Book Briefs #3

"Book Briefs" are an ongoing series of posts with two- or three-sentence first-hand descriptions of some of the numerous books that make their way into my library. These briefs are not full-blown reviews, but they are a way to share more books worthy of attention than can find their way into reviews on my daily or weekly pages.



1: Morris Lapidus: The Architecture of Joy by Deborah Desilets | Rizzoli | 2010 | Amazon
While the architecture of Morris Lapidus was not appreciated by contemporaries, a growing appreciation for his work has occurred in the last couple of decades. He is best known for the curving balconies of a number of hotels in Miami Beach, which are collected here in coffee-table-book style in large color and black-and-white photographs. Most of the book is just that, photos of a small number of Lapidus's many buildings, with appreciative text coming at the back of the book.

2: Guastavino Vaulting: The Art of Structural Tile by John Ochsendorf | Princeton Architectural Press | 2010 | Amazon
Grand Central Terminal's Whispering Gallery, and the Oyster Bar Restaurant which it fronts, are popular yet hidden destinations for tourists. The auditory and spatial qualities of each can be attributed to the Rafael Guastavino family, who "oversaw the construction of thousands of spectacular thin-tile vaults across the United States between the 1880s and 1950s." Many are in New York City, and they and others are highlighted in this history of the family's techniques and art that created such memorable and long-lasting spaces.

3: Stickwork by Patrick Dougherty | Princeton Architectural Press | 2010 | Amazon
I first became familiar with artist Patrick Dougherty with another PAPress title, Natural Architecture by Alessandro Rocca; one of his "stickworks" actually graces the cover of that book. Here his amazing outdoor and gallery installations fill a whole book. His stickworks resemble oversized bird nests, manipulated into unnatural yet organic shapes and containers that one can step inside. I've yet to experience once of Dougherty's installations in person, but seeing the body of work in these pages makes me hope that day comes soon...and this will be my best bet.



4: Beyond 3: Trends and Fads edited by Pedro Gadanho | SUN Architecture | 2010 | Amazon
The third volume of the "bookazine dedicated to urban fiction and experimental architectural writing" continues in the vein of the first two, asking writers to respond to a theme. Trends and fads are addressed in a long reprinted essay on fashion by Georg Simmel and new contributions by Kieran Long, Jimenez Lai, Mockitecture, and Oren Safdie. The last is part of The Bilbao Effect, a play that puts "starchitecture" on trial. Commentary on buildings by famous architects is found in other places here, among numerous other diverse contributions.

5: Sustainable School Architecture: Design for Elementary and Secondary Schools by Lisa Gelfand with Eric Corey Freed | Wiley | 2010 | Amazon
Sustainable architecture is becoming a given on just about any project, but it is particularly important in primary and secondary schools, where a design's eco-responsibility can be a strong influence on the students. This title in Wiley's Sustainable Design series discusses the various steps in a project, from planning to occupation. Chapters focusing on the various parts of a project -- planning, design, daylighting, structures, HVAC, landscaping, furnishings, cost and bidding, construction, operations, maintenance -- lay out various considerations, strategies, and case studies, geared towards giving architects the tools and thinking for creating responsive green schools, whatever the circumstances may be.

6: Human Settlements edited by Kelly Shannon | SUN Architecture | 2010 | Amazon
According to the United Nations, "Human settlements means the totality of the human community - whether city, town or village - with all the social, material, organizational, spiritual and cultural elements that sustain it. The fabric of human settlements consists of physical elements and services to which these elements provide the material support." This book looks at the evolution of the discipline of human settlements, especially in reference to urbanism, since the 1970s. The canvas is broad, global (Pakistan, Vietnam, India, Peru, Brazil, etc.), and aided by numerous illustrations of various case studies.

Book Briefs #2

"Book Briefs" are an ongoing series of posts with two- or three-sentence first-hand descriptions of some of the numerous books that make their way into my library. These briefs are not full-blown reviews, but they are a way to share more books worthy of attention than can find their way into reviews on my daily or weekly pages.



1: Meet the Nelsons by Wes Jones | L.A. Forum for Architecture and Urban Design | 2010 | Amazon
Architect Wes Jones first utilized the comic format in 1989 to convey mood for a project, realizing the narrative structure allowed a certain freedom that architectural drawings didn't. He extended this format into a series of strips for ANY Magazine -- the nexus of architectural theory in the 1990s -- that presents the domestic life of, I'm guessing, the Nelsons. Lighthearted at times, esoteric in others, having all the strips in one place is a treat and a welcome respite from the words and photos of most architectural publishing.

2: Street Value: Shopping, Planning, and Politics at Fulton Mall by Rosten Woo and Meredith TenHoor | Princeton Architectural Press | 2010 | Amazon
The first of Inventory Books' small-format books on "transformations in urban spaces and culture" (the second, on Public Farm 1, was reviewed previously) discusses Fulton Mall in Brooklyn. Half 100-year history of the downtown pedestrian mall and half interviews with the planners instrumental in shaping its form over that time, the in-depth case study highlights issues of race, class, and real estate and how they interact in the changing city. Of course, the role of architects and planners is the focus here, and as Fulton Mall undergoes another transformation their contributions will unfold before our eyes.

