Out of the Box

A truly unique perspective on their own work: Swiss-American architectural studio agps, with offices in Zurich and Los Angeles, has delved deep into their archive and woven a visual thread of some 160 illustrations that guides readers through this new book. Literally Out of the Box, from archival box and model crates, models, model photos, small hand-drawn studies, visualisations, but also photographs of realised buildings have re-emerged, covering agps’ entire work of decades of practice.

The images are organised according to 13 keywords: spatial configurations that characterise agps’ core design concepts and summarise central elements of their ideas. At the same time, they are terms that define the formal presence of their designs. The result is a multifaceted and inspiring insight into the work of an international firm that proves just how important spatial constellations are for the formulation of good architecture. Essays by Sabine von Fischer as well as by Marc Angélil and Cary Siress, along with an index of all featured buildings and projects, round off this unique volume.

Text in English and German.