A landmark publication that invites New Yorkers to look up — and marvel at some of the city’s greatest unsung architectural treasures, its sheet-metal cornices.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the facades of many, if not most, residential and commercial buildings in America’s cities were crowned with sheet-metal cornices. These offered certain practical advantages over stone or brick cornices — for example, they were lighter and safer to install — but the easy workability of sheet metal also allowed for greater decorative possibilities. It was in the sheet-metal cornice, in fact, that the architectural eclecticism of the era found some of its most elaborate and impressive expression; in their complex play of geometric elements, of light and shadow, of multiple symmetries, the finest cornices can almost rival the ornament of a Gothic cathedral or a Moorish mosque. And of all the cities where these cornices were installed, New York may preserve the greatest number and variety — particularly in such Manhattan neighbourhoods as Chinatown, the Lower East Side, the East Village, and Harlem.
Henry C. Millman first became fascinated with New York’s sheet-metal cornices when, as a draftsman for a building preservation firm, he had the unusual opportunity to examine their remarkable workmanship close up, from scaffolding or a swing stage. Decades later, he surveyed nearly every building in Manhattan to select some one hundred examples that would showcase the artistry and variety of the sheet-metal cornice. He then orchestrated an ambitious drone photography campaign to document these cornices, and made a detailed elevation drawing of each one, to illustrate its scale, structure, and graphic patterns with the utmost clarity. This volume presents the fruits of Millman’s multiyear project, organised by neighbourhood, along with his incisive text exploring the history, construction, and design of these sheet-metal marvels.
Ornamental Cornices is an essential volume for architects, builders, and curious urban wanderers alike — but it is also an eloquent plea for the preservation of Manhattan’s metal masterpieces, which even now are falling victim to time and elements.
An interactive series helping children explore the world and expand their imaginative play. Each box of fun focuses on a famous city and includes: six card board pages of punch-out monuments, characters, and modes of transport, along with pedestals on which to stand them up. Bonus! Each box set also includes a large format poster-map of the city, with a search-and-find game for hidden elements amongst streets to be recognised, as well as a game-of-the-goose style board game that references the city’s most famous attractions. Ages 6+
Make the most of Norwich with this new guide to the sights and secrets of East Anglia’s premier city, from the unknown treasures of its magnificent cathedral to the legends and stories behind its historic pubs. It’s a place of numerous historical layers, with intrigue and interest lurking on every corner, from the black circus proprietor who inspired one of The Beatles’ most famous songs to remnants of England’s most notorious red-light districts. It’s eminently walkable, too, but you can also bike or even canoe your way around the centre, maybe even heading out to explore the natural beauty of Broads National Park which lies just beyond.
Discover Derby like never before with 111 Places in Derby That You Must Not Miss. Nestled along the River Derwent, Derby is a city rich in history, from its Roman roots to its prominence as a railway town, where carriages have been built since the early 19th century. Visit the Museum of Making to explore this industrial legacy and much more.
Beyond railways, Derby boasts stunning Victorian architecture, a magnificent cathedral, and serves as a gateway to the Peak District, with its breathtaking landscapes, grand country houses, and charming villages like Ashford-in-the-Water and Eyam. Learn about local heroes such as Florence Nightingale, football legend Brian Clough, and artist Joseph Wright.
With a mix of quirky history and local humour, this guide is a perfect blend of intrigue, charm, and fun. 111 Places in Derby is a must-read for anyone eager to explore the hidden gems of this unique English city.
The fascinating connection between the impressive architecture of Stuttgart’s new main train station and the art of the Stuttgart Ballet comes to life in Station Stuttgart. On a grey November afternoon, a unique stage set was created on the construction site: an unfinished track bed and a majestic hall, which, with its chalice columns and skylights, evokes the grandeur of a cathedral.
Renowned photographer Dennis Orel captured the gifted dancers of the Stuttgart Ballet in this extraordinary setting. Their elegant poses and the architectural complexity of the structure merge to create a striking work of art. Station Stuttgart documents not only the creative process but also the tireless dedication of all those involved, who, in harmonious collaboration, created an impressive marriage of dance and architecture. This publication invites the reader to discover the beauty and magic of this one-of-a-kind production.
Text in English and German.
Mixing Roman and medieval roots, Chichester sits at the heart of a storied landscape where South Down hills dotted with idyllic hamlets ripple back from a shoreline mixing wild dune-backed beaches with old-school seaside resorts. Reminders of smuggling and war add spice.
But a thrilling thread of modernity runs through this slice of West Sussex too. Chichester’s modernist Festival Theatre provided the foundation for London’s National Theatre, while masterpieces of contemporary architecture that draw admirers from around the world include Sea Lane House in East Preston and The White Tower in Bognor Regis.