3: Guide to Green Building Rating Systems by Linda Reeder | Wiley | 2010 | Amazon
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program may get all the attention and the four-letter acronym after building professionals' names, but it is only one of a number of green building rating systems. This guide to both commercial and residential systems features LEED as well as Green Globes, Energy Star, NAHBGreen, and local, regional, and international programs/systems. Case studies accompany the chapters on the different rating systems.



4: Paper New York: Build Your Own Big Apple by Kell Black | Universe | 2010 | Amazon
Twenty NYC-centric paper models are ready for the building, from a hot dog cart to the Empire State Building. But what at first glance looks like child's play are models that require patience and the right tools. If that combination is available the results are cute ornaments that convey the spirit of the full-size building (or bridge, or animal, or rollercoaster, or vehicle, etc.) if not with total accuracy.

5: Green Living: Architecture and Planning edited by Dr. Barbara Kenda and Steven Parissien | Rizzoli | 2010 | Amazon
Based on the assertion that people want to live and work in traditional buildings and that sustainable buildings are the high-tech antithesis of tradition, the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment collects essays by twelve practitioners (including James Steele and Andr�s Duany) that look to history rather than technology for building green. While some essays seem to exist to only further the antagonism between the traditional and the contemporary, truly sustainable architecture cannot rely solely on technological methods, so a look to vernacular is important to acknowledge.

Book Briefs #1

"Book Briefs" are an ongoing series of posts with two- or three-sentence first-hand descriptions of some of the numerous books that make their way into my library. These briefs are not full-blown reviews, but they are a way to share more books worthy of attention than the ones that are reviewed on my daily or weekly pages.



1: Light Perspectives edited by David Kuntzsch | ERCO | 2009 | Amazon
Architectural lighting company ERCO sees themselves as "selling light, not luminaires," and that assertion comes across in this guide to the effects of light, both artificial and natural (though primarily the former). Abundant illustrations aim at giving designers a thorough understanding of the qualities of light, as well as knowledge of different fixtures that allow certain effects to be achieved. Most helpful are renderings that illustrate the sometimes subtle differences between types, placement, and other lighting variables. (Sample chapter PDF)

2: The Austrian Phenomenon by Architekturzentrum Wien | Birkh�user | 2009 | Amazon
If you're like me, you're a sucker for avant-garde Austrian architecture from the sixties and seventies. Which means if you're like me, you'll want this HUGE book, documenting the important voices in images and words. Coop Himmelb(l)au is here, as is Hans Hollein, HAUS-RUCKER-CO, Raimund Abraham, Walter Pichler, and many, many more (a smattering can be found here). A slim volume collects the texts in English, but the roughly 1,000 pages of drawings, models, and other visual artifacts is the real treat. And as the recent spate of inflatable enclosures shows, everything old really is new again; see where it all began.

3: Interactive Architecture by Michael Fox & Miles Kemp | Princeton Architectural Press | 2009 | Amazon
The authors attempt to present a history of interactive architecture and clarify what exactly it is, especially because it is a phrase easily batted around without recourse to definition. They take the position that true interactivity entails multiple-loop systems "in which one enters into a conversation: a continual and constructive information exchange." Numerous case studies are presented alongside the fairly dense text that delves into some of the technical sides of things, not just the theories behind the projects.



4: Relearning from Las Vegas edited by Aron Vinegar | University of Minnesota Press | 2008 | Amazon
In 2009 I reviewed Aron Vinegar's I AM A MONUMENT, a reconsideration of the highly influential text Learning from Las Vegas. This collection of essays also focuses on that classic 1972 book by Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Steven Izenour, stemming from a 2003 issue of Visual Language which Vinegar also organized. (His own cottage industry, of sorts?) The essays cover the book's page layout, its relationship to art, and even its relationship to Reyner Banham's book on Los Angeles. Varied but academic throughout.

5: The New Acropolis Museum by Bernard Tschumi Architects | Rizzoli | 2009 | Amazon
The New Acropolis Museum is as controversial for its intent -- creating a place for the return of the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum -- as for its design by Bernard Tschumi Architects, which departs greatly from the Classical architecture of its predecessor. This book argues the appropriateness of the architect's design, documenting the design in drawings, models, and photographs. An architectural timeline from 2000 to the 2009 opening is accompanied by construction photos that illustrate the difficulties in building in Athens.

6: Bunker Archaeology by Paul Virilio | Princeton Architectural Press | 2008 (2nd US ed.) | Amazon
Virilio's now classic book on approximately 1,500 WWII bunkers on the Atlantic Wall was first published in 1975. More than thirty years later his photographs are still powerful, celebrating the form and desolation of the concrete objects, but is is his writings on war that make this book highly recommended. A mix of research, historical interpretation, and philosophizing, the essays are brilliant but highly readable, not esoteric. It makes me want to pick up more by Virilio, an important voice when the militarization of cities is more and more a reality.