Architecture Books

For artists and makers, the entertaining, informative, and inspirational story of a public art sculptor.Nancy Schn is the creator of the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture in the Boston Public Garden. Based on Robert McCloskey's beloved children's book,...

Why must we live in homes and in communities built around a shared grid for our needs? For over a century, creative architects and urbanists have dreamed of self-sufficient living, whether to cut themselves off from society or in preparation for some...

Decades before the emergence of a French self-styled 'hood' film around 1995, French filmmakers looked beyond the gates of the capital for inspiration and content. In the Paris suburbs they found an inexhaustible reservoir of forms, landscapes and social...

The creation of Soviet culture in the 1920s and the 1930s was the most radical of modernist projects, both in aesthetic and in political terms. Modernism and the Making of the New Man explores the architecture of this period as the nexus between...

Explores how Soviet architects reimagined the built environment through the principles of the human sciencesDuring the 1920s and 1930s, proponents of Soviet architecture looked to various principles within the human sciences in their efforts to formulate...

An alternative history of capitalist urbanization through the lens of the commonsCharacterized by shared, self-managed access to food, housing, and the basic conditions for a creative life, the commons are essential for communities to flourish and...

Examines how images of accumulation help open up the climate to political mobilizationThe current epoch is one of accumulation: not only of capital but also of raw, often unruly material, from plastic in the ocean and carbon in the atmosphere to people,...

Thinking through object-oriented ontology-and the work of architects such as Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid-to explore new concepts of the relationship between form and functionObject-oriented ontology has become increasingly popular among architectural...

Leading scholars historicise and theorise technology's role in architectural design.Although the question of technics pervades the contemporary discipline of architecture, there are few critical analyses on the topic. Design Technics fills this gap,...

Superhumanity seeks to explore and challenge our understanding of "design" byengaging with and departing from the concept of the "self." This volume bringstogether more than fifty essays by leading scientists, artists, architects,designers,...

Most people use nail polish remover to remove nail polish. They use coffee grounds to make coffee and hair dryers to dry their hair. The majority of people may also think that the use of eggs, lemons, mustard, butter, and mayonnaise should be restricted...

A moving, recognizable look at life on lockdown and the effect the coronavirus pandemic had across the world-because every city had a story to tell, and at the end of it all, we were all in it together.In the past year, hospitals filled, highways and...

Learn the logistics of choosing windows, insulation, appliances, and lighting. Find out about FSC certified wood and about using reclaimed materials. Here is everything you need to make your home sustainable.Whether the reader is building a new home or...

During the fascist years in Italy, architecture and politics enjoyed a close alliance. Benito Mussolini used architecture to educate the masses, exploiting its symbolic prowess as a powerful tool for achieving political consensus.Mussolini, Architect...

Subject of The New York Times documentary "The Forger," winner of a World Press Photo Award and an Emmy AwardAs seen on 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper"[An] engrossing literary debut. ... Writing in Adolfo's voice gives this suspenseful narrative candor...

The tiny 1 sq km precinct of Potts Point & Elizabeth Bay is a national treasure containing the best collection of some 100 Art Deco (1930s and 40s) & Modernist (1960s) apartment blocks in Australia.This book provides a self-guided 2-3 hour tour...

L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist (Graphic Novel/Comics) 2014Cartoonist Studio Prize Shortlist 2014Can a children's cartoon cause riots?One of Mana Neyestani's cartoons sparked riots, shuttered the newspaper he worked for, and landed the cartoonist and his...

From the publishers of a popular series of building books comes Small Homes, which is highly relevant for these times. Getting smaller, rather than larger. Some 75 builders share their knowledge of building and design, with artistic, practical,...

There's a grassroots movement in tiny homes these days. The real estate collapse, the economic downturn, burning out on 12-hour workdays many people are rethinking their ideas about shelter seeking an alternative to high rents, or a lifelong mortgage...

Shelter II is the second in a series of books about people building their own homes in different parts of the world. The principles outlined in Shelter, published almost 40 years ago, seem even more important today: relearning...

A continuation of Lloyd Kahn's journeys into the creative processes of owner-built homes - their innovative techniques, use of sustainable materials, and essential dedication to the natural elements surrounding their designs...

This is a thorough, non-technical handbook and guide to the basics of septic systems - the physical process that takes place in the septic system and the simple technology needed to make it work. Emphasis is on conventional...

Building on the enormous success of the original Shelter, Lloyd Kahn continues his odyssey of finding and exploring the most magnificent and unusual hand-built houses in existence. Among the intriguing domiciles described in Home Work are a...

In 1973, Michael Lesy was a young scholar whose first book had just been published. In the soon-legendary Wisconsin Death Trip he combined 1890s photographs and newspaper clippings to evoke a devastatingly tragic epoch, the real-world antithesis of the...

