Luis Bustamante: Interiors showcases the work of interior architect Luis Bustamante, whose long career has encompassed different stages, first in Barcelona, then in Mexico, and currently in Madrid, where he heads a prestigious interior design studio that has scored some spectacular successes throughout the world. In effect, the homes decorated by Luis Bustamante can be found across the world from houses in the Big Apple and Miami to Spain and London. Featuring texts by Ana Domínguez and photographs by Ricardo Labougle, this book tours the trail of beauty that links each of these homes with the next. Locations featured include: Madrid, Mexico DF, New York, Miami, Gstaad, Rougement, Mallorca, Guadalajara, Toledo, La Romana (Santo Domingo). Luis Bustamante graduated in Fine Arts at the Complutense University in Madrid. In the 1980s he devoted himself to sculpture and painting, exhibiting his work in Madrid and Barcelona on various occasions. In 1991 he began his career as an interior designer in Barcelona, where he lived for 8 years working within this field. He then moved to Mexico, where he continued his career over the next five years, establishing himself as an international decorator. In the year 2000 he settled in Madrid, where he set up his decoration and interior design studio with a team of professionals. Today this studio serves as a centre of operations for both his work in Spain and his projects abroad, such as those he has carried out in New York, Miami, London, Gstaad, Caracas, The Dominican Republic and Mexico.
Considered to be one of Scotland’s leading figurative painters, Moyna Flannigan is known for her wry and penetrating observations on society. Her portrait miniatures reflect the styles, manners and culture of contemporary life. In this book Keith Hartley examines Flannigan’s paintings and discusses the artistic and social influences on her work. The illustrations are accompanied by poetic prose by award-winning Scottish writer Dilys Rose, which sets up an imaginative dialogue with the miniatures. ‘Dilys Rose is one of the most versatile writers in Scotland, as well as one of the best‘ – Douglas Dunn
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.
Pressing Matters is an exciting design and research compilation from PennDesign’s Department of Architecture, featuring recent student work, news, important symposia and lectures. Society faces many challenges: global warming and environmental change, pollution and waste, transition to new energy and resource economies, the redistribution and reorganisation of political and economic power worldwide; globalisation of the construction and development industries, population growth, shrinkage and migration; urban intensification and attrition; privatisation of public sector activities; and the transformation of cultural identities and social institutions. We seek to bring the expansion of expertise and creativity in architecture to bear on these challenges with a goal to be at the forefront of advanced research and design by creating an advanced research institute that focuses on new design methodologies and future manufacturing through the interlinked intelligence of digital design, scripting and robotics. Printed on recycled paper with non-toxic inks, Pressing Matters focuses on social awareness and responsibility, and endeavours to be a think-tank for critical exchange and advanced debate within and across disciplinary boundaries. We are a connective device linking invited experts for ongoing lectures and publications to a growing international audience and an increasing network of experts.
Two contrasting terms are joined to conjugate the traditional idea of metropolis (the centre of a vast territory, hierarchically organised, dense, vertical, produced by polarization) with horizontality (the idea of a more diffuse, isotropic urban condition, where centre and periphery blur). Beyond a simplistic centre vs periphery opposition, the concept of a horizontal metropolis reveals the dispersed condition as a potential asset, rather than a limit, to the construction of a sustainable and innovative urban dimension. Around 1990, Terry McGee, an urban researcher at the University of British Columbia, coined the term “desakota”, deriving from Indonesian “desa” (village) and “kota” (city). Desakota areas typically occur in Asia, especially South East Asia. The term describes an area situated outside the periurban zone, often sprawling alongside arterial and communication roads, sometimes from one agglomeration to the next. They are characterised by high population density and intensive agricultural use, but differ from densely populated rural areas by more urban-like characteristics. The new book The Horizontal Meteropolis investigates such areas alongside examples in the US, Italy, and Switzerland. The study highlights the advantages of the concept and its relevance in economical, ecological, and social aspects. The concept reflects a vision of global urbanisation that no longer allows for “outside” areas and that will test the urban ecosystem to its limits.
