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“A jewel of Baroque architecture, the Castelluccio Palace is the spotlight of a beautiful book retracing its history, its long restoration and its precious ornaments. These photographs reflect the Sicilian Golden Age.” —Fanny Guenon des Mesnards, AD France

“This monograph is an invitation to visit the Palazzo Di Lorenzo del Castelluccio.”Italian Vogue

“A Palace in Sicily: A Masterpiece Restored doesn’t just pull back the curtain on the finished palace, it details the four-year-long process through an elaborate array of photos…” —Architectural Digest, and Yahoo
With its sun-drenched sands and Mediterranean waters, Sicily has been a favoured destination of travellers for centuries. History is alive on this island, from ancient accounts of the Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Normans; to the journals of wealthy young European men embarking on the Grand Tour. This book captures the sun-steeped aesthetic of the island, while detailing the restoration of one of its finest attractions: the Di Lorenzo del Castelluccio palace.

Marquis de Castelluccio was one of the last “servals” or “leopards” of Sicily – wealthy aristocrats who flooded the island with luxury. Following his death, his home fell to ruin. A half-century later, Jean-Louis Remilleux fell in love with this dilapidated 18th-century palace and made it his mission to restore it. Unveiled for the first time in this beautifully illustrated book, the Di Lorenzo del Castelluccio palazzo is one of the finest testaments to Sicilian architecture and art.

Today, lush green palm trees welcome you to the palace’s imposing front façade. Frescoes, arabesques, masks, imitation marble, ceilings and wainscoting have all restored to their former glory, over decades of elaborate work. This book charts the restoration process and celebrates the astonishing end results. It contains an album’s worth of photographs that capture the beauty of this palace beneath the Mediterranean sun.

Symbol of Islam, monument of superlatives, and the heart of an entirely new metropolitan district: the Djamaa al-Djazair is an edifice with many different facets. In 2008, KSP Engel’s design won the international competition for Algiers’ new Grand Mosque, which was completed in 2019 after more than a decade of planning and construction work. The vast structure runs along the Bay of Algiers’ shoreline well over 600 yards. A giant 148 feet-high dome covers the main prayer hall, the 870 feet-high minaret constitutes Africa’s tallest building to date. Surrounded by extensive gardens, the entire complex houses a range of functions, including a museum, a Quran school, a library, a convention centre, and a cinematèque. It forms a unique religious, cultural, and economic centre that is a magnet for the entire region. And it unites as an intercultural undertaking genuine Algerian craftsmanship with superb Chinese efficiency, and meticulous German planning and engineering skills.

This book tells the full story of how Algiers’ Djamaa al-Djazair, the world’s third-largest mosque after those of Mecca and Medina, was created and constructed and documents this singular structure in rich detail and lavishly illustrated. A historical and typological classification of the building in the long history of mosque construction rounds out this stunning volume.

In this invaluable and thought-provoking book, Vladimir Belogolovsky reflects on nearly 20 years of conversations with leading creatives from around the world whose focus is on art, photography, architecture, design, critical theory, and more. His intimate dialogues are with prolific visionaries, the likes of Paul Andreu, Aaron Betsky, Tatiana Bilbao, Christo, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Toyo Ito, Glenn Murcutt, Renzo Piano, Moshe Safdie, Ric Scofido, Richard Serra, Frank Stella, Michael Sorkin, Stanley Tigerman, Bernard Tschumi, Lin Utzon, Massimo Vignelli, Madelon Vriesendorp, and so many others. He exposes the complexity of their thought processes, while comparing and contrasting them to one another to distill more than 101 ideas. His engaging narrative captures the stories behind every project and every personality while exploring many important questions, including what makes a building architecture? How would a Futurist solve problems vs those whose focus is on nostalgia? The selection of interviews gathers many answers and intentions, but inevitably, also many more questions.

Imagine Buildings Floating Like Clouds
represents a diverse group of multitalented, creative people who work in disparate places culturally and climatically and came of age in very different times—from the revolutionary 1960s to our own time, when the future, for many, is being more feared than desired.