Evocative ancient memorials abound. Chichester is blessed with the only English cathedral visible from the sea, while England’s largest castle rises above the ravishing – and cosmopolitan – riverside town of Arundel. Ancient yew trees mark the burial spots of Viking warriors in an idyllic Downland spot. And it’s a land vibrant with creative imprints: poets, painters, composers, from Blake and Keats to Joyce and Chagall.
This guidebook takes you exploring through Chichester and its surroundings to find incomparable natural beauty, hidden secrets, astonishing history, art of all kinds, and much more.
Chris Wilkinson, the founder of the architectural practice WilkinsonEyre, is responsible for beautiful buildings and structures in London and beyond, including the Gasholders at King’s Cross, the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. In this appealing publication, Wilkinson presents the sketches he makes while travelling for business and leisure, usually focusing on inspirational buildings or urban cityscapes. His travels have taken him as far afield as the West Indies, Russia, Egypt, Australia and Japan. Wherever he goes, he finds an hour or two to sit and sketch – whether in a hotel room with a view or on a café terrace with a cappuccino. From the medieval Tuscan town of Lucca to ancient Egyptian architecture, the Sydney Opera House and the skylines of London, Tokyo and New York, Wilkinson introduces each sketch and ruminates on his work, his travels, and the cities and buildings that have most inspired him. Contents: The UK, Italy, France, Spain, Malta, Greece, Morocco, the USA, the West Indies, Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, China, Japan, Australia.
A disparate but exuberant group of scholars are brought together in Savannah by an eminent professor to explore and debate the history and characteristics of the city and its implications for a twenty-first century urbanism. This narrative represents a forceful and humorous interplay between formal discussion, informal interludes, irreverent comments, and less than academic relationships. Its serious purpose is to identify the urban challenges facing America in terms of containing and consolidating growth within livable communities. However like all such participatory events it is also an opportunity for informal personal agendas set against a backdrop of real life events. The text is interspersed with 90 drawings of Savannah, illustrating its unique and multilayered identity as a potential urban paradigm for the future.
In 1925 a journalist on the Barcelona newspaper El Escándalo used the term Barrio Chino in a somewhat derogatory way to describe part of the older city. While the area in question represented a dystopian underbelly of the city, known for its impoverished living and working conditions together with its ‘red-light’ subcultures, it never existed as a ‘Chinatown’ in either a physical or social sense. However the name of this mythical community stuck from the 1920s onwards, appearing on maps and descriptions of the inner city but devoid of any hint of Chinese inhabitants or their culture. The book takes this as a starting point to chart the development of Barcelona over two hundred years using a series of ‘diaries’ and drawn images. These are set around four generations of a fictional Chinese dynasty and their imagined architectural participation in some of the major events in Barcelona’s modern history. As residents of the Barrio from the mid-nineteenth century, they individually document diverse contributions to the city during periods of dynamic growth. This is set against a backdrop of cataclysmic political change and exemplary forms of urban regeneration which have provided Barcelona with its contemporary ‘World City’ status as it plans for the future.
Basil Spence (1907-1976) was one of Britain’s most celebrated architects. This book explores his extraordinary career from the 1930s to the 1970s, focusing particularly on the post-war period. Initially known for his work on national exhibitions such as the Festival of Britain, Spence became a household name in 1951 when he won the competition to design a new cathedral for Coventry. He worked on an unusually wide range of projects from housing in Glasgow’s Gorbals to the University of Sussex and the British Embassy in Rome. Central to his work was a sensitivity towards materials and a commitment to working with artists. Spence’s work is discussed here in a series of essays introduced by a personal memoir specially written by the architect’s close family.
Shaped by emperors, architects and artists, Paris is a city of splendour, elegance, and romance; cosmopolitan and colourful, its streets pulse with life. This sumptuously illustrated book celebrates its glory on the Grands Boulevards and Champs Elysées, and captures its cultural heartbeat in the artists’ quarter of Montmartre and the Quartier Latin on the Left Bank. To discover Paris is also to experience the finer things in life. The Paris Book dips into superb museums and galleries; visits opulent theatres, grand restaurants and bohemian cafés; browses the city’s flea markets, bookshops and chic boutiques; and cruises along the Seine. As Hemingway said, Paris is “a moveable feast”.