The triumphs and tragedies of growing up as the son of a famous Beat artist.Tosh is a memoir of growing up as the son of an enigmatic, much-admired, hermetic, and ruthlessly bohemian artist during the waning years of the Beat Generation and the heyday of...

Grow vegetables year-round in a greenhouse powered only by solar energy Originally developed in China to feed millions, Chinese greenhouses are earth-sheltered, solar-heated, east-west oriented, intelligently glazed, and well-insulated. They have proven...

Simple green roof design and installation for the do-it-yourself builder Essential Green Roof Construction is a comprehensive, in-depth guide to building simple green roofs for houses and small buildings. Packed with detailed photos, illustrations, case...

The devil is in the details - the science and art of designing and building durable, efficient, straw bale buildings Straw bale buildings promise superior insulation and flexibility across a range of design aesthetics, while using a typically...

Natural plasters made of clay, lime, and other materials mixed with sand are beautiful building finishes. Fun to work with, low-impact, and allowing infinite creativity, they are high performance and provide proven, centuries-long durability.Yet until...

Earthbag construction - building with polypropylene bags usually filled with earthen materials - is a versatile, easy-to-master, low-impact, and highly durable form of building, suitable for structures from houses to root cellars.Containing over 75...

Design your own sustainable homeMany people dream of building a beautiful, environmentally friendly home. But until now there has been no systematic guide to help potential builders work through the complete process of imagining, planning, designing, and...

Build a natural pond for wildlife, beauty, and quiet contemplationTypical backyard ponds are a complicated mess of pipes, pumps, filters, and nasty chemicals designed to adjust pH and keep algae at bay. Hardly the bucolic, natural ecosystem beloved by...

In the face of drought and desertification, well-designed, water harvesting earthworks such as swales, ponds, and dams are the most effective way to channel water into productive use. The result can be increased food production, higher groundwater...

The completely revised and updated comprehensive guide to small wind energy systems. Skyrocketing energy costs and constant reminders of the impacts of conventional energy sources are making homeowners and businesses look at different ways to use energy...

Hempcrete is a versatile, energy-efficient natural insulation material, useful for walls, roofs, and floors. Made from the inner stem of the hemp plant mixed with a lime-based binder, it is a very strong, lightweight and breathable alternative to...

'Anyone interested in the challenges of housing policy will want to read this methodical analysis of what went well and what did not over much of the last century' LORD HESELTINEFor nearly 150 years, living in a house in the country has...

Historic Capital shows how Washington, D.C.'s historic buildings and neighborhoodshave been a site of contestation between local interests and the expansion ofthe federal government's footprint. It ultimately makes the case that...

"It remains one of the most penetrating and illuminating books on the island's elusive, alluring culture." - National GeographicA House in Bali tells the fascinating story of renowned writer and composer Colin McPhee's obsession with Balinese gamelan...

Japan is equally as well known for its ecologically-sensitive traditional homes as it is for cutting-edge, green technology. Eco Living Japan presents 19 contemporary Japanese houses which exemplify the most recent trends in sustainable design in Japan...

Sri Lanka Style showcases 30 of the finest traditional and modern dwellings in Sri Lanka.Reflecting its location and status as a hub of Indian Ocean trade from time immemorial, the tropical island of Sri Lanka has always been open to...

Sustainable Luxury presents twenty-seven recent residential projects created by Singapore's most talented architects to address the urgent challenges of sustainability. Singapore is a prosperous, forward-looking nation that is...

In his wide-ranging study of architecture and cultural evolution, Chris Abel argues that, despite progress in sustainable development and design, resistance to changing personal and social identities shaped by a technology-based and energy-hungry culture...

This original and innovative book examines a period in which the development of London was perhaps at its most intense, for in the opening decades of the nineteenth century a concerted attempt was made to transform the metropolis into a modern European...

Presents the 1925 Paris Exhibition as a key moment in attempts to update the image of Paris as "capital of the 19th century". At the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes, Paris itself, as much as the commodity, was put on...

An essential exploration of the engineering aesthetics of celebrated structures from long-span bridges to high-rise buildingsWhat do structures such as the Eiffel Tower, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the concrete roofs of Pier Luigi Nervi have in common?...

How California's counterculture of the 1960s to 1980s profoundly shaped-and was shaped by-West Coast artistsThe 1960s exert a special fascination in modern art. But most accounts miss the defining impact of the period's youth culture, largely incubated...

One of the nation's foremost urban historians traces the history of cooperative housing in New York City from the 1920s through the 1970s.As World War II ended and Americans turned their attention to problems at home, union leaders and other prominent...

The extraordinary life story of the celebrated artist and writer, as told through four decades of intimate letters to her beloved motherBarbara Chase-Riboud has led a remarkable life. After graduating from Yale's School of Design and Architecture, she...