In Cachan, a suburb south of Paris, Ateliers O-S Architectes was commissioned with transforming a local theatre building, originally built in the early twentieth century, into a thriving cultural centre. The commission went well beyond merely rebuilding and modernising an existing structure. Rather, the firm was tasked with creating an entirely new neighbourhood. Everything but the auditorium and stage of the old building was demolished and replaced with a more spacious, new complex including an additional hall, a new foyer and exhibition space, a restaurant, and new rooms for building and stage equipment. The neighbouring tennis court became a public park. Lever de Rideau presents the creation of Cachan’s new Jacques Carat Theater. Designed to mimic a theatre programme, the book brings together short essays and interviews; portraits of key protagonists; a graphic short story; and ample illustrations, including plans and photographs by celebrated French photographer Cyrille Weiner, which show the building embedded in Cachan’s urban fabric. Offering captivating behind-the-scenes insights, this unconventional book will be welcomed by readers interested in modern architecture and urban planning. Text in English and French.
This volume represents an important tool for getting to know every aspect of Leonardo da Vinci’s work: his pictorial technique, his scientific and technological investigation, his study on anatomy, his Codices, and every suggestion produced by his genius. All works and paintings are accompanied by descriptive and technical sheets, and ample space has been given to images and details, to the updated report on his most controversial works, to those of recent critical acceptance, and to the masterpieces that have animated the international debate such as The Encarnate Angel, the Salvator Mundi, and La Bella Principessa (Portrait of Bianca Sforza). The narrative captions reveal the most curious aspects of the history of each painting. Thanks to the direct contribution of collectors and museums the photographic reproductions of paintings and works reflect the last restorations.
Text in English and French.
By analysing the different colour theories that gradually took shape in the turbulent socio-political context that characterised the 20th century, Emotions of Color in Art reflects on a perspective that considers light, its vibrations and the world of emotions, while challenging the standardisation of the use of colour in the modern age (synthetic colours) and the digital era (RGB colours offered by various online palettes), a levelling that considerably reduces our ability to distinguish colours in the real world.
Starting from the architecture – both physical and historical – of a place, Vitone analyses a personal dimension built up via a stratification of different languages linked to the identity and roots of the place itself.
Like a curious, indefatigable traveller – whose spirit lies somewhere between anarchy and nomadism – his work explores the many ways in which places build up their identities through culture: art, music, architecture, politics and ethnic minorities.
For the first time ever, this catalogue gathers a rich selection of works created by the artist in a career spanning thirty years, juxtaposed with reviews of the shows wherein these works were originally exhibited, here introduced through essays written by over 70 authors.
Text in English and Italian.
Considered today as work that moves in real space with the lightness of a gesture that suddenly takes shape, depositing itself on the walls of places in which it happens to be, Pino Pinelli’s painting offers the image of an energy source that seems to arise spontaneously from the spirit of the place, displaying its infinite possibilities of being, breathing, imagining, and generating new solutions; the fruit, as Pinelli’s friend, the poet Carlo Invernizzi, said in one of his first interventions dedicated to the artist at the end of the 1980s, “of an irrepressible yearning to be de-localised, so as to be a wandering centre on the margins and beyond the boundaries in a prefiguration of the world that is created as a possibility of the boundlessness.” In this, Pinelli’s painting never fails to go beyond the sensory perception one can have of space, of material-colour, even beyond the idea of painting itself. Text in English and Italian.