A Guide to Rubens’ Antwerp highlights the life and work of Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) in a comprehensive and accessible way. The Antwerp museums and churches contain about a hundred paintings, drawings, designs and sketches by Rubens. A large part of those are public. Antwerp is the only city in the world that is so deeply rooted with Peter Paul Rubens and his baroque heritage. A Guide to Rubens’ Antwerp allows you to experience Rubens and the Baroque in an intense way. This multifaceted acquaintance with Rubens goes hand in hand with a dive into the glorious past of the vibrant city of culture, where the master’s life largely took place. A mapped walk takes you to the various places in Antwerp where Rubens’ work can be seen. You can visit his house with the studio, where so many masterpieces came about. You also visit the homes of his friends Balthasar Moretus and Nicolaas Rockox, and you can admire paintings of him in the historic churches in the rooms for which they were made.
Text in German.
Rubens’ Antwerp: A Guide highlights the life and work of Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) in a comprehensive and accessible way. The Antwerp museums and churches contain about a hundred paintings, drawings, designs and sketches by Rubens. A large part of those are public. Antwerp is the only city in the world that is so deeply rooted with Peter Paul Rubens and his baroque heritage. Rubens’ Antwerp: A Guide allows you to experience Rubens and the Baroque in an intense way. This multifaceted acquaintance with Rubens goes hand in hand with a dive into the glorious past of the vibrant city of culture, where the master’s life largely took place. A mapped walk takes you to the various places in Antwerp where Rubens’ work can be seen. You can visit his house with the studio, where so many masterpieces came about. You also visit the homes of his friends Balthasar Moretus and Nicolaas Rockox, and you can admire paintings of him in the historic churches in the rooms for which they were made. 2018 is the official Rubens’ year.
Milan – the epicentre of Italian fashion, art, and finance – awaits you at Expo 2015. 142 countries are participating in this modern world’s fair. 20 million visitors are expected, most of whom will storm the city’s famous sights along with the Expo’s pavilions and exhibits. This unconventional guidebook will tell you how to avoid endless crowds and queues, and instead track down the enthralling and little-known places that are hidden throughout this exciting metropolis: Try the best Italian food – in a supermarket! Explore the private studios of famous designers! Discover a flock of flamingos in a backyard garden! Go beyond La Scala and the Duomo, the Navigli and the Golden Triangle of Fashion, to uncover Milan’s best kept secrets.
For many years, the artist Bernard Frize has lived in Paris in a bourgeois, typically French apartment with various fanciful elements. But now the Swiss architect Philipp von Matt has built a residence and studio for him right in Berlin’s rough city centre, which is the complete opposite of his other home: von Matt has created a cathedral made of exposed concrete, measuring some 600 square metres (approx. 6450 square feet). It is an austere, massive structure that has huge windows and overlooks smoking chimneys. The use of raw wood throughout the building contrasts with its bare walls. The staircase is designed as an extended living room and reception hall, and it connects the four floors spectacularly.
The exterior gives little hint of what to expect inside. Upon entering, one suddenly realises that the building gets narrower towards the rear and thus seems to be longer than it actually is. The straight lines of the walls, ceilings, and floors form acute angles, creating another dramatic spatial effect.
In addition, the materials are exceptional. The aim was to construct the house in the most environmentally friendly way possible. Clay was used to plaster the walls, the closet doors are made of wicker, and the ceramic tiles come from an old French wine basin.
This book, for the first time, provides a complete overview of the building, presenting a wealth of texts, layouts, models, and architectural photographs.
Text in English and German.
This publication, which features 220 large-format photographs, offers us a visual tour of the houses that belong to the Duchess of Alba in Madrid (The Liria Palace), Seville (The Palace of Las Dueñas), Salamanca (The Palace of Monterrey), Ibiza and San Sebastián.
The images were taken by the renowned interior photographer, Ricardo Labougle, whilst the architectural notes were written by the architect and university professor, Rafael Manzano. The whole project was coordinated by Naty Abascal.
Born in 1926, the goddaughter of Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain, the Duchess of Alba holds the world record for the most aristocratic titles. Indeed, her full name is Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva and she is a duchess seven times over, a countess 19 times and a marquesa 23 times.
The 86-year-old noble, who is internationally famous for holding more titles than anyone else in the world (and for having fabulously eccentric style) is head of the 530-year-old House of Alba, and as such is entitled to ride her horse into Seville Cathedral, and according to protocol does not have to kneel before the Pope. It is said she could walk from the northern tip of Spain to the southernmost point without leaving her native lands. In 1947, the Duchess married Don Pedro Luis Martinez de Irujo y Artacoz, son of the Duke of Sotomayor. The wedding was considered to be the last great feudal wedding in Spain and attracted the attention of the international media.
The Duchess has been the subject of much media attention in her native Spain, and is admired for her eccentric and bohemian fashion sense. A famed beauty in her youth, she once famously declared that her style icon was “myself”.
