I.M. Pei, one of the giants of modern architecture, is featured in the first of a new series that will deliver a new perspective on 20th-century architecture through interviews in which prominent architects look back on their careers.

He talks with Fumihiko Maki about memorable people and projects from a career that has spanned more than half a century. Included are descriptions of his encounters with Walter Gropius and Alvar Aalto, which convey the high esteem he held of these eminent architects as teachers and friends. Tracing his career in 3 parts, a chronological list of his works from 1950-2008 is also included.

Evident throughout is Pei’s warmly human approach to architecture, which transcends the framework of academic or professional relationships and values above all the satisfaction of working with valued associates toward common goals.

Text in English and Japanese.

Resilient Horizons: The Future of Landscape Architecture by ArquitectonicaGEO explores the transformative role of sustainable, resilient, and contemporary landscaped environments. These outdoor spaces, ranging from urban green spaces to large-scale ecosystem restorations, enhance the human experience and community well-being and combat the pressing challenges of climate change.

This insightful monograph showcases ten pioneering projects by the Miami-based firm that blend innovative design, biodiversity conservation, and climate resilience. The featured projects include the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Port of Miami Tunnel, Lakeside Village at the University of Miami, and Brickell City Centre, among others. Full-color photography, site plans, and detailed narratives highlight the innovative approaches that ArquitectonicaGEO uses to address climate change and promote biodiversity, and how human-centric design provides enriching outdoor spaces
Resilient Horizons affirms ArquitectonicaGEO’s commitment to sustainability, resilience, and human-centric design, and demonstrates how thoughtful landscape architecture can transform not just spaces, but entire communities. 

a+u’s May issue features Manthey Kula. Based in Norway, the firm was founded in 2004 by Beate Hølmebakk and Per Tamsen. This issue includes 13 built works and five paper-architecture projects. Manthey Kula’s buildings result from the encounter between the given program, sensitivity to the site, and methods of construction, while their paper architecture explores the relationship between storytelling and form through varied inspirations – dreams seen by others, women depicted in literature, an imaginary tribunal, and narratives woven by self and others. Manthey Kula’s architecture is based on story, making, and how things are made. They use words, drawings, and materials to construct a new and potent reality. In a world where architectural approaches and values have diversified, Manthey Kula targets another public realm – fiction – prompting the viewer’s intuition and imagination to “reaffirm our presence in the world.”

Text in English and Japanese.

The architecture work of Brazil-based Raul di Pace is guided by creativity and innovation. The firm’s focus always comes with the awareness that it is providing a service to its customer. The firm’s ideas happen naturally, and relate to the needs of the residents and their dreams for the place where they will live. A house is a place that must adapt to fit in with the time for which it is designed, and then it must continue to be a living environment as time and generations evolve. Before, cities had no running water and electricity—today most things are automated. To follow time is to adapt to new technologies, new materials, new habits and demands. We cannot imagine something as unchangeable, untouchable. A contemporary house cannot be simply a sanctuary. It should primarily be a pleasant space that provides adequate housing that serves the residents before anything else; it is up to the architect to remake, adapt, orient and reorient—all the while fulfilling this overall mission. Since the beginning, Raul di Pace’s architecture is about the search to reinvent oneself, to propose new solutions, built to suit specific purposes. Heavily influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s work, which was a process of reinvention from start to finish, this highly anticipated volume shows how Raul di Pace continues to reinvent its language based on the same premise: make less, splurge less, seek the essential.

Text in English and Portuguese.

a+u’s May issue features Francis Kéré, a Berlin-based architect originally from the West African nation of Burkina Faso. His earliest work, Gando Primary School, demonstrated a design process that embraces the cultural and material roots of a place and its people, and as the Gando project expanded in scope to include other social amenities, Kéré’s architecture became a tool of community building and empowerment. This architecture of humanism relies on the metaphor of the palaver tree, under which a community gathers and knowledge is formed and transmitted. Kéré enriches local, basic materials and traditional know-how with thoughtful and forward-looking technological and ecological concepts, creating a sustainable, low-cost, and high-performance architecture that serves as a model for the Global South. Opening with Gando Primary School and ending with ongoing construction projects, furniture pieces, and exhibitions, this monograph presents 34 works. In addition to texts by Kéré and guest editor Andres Lepik, 3 essays by younger architects of African origins situate Kéré’s work in the broader context of architecture and urbanization in the African continent, invoking issues of translatability, authenticity, justice, community, and empowerment.

Text in English and Japanese.

a+u’s January issue features Caruso St John Architects, led by Adam Caruso and Peter St John. Practicing for more than 30 years, the firm is completing a series of major buildings, such as ZSC Lions Ice Hockey Arena, a competition-winning project 10 years in the making, and Royale Belge, an ambitious renovation of a landmark corporate building. Founded in London in 1990, Caruso St John carefully analyzes the existing situation – be it the sociocultural context or an old building – to create a unique architecture that informs both materiality and detail. The scale of the projects vary but the architecture is always their own, as their design approach, while consistent, responds sensitively to the variations. Caruso St John Architects have approached the 19 works in this issue with the same passion and sensitivity as in Tate Britain’s Millbank Project and Brick House, projects introduced in a+u’s March 2015 issue. Whether the subject is an existing building or a new construction, Caruso St John always questions norms and standards, and by extracting ideas and materials from the existing built environment, the firm embraces “the challenge to reframe the way we see the world around us and change how we define architecture.” (a+u)

Text in English and Japanese.

Lam Partners has blazed the trail in architectural lighting design for more than 60 years. The visionary team of designers, architectural imaginers, and technical gurus have illuminated prominent and prestigious buildings, landmarks, and spaces across the United States and around the world.

William Lam founded his eponymous studio in 1961, pioneering the field of modern lighting design and establishing the core philosophies and principles that continue to lay the foundation for Lam Partners and the lighting industry today. Now led by its third generation of principals, Lam Partners collaborates closely with architects to develop custom lighting designs that bring their vision to life. Their passion for architecture and lighting is evident in the energy and enthusiasm injected into the design process, and the technical and creative strategies that enrich architecture and space, and elevate the human experience.

This beautifully presented monograph showcases 25 architectural lighting projects by Lam Partners, including the United States Institute of Peace, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Yad Vashem Memorial Museum, The TOWER at PNC Plaza, Salt Lake City Public Library, and SoFi Stadium. It also features a selection of legacy projects, such as the Washington D.C. Metro and Union Station, and the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, considered to be some of Lam’s greatest contributions to architectural lighting.