Dirk Wynants (1964) is the founder and owner of Extremis, the innovative Belgian design label. He is also the company’s head designer and devised the powerful branding concept ‘Tools for Togetherness’. Extremis gained an international reputation as a trendsetter in outdoor furniture in just a few years, and this success story is closely linked to the inspired personality and ideals of its entrepreneur-designer. He considers contemporary design more than simply a matter of trendy and attractive objects; it is all about innovative solutions that can make the world a better place. Since 2007 Dirk Wynants Design Works or (dw)2 has been an independent entity and is open to design assignments from outside Extremis. Since Extremis was launched in 1994, Dirk Wynants has won countless international awards (e.g. the Henry Van de Velde Award, the iF and Red Dot Awards, Good Design, IDEA, DME and so on). The design critic Chris Meplon has been keeping a close eye on the Belgian and international design scene for years. Her purpose in this book is to discover the secrets behind the unique success story of the pioneering Extremis company.
As far as bridal flowers are concerned, florist Moniek Vanden Berghe needs little introduction. Always on the look for new ideas, Moniek draws inspiration from everything she sees, resulting in innovative designs and a dazzling diversity of elegant bouquets, boutonnieres, accessories, car and table decorations. She experiments with colours, shapes and different ways to carry a bouquet. All of Moniek’s works are made with tremendous love and meticulous craftsmanship. Flowers in Love 3 hands bridal ideas to florists and will inspire anyone who is soon to be wed and dreams of having a flourishing party. This book is overflowing with spontanaeity and vision; a source of inspiration for florists and brides-to-be alike, Flowers in Love 3 is an excellent addition to the author’s two other bestsellers on the theme of love and marriage.
“Moniek is a uniquely creative talent. Her intriguing combination of materials as well as her technical creativity shows that she is a true visionary in floral design.”Diane MomnomotoAlso Available:Flowers in Love ISBN: 9789058561619 £22.50Flowers in Love 2 ISBN: 9789058562241 £22.50
“I like depicting sexy, strong women – the spirit of a dominatrix. Through my work I explore the part of my personality that enjoys teasing and provocation. In doing this, I’ve seen the change and growth of myself as a person, a woman, a lover, a critical open-minded thinker and, most important, as an artist.” – Alejandra Guerrero.
In the second decade of the twenty-first century we are witnessing an unprecedented exploration of female sexual power, while on the other hand reactionary cultural forces contrive to keep women as defenceless as possible. In this context, the work of photographer Alejandra Guerrero can be understood as a clarion call. Hers is a rarefied visual art that marks a turning point for female sexuality in erotica, her eloquent tableaux revealing the intricate ways in which women exert their erotic power. Here we see a future in which women dictate raw, yet refined desires. Each moment comes from the erotic fever dreams of the participants and the desires of the woman behind the camera. Sometimes, when Guerrero turns the lens upon herself, those moments are one and the same. Contents: We delight in wickedness by Violet Blue; Plates; Biographies; Credits.
Architecture Stuff
is about a way of looking at architecture. It examines 7 seminal projects and shows how they might have been conceived with or without the design architect’s awareness. More a working method than a theory, the book deals with questions pertinent to designers as well as to critics of buildings. More Stuff then illustrates how the same sensibility and working method can be used in the design of buildings as a tool for creating architecture.
The 7 buildings featured are chosen for their breadth of styles and approaches to architecture, demonstrating that this approach to architecture can be applied to any building. Presented in reverse chronological order, the first project, Grace Farms, is a building by SANAA. Noted for its meandering river form and minimalist detailing, it is seen to be – among other things – a juxtaposition of orthogonal and sinuous forms. The second project is Villa Dall Ava by Rem Koolhaas/OMA. Located in the suburbs, the house is a transition from city to country. The third project is the Neue Staatsgalerie by James Stirling. The analysis shows how the ‘bad boy’ of architecture subverts conventional architectural tropes. Robert Venturi’s Mother’s House is shown to be a compressed stately manor and an architect’s conceit. The Kimbell Art Museum by Louis Kahn can be understood as simple repetitive forms with elaborated elements that organize a diverse collection of spaces. Pierre Chareau’s Maison de Verre is much more than types of transparency and mechanisation. One of its major themes is the use of ‘L’ shaped spaces. Finally, St George’s Bloomsbury by Nicholas Hawksmoor is a parish church swallowed by a classical temple. The critique exposes how the architect used that idea to juxtapose the clerical and the civic to develop all of the details in the building.