John Ruskin assembled 1470 diverse works of art for use in the Drawing School he founded at Oxford in 1871. They included drawings by himself and other artists, prints and photographs. This book focuses on highlights of works produced by Ruskin himself. Drawings by John Ruskin are uniquely interesting. Unlike those of a professional artist they were not made in preparation for finished paintings or as works in their own right. Every one – and they number several thousand, depending on what can be considered a separate drawing – is a record of something seen, initially as a memorandum of that observation but with the potential to illustrate his writings or for educational purposes, notably to form part of the teaching collection of the Drawing School he established after election as Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University. In addition, because of the range of interests of arguably the only true polymath of his time, every drawing touches on some interesting aspect of art and architecture, landscape and travel, botany and natural history, often connected with his writings and lectures. Ruskin’s life is one of the best documented of any in the 19th century, through letters, diaries and the many autobiographical revelations in his published writings: this allows the opportunity to give almost any drawing a level of context impossible for any other artist. When there is so much background information, a single drawing reveals much about its creator, and becomes a window into the great sprawling edifice of his life and work.
This book guides even Mallorca connoisseurs to places that will amaze them. And it tells stories that hardly anyone has ever heard. You think you already know everything and then this picturesque island, and then you find it’s full of big and small surprises – 111 times!
This unusual guidebook invites the inquisitive to head off the beaten track and explore many of the city’s lesser-known places.
This richly illustrated monograph delves into the innovative output of one of the world’s most prolific international design and architecture practitioners, Tokyo-based Shigeru Ban. Canvassing an enormous compilation of works, this title is a significant contribution to IMAGES’ stable of works showcasing renowned architects from around the globe. This book features an array of innovative projects, from commercial and residential innovation strategies to humanitarian works, such as emergency shelters made from paper and modular shelters for earthquake victims. Shigeru Ban’s visionary residential design philosophies encompass timber hybrid structures, including a building constructed from cardboard tubes; the tallest hybrid timber structure in the world for a residential tower in Vancouver; as well as the new home designed for the Aspen Art Museum, which features woven wooden cladding. His innovation extends to the industrial design of an architect’s scale pen used for drawing. This book also helps to relay Shigeru Ban’s contemporary discourse on architectural culture, and how it is moving in new directions. This title is a must-have for any serious aficionado of modern architecture, innovative thinking, and design.
New Orleans, like Venice, is built in a location that at first sight seems curious in the extreme. How could it be that these cities, built so precariously in the face of a watery threat, were to become among the great cities of the world? How could a site below sea level, at a swampy curve in the River Mississippi become one of the most visited cities in the United States, and possess a unique kind of magic that separates it from other cities?
Geoffrey H. Baker’s gem of an architectural guide answers these burning questions. Inside these richly illustrated pages he explains how the urban design works for this city’s plight, which is frequently handicapped by nature’s capacity to destroy in the form of hurricanes. Timothy’s beautiful photography showcases the unique topography and architectural fabric of New Orleans, and Geoffrey’s insight illuminates the city’s inimitable spirit that’s born of its constant battle for survival.
“Welcome to the world of ultra-glamorous architecture as featured in new coffee table book Archiphantasy (The Images Publishing Group), penned by prolific architect Alexander Wong. The weighty, lavish tome showcases more than 30 cinemas, private homes, shops and hotels that have been designed by his visionary Hong-Kong-based firm Alexander Wong Architects.” – Daily Mail
In this highly-anticipated monograph, Alexander Wong presents a selection of incisive essays on contemporary architecture and design concepts, along with a wide range of magnificently photographed works, including dynamic retail spaces, glamorous and unique residential interiors, futuristic cinema design, office spaces of the future, and so much more. Each project highlights how Wong combines the best of what Asia-Pacific has to offer in superior design with an abstract aesthetic, yet high attention to detail.
Faith Flowers is a guide to arranging flowers in places of worship. The book starts with the fundamentals of flower arranging and works up to advanced designs for festivals. Step-by-step instructions and photographs clearly show how to create many different arrangements. Flower recipes are included describing what is needed for each design. Lots of inspiration for new ideas and colour combinations. Flower designs are provided for regular services, weddings, funerals, Christmas, Easter and much more. Learn how to create a volunteer group to provide flowers for your worship services. Author Laura Larocci shares her knowledge from 16 years as Flower Guild Chair of one of the largest cathedrals in the country. Over the years she has organised, led and taught hundreds of volunteers at the cathedral and churches across the US. She shares the triumphs and struggles of creating beautiful flowers within budget and volunteer flower guilds. The book has good reference guides with photos of flower varieties, greenery and materials needed, sample ordering forms, budgets and tips for saving money. Sources for flowers and materials are also discussed.