue for Portugal's national pavilion but also host to an exhibition of cultural projects underway in Qatar (almost as questionable as NEOM) and a sizable monographic exhibition on Kengo Kuma. Onomatopoeia Architecture, which I'll be reviewing for World-Architects in the coming weeks, is a pleasing show, with beautiful models of Kuma's buildings sitting in the palazzo's lushly appointed rooms. The displays are accompanied by two installations: a wooden structure at the entrance to the exhibition on the piano nobile and a larger aluminum piece in the garden overlooking the Grand Canal and the Accademia Bridge. The catalog isn't a particularly deep exploration of Kuma's buildings, but it does a good job of articulating the ideas behind the Japanese architect's "onomatopoeia architecture."

Over at World-Architects I wrote about two self-published books recently published by BNIM and KPF: ALL - The Tom and Ruth Harkin Center by BNIM Design in Detail by Kohn Pedersen Fox The "Found" feature also includes responses to a few questions on why the firms opted to self-publish rather than work with publishers on these books.

This year's New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is my third, following the 2022 book fair and, just days before lockdown, the 2020 book fair. Three hardly makes me an expert, even in my specialization of architecture books, but it does help with gauging the value given to books on the subject and getting a sense of how architecture books are seen within the wider rare books market. Generally, "rare" equates with "old" first editions that have signatures and, in some cases, limited print runs. The last, in the realm of architecture, points to anything pre-capital-M-modern but also, ironically, architecture books in general, since they tend to have limited print runs compared to fiction — compared to anything but artist books, really — and usually just one printing. But the small print runs of architecture books do not equate to high asking prices, as could be grasped by the smattering of architecture books that I came across at the 2023 edition of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair — at the Park Avenue Armory until Sunday. The ones on display are a narrow bunch, tending almost exclusively toward big-name architects from the 20th century (Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Venturi Scott Brown) and old Europeans (Alberti, Palladio, Vitrivius, Piranesi). Along these lines, below are some things I learned while browsing the booths at this year's book fair trying to find some architectural gems. Lesson 1: Corbu is (still) king. If one architect appeared more than any other in my quick scan of the booksellers' offerings yesterday afternoon, it was definitely Le Corbusier; he made roughly fifty books in his lifetime, so that's hardly a surprise. It also helps that it's been a half-century since his death and, even with a lot of criticism of his legacy in recent years, he seems more popular than ever in rare book circles. A few of the Corbu books I came across: Johnson Rare Books & Archives has a first edition of Des Canons, Des Munitions? Merci! Des Logis... S.V.P. from 1937, complete with a typed signed letter by Corbu. It is going for $7,500. Ursus Books is selling an "incredibly rare first edition of Le Corbusier's legendary Farbenklaviatur [Color Keyboards ...] the first of the two collections of colors which he designed for the Salubra wallpaper company" in 1931. Birkhäuser did a reproduction about 25 years ago that can be found for a few hundred dollars, but a first edition at Ursus will put you back $22,500. Those offerings pale in comparison to one of the 250 copies of La Poème de l'Angle Droit from 1955; Bernett Penka Rare Books on the Arts and Visual Culture has it, complete with an original case, for $50,000. Lesson 2: Old + European = Rare + Valuable. While walking the aisles of the fair, it felt at times that "architecture" was limited to old treatises, pattern books, etchings, and the like, all coming from Europe centuries ago. Large folios opened to drawings were in many glass cases, standing out as skilled and (once) influential creations but also anachronistic images of what many people think buildings should be: classical. Traditionally, architecture libraries — be they institutional, professional, or private — have been practical: providing guidance and inspiration for architects. Outside of a few architectural historians, that's not the case with books like these, which are prized for their age, scarcity, and beauty, not their practicality to architects. And even if architects still used them, such as those at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, they'd probably use reprints rather than valuable 500-year-old originals. Ursus Books makes another appearance here, this time with a portfolio (ca. 1810) of 24 plates by Antoine Joseph Gaitte of Claude Nicholas Ledoux's 18th-century toll-gates in Paris. Price: $8,500. Books — or, more accurately, scrolls — of Vitruvius's foundational text on architecture, De architectura, don't exist, so later Renaissance versions of it are prized, such as this one edited by Fra Giovanni Tacuino in 1511. Erasmushaus is selling it for $65,000. (The Basel-based bookseller also has a first edition of Palladio's Quattro Libri for $66,000.) The enduring legacy of Giovanni Battista Piranesi is evident in "The Grand Tour" booth of Mayfair Rare Books & Manuscripts, which has a folio with 20 etched plates of Paestum (ca. 1778) going for €25,000. Lesson 3: Architects love certain artists and designers. Audience is always important when it comes to book sales. If we lump architects together as one audience, I'd argue that they purchase books outside of architecture as often as they amass books on architecture. Books on art and design are high among the former, with very particular artists and designers — ones with shared affinities for form, space, texture, etc. — standing out over others. A couple are below, plus one surprise (to me). In his lifetime Massimo Vignelli designed many architecture books, though in NYC he is known for his redesign of the MTA subway map in the 1970s. Never widely implemented, the Vignelli Map made a comeback this century for the MTA's Weekender website, and in recent years I've seen it popping up in stations. Still, seeing an original map from 1978 at Geographicus Rare Antique Maps made me stop in my tracks (no pun intended). How much? $7,500. Architects love artists who trained as architects, and right up top is Gordon Matta-Clark, who sliced and cut open buildings, documenting the transient (de)constructions in photographs. A book of his I'd heard about but hadn't seen in person is Walls Paper, which the artist made from photographs of partially demolished buildings in the Bronx in the early 1970s (he died in 1978 at just 35 years old). He colored the b/w photos and then cut the pages in the middle so juxtapositions are created as one flips through it. Two copies were on display at the fair: at Sims Reed Ltd. ($5,000) and Jeff Hirsch Books ($3,000). Who is this Utopian architectural designer that Vivien Greene supposedly called the "Edgar Allan Poe of Architecture"? I'd never heard of Albert Trachsel before coming across this signed copy of Les Fêtes réelles, an "architectural poem" he made in 1897. Martyan Lan is selling it for $9,500. Lesson 4: Learning from Las Vegas is the architect's "one book." If there is one book today that every architect should have, it's not Le Corbusier's Vers une architecture or Koolhaas and company's S,M,L,XL or even Christopher Alexander's A Pattern Language. It's Learning from Las Vegas by Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and Steven Izenour. (No explanation needed on its importance and influence, I hope, but here's something I wrote about it five years ago.) Heck, most architects already have the book, but I'm referring to the 1972 first edition, not the 1977 paperback. It's big, expensive (even the facsimile edition put out by MIT Press in 2017 is $100), and rare. I'm lucky enough to have a first edition, but mine is lacking the glassine jacket that Johnson Rare Books & Archives has on display next to Corbusier's Munitions. That's not an original box at right, but inside the book are the authors' signatures, which brings the price to $3,000.