“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.”The Independent
Discover the city’s best-kept secrets, with this practical guide to Antwerp’s most beautiful, interesting and often unknown places. This book takes you off the beaten track to discover the city’s hidden gardens, small museums and intimate coffee bars. On its pages you will find the 5 best places to eat frites, the 5 most secret courtyards and the 5 best independent record shops in town. It also guides you to some of the more unusual experiences that you can track down in Antwerp. So you can find out where to eat the best dim sum in Chinatown, sample a chocolate flavoured with fried bacon, or dance the night away. The aim of this book is not to cover the city from A to Z, but to inspire; it is a guide to the places the author would recommend to a friend who wants to discover the real Antwerp.
The 500 Hidden Secrets of Antwerp offers a practical way to explore Antwerp’s finest places, and Derek Blyth covers all bases to ensure no visitor to the city is ever anything short of captivated. Packed with accessible, easy-to-read information summarised in handy lists, maps, itineraries, sections on food & drink, accommodation, green spaces, museums, galleries and shops; this guide is an essential resource for the inquisitive traveller.

Where are the best places in Copenhagen to experience New Nordic cuisine? What are the best places to shop for Scandinavian furniture, fashion, and design? What are the best spots for natural wine? Where can you find the best nature trails and waterfront walks? Where are the city’s small, independent cinemas? Which museums are best to visit on a rainy Danish day? What is smørrebrød and where can I try it? What is Copenhagen’s best artisanal coffee? The 500 Hidden Secrets of Copenhagen reveals the answers to these (and many other) questions. Discover a diverse range of under-the-radar, yet outstanding addresses that will allow you to explore the best of the city away from the typical tourist crowds. This is a book for visitors who want to avoid the usual tourist spots and for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets.
Also available: The 500 Hidden Secrets of Stockholm, The 500 Hidden Secrets of Hamburg, The 500 Hidden Secrets of Munich, The 500 Hidden Secrets of New York, The 500 Hidden Secrets of Berlin, The 500 Hidden Secrets of London and many more. Discover the series at the500hiddensecrets.com

“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.” The Independent

Where are the 5 best places to eat like a Portuguese? Which are the 5 best restaurants for Petiscos? Where can you find the nicest salons and barber shops? Which are the 5 best places to see Azulejos? Where will you find the most unique lifts and elevators? The best Lisbon area beaches? The 500 Hidden Secrets of Lisbon reveals these good-to-know places and many more. An affectionate and informed guide to Lisbon, written by a true local.

This is a book for visitors who want to avoid the usual tourist spots and for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets.

“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.” The Independent

For tourists who want to avoid the well-known tourist spots and discover the locals’ favourite addresses, and for residents who want to get to know their city even better, this handy little guide is eminently useful. Written by a true local, the book includes lists such as the 5 best vintage markets, the 5 best workplaces for freelancers and the 5 best concert venues. It features 500 addresses and facts that few people know, such as an elegant spice shop that sells condiments from all over the world, a small stationer’s where the daylight streams in gloriously and you can find the most beautiful Japanese paper creations, or a little shop where gifts like embroidered serviettes are made to order.

For its 34th Curve commission (2021), the Barbican presents the first major London solo exhibition by Mumbai-based artist Shilpa Gupta, whose celebrated practice explores physical and ideological boundaries and how, as individuals, we come to feel a sense of isolation or belonging.
Gupta presents and builds on her acclaimed project For, In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit (2017–18), an experiential sound installation of 100 microphones suspended above 100 metal spikes, each piercing a page inscribed with a fragmented verse of poetry by a writer who has been imprisoned for their work, writings or beliefs. Spanning the eighth to the 21st centuries, the soundscape alternates between languages, each microphone uttering verses of poetry, echoed by its 99 counterparts. Giving a voice to those who have been silenced, Gupta’s haunting installation highlights the fragility of personal expression while raising urgent questions of censorship and resistance. Gupta also presents new drawings and sculptures that reflect on issues of confinement and the right to free expression. The book includes a loose-insert postcard featuring a poem in Urdu and English by the revolutionary Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

Drowning in flowers – with perceptive pictures and quirky texts this award-winning book wants to plant in its readers a longing for beauty, harmony, for the joy of recognition through knowledge. Georg Grabherr, one of the most influential conservation biologists, has created a domestic garden and incorporated key biosphere reserve concepts. Over time, his garden has developed into an ecological gem where the idea of “nature in the garden” has been realised in exemplary manner. He guides us through the phenological seasons that divide the year by the arrival of key species, covers themes dear to the gardener’s heart and engages in a dialogue with nature, thoughtfully accepting and using what is wild and spontaneous. He is asking whether the thousands of private gardens can become a Noah’s Ark, suitable for rescuing threatened species. Award-winning photographer Lois Lammerhuber has captured this amazing space throughout a whole gardening year and introduces us to an unusual but convincing garden aesthetic.