These are not singular idea buildings and, as a way of seeing architecture, there are overlapping themes in this collection. The history of architecture of specific periods is a common theme, as is architecture’s stasis with spaces expanding or contracting. A dry sense of humour is always appreciated. What separates these buildings from any other building is the density of ideas presented.
More Stuff accounts for the same working methods as a way to make architecture. Here the author illustrates eleven projects across the span of his career. Though often done in collaboration with others, in all cases the author generated the design ideas. One of the key aspects of architecture stuff is that it is unpretentious and accessible and these projects are meant to illustrate that quality. Architecture can be serious and playful at the same time.
The VIII issue of Dialectic asks the reader to imagine possible ways to subvert architecture. Or to employ architecture as means of subversion. In this issue seven articles from international authors and two guiding editorials invite the reader to reflect upon the various ways of how architecture, normally conceived of as expression of power and elites, undermines and undoes exactly this taken-for-granted affirmatively. Divided in three sections the articles in the first part explore lessons from scholarship and design from the ‘field school’ in Milwaukee, from social housing in Brussels, and from informal open-air bazars in Ukraine. Section two critiques instrumentalised architectural knowledge, such as sustainability and the medium of drawing, particularly from an indigenous perspective. Finally, section three wrestles with fundamental concepts of the architectural discipline, with the male, normalised, de-sexualised body and architecture’s relationship with the ground being two of the most fundamental ones.
In the ambitious dream of a futurist reconstruction of the universe pursued by the movement founded by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, which ranged from the arts to the most diverse aspects of life, the renewal of postal communication methods also found its place, with proposals that covered the entire sector, from postcards to letterheads and envelopes, from stamps to interpersonal correspondence.
Futurism, in fact, has not limited itself to using the post office network to spread its ideas in every part of the world, but also created a new postal style, conceiving many solutions of modern graphics and even post-postal correspondence via computer and cell phone, made up of synthesis, laconicity, conventional symbolism and abbreviations.
The book explores this little-known chapter of Futurism through the material of the Echaurren Salaris Collection, the richest in the world with regard to magazines, posters, books and futurist documents, as well as an indispensable reference for the knowledge of this movement.
Text in English and Italian.
“A stunning collection of photographs by Alex Saberi, which illustrate the rich diversity of wildlife in Richmond Park throughout the seasons.” – Discover Wildlife.com
“Alex’s ethereal, fairy-tale-like images are a real wonder. His grasp of light, location and atmosphere make these photographs ones that border on the unique.” – Amateur Photographer
Sir David Attenborough has described Richmond Park as “A very special place” – and with good reason. This vast oasis of green, just eight miles from the centre of London, is an ecological pearl in the midst of sprawling urbanisation.
The park, most famous for its herd of 630 Fallow and Red Deer, is not only Europe’s largest park, but is as big as the seven other royal parks combined. Since King Charles I enclosed the park in 1637, it has provided a haven of tranquillity and diversion for all its visitors. Today, some 77 million people pass through its gates each year.
In this beautiful book, Alex Saberi captures Richmond Park’s unique blend of rare and diverse wildlife, plant life and rolling landscapes. From a crow perching on a bench in the morning haze to a foolhardy Labrador, breaking impatiently away from its owner, the photographs capture its inherent beauty as well as those rare moments of wildlife action and majesty that only yield themselves to the most patient and knowledgeable of observers.
EUROPAN is an initiative that puts on competitions for young architects. Founded in 1989 and supported by 13 countries in the EU, it runs a competition every two years for innovative and experimental models in urban development. The 2017 and 2019 EUROPAN competitions focused on the topic Productive Cities. The 2019 edition involved more than 900 planning teams from all over Europe, who prepared proposals for 47 towns.
