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Contemporary Design ...
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…
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100 More of the Worl...
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…
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MadeInEarnest City G...
The good folks over at madeinearnest.com have started to produce some new city guides. Free to download and full of insiders' tips, they're sure to be handy for those of you planning a visit. First city: Helsinki. (various pictures above taken from wikipedia.) "These will obviously be focussed more on the art and design side of each city, but they will also include anything else we find interesting or amusing. We are going to try to make these guides as useful as we can - with the relevant links wherever possible - so if you have anything to add to…
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Contemporary Design ...
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.…
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Modern Interiors Des...
This little book is chock-full of modern interiors (just as the title suggests). Each residence is given 3 to 10 pages of coverage, mostly pictures but sometimes floorplans and cross sections are included as well. There are too many lust-worthy ones to name, but the crazy staircase of the XXS House stands out (shown top right). Overall, it's a spectacular resource to help inspire your home interior projects.pictures:(top right) XXS House by Dekleva Gregoric Arhitekti (bottom) smart.space by AvroKO[posted by katie]
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Hyperborder: The Con...
Man, if you want to know more about the issues surrounding the U.S.-Mexico border, this book is for you. Sure, we hear about illegal immigration, from occasional media sources to the debates of recent political primaries, and unfortunately that's probably the extent to which we bend our ear to the whole messy subject. This might be fine for some members of the general public, but for those of you that want a much broader overview of the concerns, Hyperborder is a good place to start. With a staggering amount of facts and figures, it provides a thorough nonpartisan look at…
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China Lofts by Wang ...
With so many exquisite full-page photographs, this book does an excellent job of showing off some of China's most interesting converted spaces. I've looked through many a book on lofts, not only for the picture fix of light-filled rooms, but also for the eclectic mix of furnishings that usually come along with a loft owner. This book did not disappoint. Both residential and commercial spaces are featured, with over 200 full-color photographs to aid understanding of how such spaces have retained their original bones yet function as modern day cafes, offices, studios and homes. What I found to be most…
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New Sustainable Home...
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,…
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Mobile: The Art of P...
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…
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Wallpaper* Design Aw...
Much to my surprise, while perusing my new Wallpaper* magazine, I discovered that Wallpaper* awarded Los Angeles with "Best City". It's not that I don't love Los Angeles, it's just when I moved hear exactly one year ago, I got a lot of flack from a lot of people. It has a bad reputation, but I'm finding it's really a great place to be. "Itโs long been easy to knock LA, but a slow bounce-back began with the new millennium. House prices have gone through the roof and tourism is at record post-9/11 levels. The city of Eames, Neutra and…
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[Art]ifact
This looks to be a rather interesting read. "[Art]ifact is about innovative product design that dares to go beyond the conventionality and bring a total havoc to our perception. With brilliant use of form (size and shape), material and colour, these designs stretch imagination beyond limits and create exceptional emotions and user interaction beyond the basic function. Challenging yet familiar, serious yet amusing, the titlele shows you a conglomeration of cool, intelligent, playful, ironic and unprecedented designs, each with an extraordinary angle, idea or story that will tickle our brain and touch our heart." [posted by katie]
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PreFab Now by James ...
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…
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The New 100 Houses x...
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]
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Bears by Kent Rogows...
Some might say this book leans towards the slightly disturbed category, but I think it's amusing and insightful. Completely worth taking a look at... "Bears, the first book by Kent Rogowski, is a series of portraits of the most unusual sort: ordinary teddy bears that have been turned inside out and restuffed. Each animalโs appearance is determined by the necessities of the manufacturing process. Simple patterns and devices never meant to be seen are now prominent physical characteristics, giving each one a distinctly quirky personality: their fasteners become eyes, their seams become scars, and their stuffing creeps out in the…
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Hair Wars
Holy. I want this book. "The Fantasy Hairstyles in this book are proudly loud and outrageous. They express a desire to surpass the ordinary, to make something better, bigger, more extreme and more shockingly different than everybody else. To me, it's just as serious and creative as, for example, an Haute Couture show by John Galliano, with the exception that these designers constructed their creations in their kitchens, on shoestring budgets." - Johanna Lenander