Text in English and German.

Only few architecture firms in Europe have addressed the villa as a building type as consistently and with such formal rigor as Stuttgart-based Alexander Brenner Architects. The firm is widely known for designs characterised by plastic-geometric facades often resembling constructivist tableaux. What all of Alexander Brenner’s designs have in common is a truly holistic approach to the task. A house’s interior, kitchen, cupboards and other built-in furniture, is attended to with the same care for detail as its exterior. Corresponding gardens with curved sensual forms surround, and contrast, Brenner’s bright white cubic architectural sculptures.

This new monograph follows-up on two successful previous volumes published in 2011 and 2015, and features five buildings realised between 2015 and 2021, including the architect’s own home in Stuttgart, the Brenner Research House. They are all documented in rich detail through striking photography, standardised plans and visualisations, as well as concise texts. An essay by Alexander Brenner rounds out this volume that serves again as a source of inspiration for anyone with an interest in residential architecture.

Text in English and German.

Every year millions of travellers arrive in Athens eager to catch a glimpse of the ancient city and savour its classical heritage. But what about the late nineteenth century Athens with her neoclassical buildings, wide avenues and literary salons? An Athens where music wafted from King Otto’s palace and the aristocracy waltzed under crystal chandeliers. A city of dignitaries, scholars and architects drawing plans and reworking them, leaving their mark on every dimension of the young capital.

An Athens where commoners hovered around dimly lit fires and children played in the mud amidst the ancient ruins. Where criminals settled disputes with drawn knives and prostitutes roamed the ports luring sailors into filthy, smoke-filled taverns. Where Greek refugees lived in wind-swept streets with no sewers or running water, singing about their troubles under the stars.

An Athens where intellectuals, writers, poets, and artists converged in local cafés planning the future of the newly founded nation, discussing philosophy, literature, and their shared passion for reclaiming Greece for the Greeks.

Athens Unveiled pays homage to the people, streets, and neighbourhoods of late nineteenth century Athens, where some of the finest neoclassical buildings still stand next to abandoned mansions, brothels, and old factories; where people still bargain the prices of clothes and produce on the old streets of commerce and where young artists create powerful murals, bringing everything about the city into sharp focus.

“Alongside the detailed studies, there are plenty of beautiful photographs as well as diagrams and plans.” Homes & Gardens
“Over the years I have watched the physical and emotional evolution of JDDA’s work and it is truly evident in this monograph. I have marveled at the consistent quest for refinement and sophistication and admired their ever-evolving and maturing palette. In all their landscapes they respect the elements and the integrity of nature, as well as embellishing the space with their own particular style. They create a joyous juxtaposition between the sophisticated architectural elements and the reassuringly organic mood of the planting, with the occasional sculptural addition.

The joy of walking within a JDDA landscape affords us both a mental and physical calm. The evolution of the body of work is an inspiration to us all.”
From the Foreword, by David Harber

This stunningly illustrated monograph represents the evolution of James Doyle Design Associates (JDDA), its thought processes, and the exciting ever‐changing world of landscape architecture. For JDDA, the path of its design work is reflective of a new generation of landscape architects. A connection with nature is in demand now more than ever, whether the space is urban or rural, grand or intimate. JDDA believes that the art and practice of designing the outdoor environment should not be devoid of a respect for nature and its impact on change and growth.

This work reflects the intersection of nature and art; the juxtaposition of the designed and the natural; with bold, contemporary, dynamic gestures in the form of sculptural plant material, innovative hardscaping and an infusion of landscape art. JDDA cares about the world we live in and that our landscapes have the power to become our sanctuaries, to be uplifting, relaxing and thought provoking, with an appreciation for nature.

An Architect’s Address Book is memoir in 18 chapters of the places Robert Lemon has lived, studied, and worked over the past six decades. Some are of places that he has visited many times and are important to his career.