This book features the 12 winning submissions to the 2019 Productive Cities 2 competition for the Austrian cities Graz, Innsbruck, Villach, Weiz, and Vienna. They are presented in great detail through photos, drawings and visualisations, along with commenting texts. The projects focus on architectural and urban-planning interventions and processes. They offer innovative concepts for the use of public space as well as holistic solutions for sustainable construction and models for cross-functional use of space. The book is a rich source for trend-setting ideas about our future cities and the development of a new urban lifestyle.
In Fine Bonsai: Art and Nature, the finest extant achievements in the art of bonsai are seen together for the first time, through the lens of renowned botanical photographer Jonathan Singer. This magnificent deluxe volume is the result of an extensive photographic campaign, in the course of which Singer was granted unprecedented access to the most respected public and private collections in Japan and the United States, including the mecca of bonsai, the Omiya Bonsai Village of Saitama, Japan, where photography is normally prohibited. 300 stunning full-page images and four lavish gatefolds present bonsai of all types, from quiet representations of nature to bold sculptural forms. The horticultural and aesthetic characteristics of each bonsai are concisely and authoritatively described in the narrative captions by William Valavanis, head of the International Bonsai Arboretum in Rochester, New York. And because the container is considered an integral part of any bonsai-indeed, the literal meaning of ‘bonsai’ is ‘tray plant’ – the book also includes some 25 photographs of traditional bonsai containers, with descriptions. A further sequence of 25 photographs is devoted to the related art of suiseki, or miniature stone landscapes displayed in the same manner, and often alongside, bonsai.
With his groundbreaking first book, Botanica Magnifica, Jonathan Singer established a new style of botanical photography, characterised by an exceptional clarity of detail and richness of colour, as well as a painterly chiaroscuro. These qualities are just as evident in the present volume; Singer photographs each bonsai with an artist’s – one might even say a portraitist’s – eye. Whereas most books on bonsai aim to instruct readers on techniques of care and cultivation, Singer’s book takes the reader on a visual journey. His images encompass many different species, from azalea to red maple, as well as a variety of blossoms and fruits. Alluring and serene, Singer’s photographs make the experience of leafing through Bonsai not unlike entering a real Japanese garden. Fine Bonsai: Art and Nature not only documents the masterpieces of an ancient horticultural art, but is a masterpiece in itself.
A portion of the proceeds of this book will benefit the Japanese Red Cross.
Advertising for beauty products moved with social trends – from flapper girl to Carnaby Street Twiggy lookalikes. Gullible consumers were offered solutions to achieving their dreams – to look forever young, to attract attention, to land Mr. or Mrs. Right. Sellers of Dreams charts the advertiser’s skills in promising dreams would come true.
In 2020, in recognition of outstanding accomplishments in new design concepts and developments in craftsmanship, the Danner Prize, four honorary Danner awards, and an impressive exhibition were conferred for the thirteenth time. This publication presents the selected works with large-format photographs, descriptions of the artisans, and texts by renowned artists. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Danner Stiftung, several choice objects from the foundation’s own collection are also being exhibited, alongside exquisite items of jewellery by the court goldsmith Karl Rothmüller. This diverse series of highlights is complemented by photos from the exhibition in the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich. Read, view, and enjoy this all-round fascinating publication!
Published to accompany an exhibition at Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum – in Munich from 15 October 2020-17 January 2021.
Text in English and German.
This book celebrates the extraordinary talent of Raphael, 500 years after his death.
This is the story of an unequalled master whose figure has surpassed that of other leading figures of the Renaissance. His talent grew with astonishing rapidity, starting with the years of training at the workshop of his father Giovanni Santi: in 1500, at only 17 years old, he was already defined ‘magister’.
The author leads us into the folds of the extraordinary story of Raphael, studded with masterpieces that have become cornerstones in the history of art, and helps us to understand his timeless talent through new comparisons and explanations. The deep knowledge and the profound passion of the author make reading the book exciting and unforgettable.