SUMMER READING: 6 NEW MODERN DESIGN BOOKS
By Angela Cabotaje
School may be letting out for the summer, but when it comes to modern architecture and design, we can never have enough. Check out the new design books we want to read (and display on our coffee tables), and tell us what you’ll be reading this summer.
100 Contemporary Green Buildings
(Taschen, June 2013)
We’ve discussed the relationship between modern and green before, and this two-volume collection by Philip Jodidio dives deep into the matter. One hundred of the world’s most eco-friendly buildings, from well-known architects like Frank Gehry to fresh up-and-comers, are featured in the 696 pages. See passive solutions as well as cutting-edge technologies evidenced in modern residences, contemporary offices, and imaginative landscapes.
Brutalism
(Clog, March 2013)
Brutalism: you either love it or you hate it. Blocky and austere, Brutalist structures are some of the most controversial buildings in the world, often getting a bad rap for being cold and unappealing. But is that fair? In this edition of Clog, guest editor Michael Abrahamson examines the role Brutalism has played in modernism, the controversy around it, and how it continues to inform architecture today.
James Stirling: Revisionary Modernist
(Yale University Press, February 2013)
Part architectural history, part monograph, this 248-page book delves into the work of late 20th-century architect James Stirling. Author Amanda Reeser Lawrence focuses on six of his projects from the late 1950s to the late 1970s, tracing the arc of Stirling’s career as well as his connection to culture and architecture on a broader scale.
Modern Art Desserts
(Random House, April 2013)
The phrase “too pretty to eat” takes on a whole new meaning with this modern art–inspired cookbook by pastry chef Caitlin Freeman. Drawing from the iconic works of modern masters—including Piet Mondrian, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol—Freeman creates 27 desserts that are as striking as they are delicious. Highlights include a perfectly segmented Mondrian grid cake, a minimally monochromatic Ryman confection, and a colorfully layered Warhol gelée.
Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes
(MoMA Publications, July 2013)
In conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art’s new Le Corbusier exhibit running this summer, MoMA has released a 392-page volume about the modern architecture pioneer. Within the book, watercolors, sketches, and photographs detail how Le Corbusier observed and considered the world—and, in turn, how this influenced his projects and their specific environments.
Shiro Kuramata
(Phaidon, June 2013)
A compelling tribute to the career of Shiro Kuramata, this two-volume monograph reviews the late Japanese designer’s greatest pieces, including the steel-mesh How High the Moon armchair and the ethereal Miss Blanche chair. His works parade across the pages in an endless stream of creativity and inventiveness.