Studying architecture and conservation, Lemon has lived in Ottawa, Paris, London, Rome, and York. His work has involved projects in Vancouver, Los Angeles, Dorset, the High Arctic, and Xi’an. Other stories are about visiting the buildings of Andrea Palladio and Carlo Scarpa in the Veneto, Arne Jacobsen and Kay Fisker in Denmark, and five iconic 20th-century houses in France, in company of colleagues.

Most of the chapters focus on someone influential to Lemon’s career; and his vast interest in food is a thread through most stories.

The 500 Hidden Secrets of Berlin is the perfect book for those who wish to discover the city without ending up in all the usual tourist haunts, as well as for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets. In The 500 Hidden Secrets of Berlin, Nathalie Dewalhens shares hundreds of must-know addresses in the German capital, like the unexpected authentic coffee bar around the corner of Checkpoint Charlie, or the apartment where David Bowie stayed while composing some of his best songs. Or how about trying a pizza topped with purple potato crisps at one of the hippest pizzerias in town? Visit the boutique of an unconventional fashion designer with Iranian roots, or venture off to a peaceful lake outside the city, where you can enjoy a drink sitting on the wooden boardwalk, or check out a hip food market on the banks of the Spree? Berlin has so much to offer, and this guide will help you decide where to begin.

This one-of-a-kind guide takes you to New York’s best-kept secrets, like vintage shops packed with unique collector’s items, opulent spots for high tea, the best places to grab a drink before or after the theatre, the best stretches for running, and the coolest sneaker stores. This guide reveals hundreds of addresses, as well as good-to-know facts and interesting information, like the best ways to mingle with New Yorkers, the sports that you absolutely have to see, and 5 things that New Yorkers just know. The 500 Hidden Secrets of New York is the perfect book for those who want to discover the city, but avoid all the usual tourist haunts, as well as for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets.

Discover the series at the500hiddensecrets.com

What are the best burger joints in San Francisco? Which local craft breweries are worth visiting? Where should you go to find the coolest surf gear? The 500 Hidden Secrets of San Francisco is the perfect guide for anyone who’s keen to explore the city’s best-kept secrets. It guides the reader to the places not typically included in tourist guides. Like a secret fairy door in Golden Gate Park or the truly steepest hills in the city. At the same time, it also lists fantastic places frequented by San Francisco residents, like where to shop for local goods and antiques, or where to go for a fabulous brunch and the best craft cocktails in the city. Packed with hundreds of places to go, things to do, and good-to-know facts about the city, The 500 Hidden Secrets of San Francisco will help you make the most of your visit to one of the United States’ coolest towns.

Discover the series at the500hiddensecrets.com

Where to go for the best pints of Guinness in Dublin? Or when you’re craving the ultimate sandwich? And what are the 5 shops you absolutely have to visit on Grafton Street? Shane O’Reilly knows! With lots of love and enthusiasm, he shares hundreds of his favourite places in his hometown of Dublin, like the wood-panelled and plush club serving as a multi-purpose arts centre, Ireland’s oldest reggae shop, or the stunning and family-run delicatessen serving up delicious seafood straight from the ocean half a mile away. The 500 Hidden Secrets of Dublin is the perfect book for those who wish to discover the city, but avoid all the usual tourist haunts, as well as for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets.

Discover the series at the500hiddensecrets.com

The first international exhibition of 2022 for Louvre Abu Dhabi tells the story of Versailles as a central diplomatic instrument that solidified the prowess of the French royal court and served as the stage for its fascination with various civilisations in a rapidly globalising world. Objects from the palace on show range from wallpapers and porcelain to Chinese and Japanese lacquerware.

The exhibition has been curated by Hélène Delalex, Curator, Furniture and Decorative Arts, and Bertrand Rondot, Chief Curator, Furniture and Decorative Arts, at the musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon.

Dick van Gameren, a partner with the renowned Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, has been engaging in housing design for the past 25 years as part of his work as designing architect as well as his research and teaching at TU Delft’s Global Housing Study Center. In this book, he presents some 40 of his own projects in this field through concise texts and photographs with explanatory captions as well as through plans and drawings. They’re grouped to illustrate seven specific aspects of housing design: Streets and Squares, Courtyards and Patios, Gardens, Halls, the Fireplace, Walls, and Roofs. Together they constitute a multi-faceted catalogue of housing typologies.

