One of the greats of architecture, Le Corbusier, now has an enormous monograph available. At 768 pages with 1000 colour illustrations and 1000 black and white illustrations, it might take a while to get through it, but man, I think it would be worth the time spent.

• A spectacular visual biography of the life and work of Le Corbusier (1887–1965), one of Modernism's most influential architects, urban planners, and theorists

• Approximately 2,000 images and documents, many previously unpublished, feature his major built works, urban plans, paintings, publications, and furniture as well as sketches, archival photographs, and personal correspondence

• Rarely seen photographs and correspondence shed new light on Le Corbusier’s relationships with Josephine Baker, Eileen Gray, Fernand Léger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Prouvé, and many others

$200.00, Buy it here.
(or for $126.00, here.)

[posted by katie]

There are only a handful of public spaces that I can think of that inspire awe, probably because most seem to default to a utilitarian outcome rather than lifting the bar to any higher aesthetic. Yet the large scale projects by Weiss/Manfredi show a different side to this particular architecture. Their interdisciplinary approach can be seen most recently in the completed Olympic Sculpture Park (above right), whose Z-shaped path moves visitors through three different land parcels over a busy street. The way the landscape is involved as the structure, and how that structure surrounds and promotes the activity shows a thoughtful regard for both function and form.

Plus, there's enough documentation of details, photographs, and drawings to make your head hurt, or at least expand alarmingly with the realization of just how huge some of these projects seem to be.

"For nearly two decades the architecture firm Weiss/Manfredi has practiced outside the traditional boundaries of architecture. Their work with complex sites and programs benefits from an interdisciplinary approach and a dynamic integration of architecture, art, infrastructure, and landscape design. Surface/Subsurface presents nine major projects that have been completed since their first monograph Site Specific, published in 2000.Their design process–exemplary of the best contemporary architectural practices–reveals potential in subsurface conditions with the goal of generating an entirely new language for the surface."

Hardcover, 208 pages, 300 color illustrations

$60.00, Available at PA Press or here.

[posted by katie]

Full of details that would make the most of a smaller space, this book has many photos that will help jog your creative juices. My favorites: Small House by Kazuyo Sejima & Associates, Healy/Kaplow Loft by Matthew Baird Design, and Anderson House by Jamie Fobert Architects.

"Small Environments focuses on the type of architectural details that make up distinctive residential spaces under 1,200 square feet [120 square meters]. It presents recent work by architects from around the globe in color photographs and architectural drawings. Rather than simply another compendium of small projects, the book is structured according to categories of architectural detail. It includes sections on components essential to the design of small spaces, such as built-in pieces, mobile systems, storage, outdoor rooms, siting strategies and daylighting details."

[posted by katie]

Even though this was published back in '06, there were quite a few homes in this book I had not seen featured before. My favorites: Cell Brick House, Castle Groenhof, and, of course, Denis House.

"Popular demand has led IMAGES' team of researchers to scour the world for yet another stunning collection of homes. The 100 fabulous homes carefully selected for this volume represent contemporary residential architecture in all its myriad forms. Vast differences in location, climate, culture, style, materials, interiors, and even furniture result in a collection that showcases, with full-colour photographs, plans and drawings, the best in international residential architecture. This is a book that can be browsed through time after time, with each viewing guaranteed to inspire, delight and surprise."

[posted by katie]

With so many intriguing details, this book leaves you with wanting more. Each section does an excellent job of focusing on particular issues concerning sustainable architecture, and there's a wide variety of building and design ideas to jump start your creativity. I kept wanting to see more of each home- more interior shots, more close ups on building materials, floorplans, etc.- but thorough exhaustive overviews is not what this book is about. Instead it zooms in on particular topics, highlighting how each home showcases the subject at hand. There's quite a few homes that shine- way too many to name.

"Sustainable Environments focuses on the type of architectural details in distinctive, sustainable residential spaces. It includes sections on components such as cooling or shading devices, building techniques that create minimal impact on the land, active systems, and the use of new sustainable materials as well as those that are salvaged or recyclable."

[posted by katie]

The reviews are a little mixed on this one, but once again, the cover beckons...

"What makes a sustainable house a sustainable home? NEW SUSTAINABLE HOMES will address that question by presenting a wide range of projects where the architect and client have made a conscientious effort to incorporate sustainability into the design of the home and construction materials used in its execution. The result is a home that is less toxic to live in, is cheaper to operate, and often gives back to the environment rather than taking away. Also, and this is the most important consideration for many, it is a great looking, highly livable home that not only retains its value but has been shown to increase in value more quickly than more conventionally conceived houses because of cheaper operating expenses."

NEW SUSTAINABLE HOMES will show readers will learn about the many materials and techniques that make up today's sustainable house, including:
1) the use of pervious concrete on driveways that allows water to seep through to the water table below.
2) using bio–fiber panels in lieu of plywood for interior finishing
3) using organic, green roofs that improve insulation, absorb sound and manage storm–water runoff
4) solar water heating systems
5) use of high thermal performance windows
6) photovoltaic electrical systems

[posted by katie]

This looks entirely interesting.

"The allure of mobile, portable architecture is worldwide and centuries old, from the desert tents of the bedouin to the silvery capsules of the Airstream trailer. Mobile explores the ever-growing range of possibilities of portable, demountable, and mobile structures. Jennifer Siegal brings together the work of the most interesting contemporary designers of dynamic, active structures, whose work ranges from the microenvironment of a house that literally attaches to your body to the city-scaled macroenvironment of London's Millennium Dome, from the interior of a Boeing jet to an entire mobile community whose living units plug into a framework of flexible communal space, and from the practical design of transportable office space to the whimsical design of Pink Floyd's The Wall stage set. All of the designs celebrate the lightness, transience, and practicality that mobile architecture makes possible."

[posted by katie]

I think this dude has over a bazillion books on modern homes, but I've yet to come across one that I didn't like. This one is a worth a flip through for anyone interested in PreFab, which I guess is almost all of us.

"PreFab Now explores the best prefabricated houses on the market today worldwide and addresses the advantages and disadvantages of choosing a prefab home over a custom-built one. This book also covers cost, sustainability, and durability. With a wealth of elaborate plans, drawings, renderings, and beautiful full-color images, PreFab Now is an invaluable resource for architects and homebuyers alike."

[posted by katie]

This book looks to meet the requirements of any design/architecture book addict.

"IMAGES has again selected houses that represent the very best in international residential architecture. The houses featured represent everything from the modern to the classical. This is a book that can be browsed through time and again, with each viewing guaranteed to inspire, delight and surprise. Outstanding colour photography captures interior design, layout and furnishings, while exterior photographs meld the house design with its environment."

[posted by katie]

Judging by the cover, this looks to have some interesting homes...

"Focusing on one-family houses that have been built over the past decade, this lively new title explores the elegance and innovation with which today's Latin American architects evolve their modernist heritage. In some cases, as with Chilean Smiljan Radic Clarke's Pite House - a dramatic concrete bunker that cantilevers over a rough Pacific shoreline - the lineage is clear, as are the materials and strategies used to contend with often inhospitable locations. Others, like Mexican architect Michel Rojkind's bright red "ribbon" PR 34 House, reveal forms better known in such places as Japan. Wherever their location or material, however, the nineteen houses presented in Daguerre's new book are indication that Latin American architects are not content resting on their laurels."

[posted by katie]