In four supplementing essays, van Gameren explores evolutions in residential architecture in the Netherlands. He places his own concepts in context of these developments and expands on what he considers the key factors of good housing design. A particular focus he puts on affordable housing, a pressing issue in so many countries and metropolitan areas around the world.

Dutch Dwellings is an inspiring read for anyone involved in housing design today.

Chinese architect Pu Miao has long explored the development of modern Chinese architecture from a localised perspective. As he has learned from his practice, the integration of architecture and landscape promises to be one of the main directions for localisation. This volume selects 15 architectural designs from Miao’s practice since the 1990s; 12 of them have been constructed and written about in international and Chinese professional journals and books. The building types include restaurant, retail, exhibition, worship, residence, education, and public facilities. The projects illustrate four modes of integrating buildings and landscape: using outdoor spaces as alternatives for indoor activities; architecture and landscape each playing a unique role in a functional pair; architecture partially taking the form of landscape; and gardens as urban public spaces in a building. Through detailed analyses of design concepts, a large number of building photos and drawings (including wall sections for some projects), this book acts not only as a virtual tour of these places, but also provides meticulous design documentation. Today, it is very rare for an architect to practice by him/herself. Pu Miao has proved that such a traditional craftsman’s mode of practice is still possible; more than that, he inspires us to see that the modes of architectural practice need not to be as uniform as many believe. There are actually many possibilities, as long as you dare to imagine and to try. Perhaps Pu Miao’s initial objective was to control the building detailing as much as possible, which he has accomplished, but meanwhile he has also become a special banner of independent practice in China. 

Text in English and Chinese.

Heyuan Garden, the largest existing private classical garden in Yangzhou, China, is the subject of this book, which offers a complete description and representation of the garden’s overall characteristics and its contributing components. It contains a wealth of maps, aerial photographs, and diagrams which are published here for the first time. Notably, this book uses high-precision point cloud images as its main graphic method in order to convey more garden detail than traditional, two-dimensional line graphics. Led by the ICOMOS-IFLA International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes (ISCCL), the Garden Heritage Digital Document (GHDD) project was set up in 2018 to highlight representative cases of Chinese classical gardens, adopt international cultural heritage archive frameworks and standards, and use new digital technologies to establish high-quality heritage archives to make up for the shortcomings of existing classical garden records. This is the first publication of the GHDD project. 

Text in English and Chinese.

In The 500 Hidden Secrets of Madrid, Anna-Carin Nordin presents 500 must-know addresses in the Spanish capital, such as the 5 trendiest but affordable restaurants, 5 shops with the coolest sunglasses, 5 places that are decorated by the new generation of Madrid’s designers, 5 buzzing after-work bars or the 5 most curious street names… Madrid has so much to offer, and this guide helps you to choose where to start discovering this beautiful city. It is the perfect book for those who wish to discover the city, but avoid all the usual tourist haunts, as well as for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets.

With this new guide in your bag, you’re set to go out and discover the best and most fun places in hotspot Miami: 500 addresses that many tourists don’t know, a bit off the beaten track, but always loved by the locals and worth a visit. The 500 Hidden Secrets of Miami will take you to all the places that make Miami the lively and unique city it is, also known as the ‘Gateway to the Caribbean’, such as: the 5 nicest water views, 5 stunning Mediterranean revival buildings, 5 renowned Miami-based fashion designers, the 5 coolest hotel pools, and 5 wonderful parks, playgrounds, and museums to visit with your kids. It even includes some unusual experiences, such as swimming in a freshwater Venetian pool, or day trips to the Everglades and the Keys.

The 500 Hidden Secrets of Rome helps you set out to discover the most attractive, fun and unique places in Italy’s capital. Luisa Grigoletto and Christopher Livesay share 500 addresses and facts that many tourists don’t know, sometimes off the beaten track, but always loved by the locals and worth a visit.

This book lists, among other things, the 5 best gelaterías, the 5 most beautiful historic shops, 5 breathtaking palazzi which played an important role in art history and 5 sites where major Italian films were shot. It is the perfect book for those who wish to discover the city, but avoid all the usual tourist haunts, as well as for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets.