Architecture Asia, as the official journal of the Architects Regional Council Asia, aims to provide a forum, not only for presenting Asian phenomena and their characteristics to the world, but also for understanding diversity and multiculturalism within Asia from a global perspective.
This issue discusses the topic of globalization and locality through four essays and eleven projects. The essays attempt to observe the tension between the different forces of globalization, which is being widely debated as a distinguishing trend, and also highlight globalization’s impact on local architecture, as well as the various efforts being taken to ensure local identity and distinctive locality in architecture design. The projects, accompanied with full-color photos and text descriptions, demonstrate the many successful attempts in developing design concepts and methods to cope with the globalization trend while maintaining locality. These essays and projects are carefully selected to represent diversity in project locations, and includes locations such as Thailand, India, Japan, and China.
Opening with the reflections of Indian architects Rohan Varma, Charles Correa and Rahul Mehrotra on the past, present and future of architecture and planning in Mumbai, the book maintains its expert local focus through a number of interviews, made with a wide variety of local and foreign architects and planners who work in Mumbai. The ins-and-outs of practising architecture and planning in this megacity are explored through their eyes. Small but exciting firms (such as Brio Architecture) find a place beside massive commercial architecture firms (including Hafeez Contractor) and activist architects (such as PK Das and Somaya & Kalappa). Teaching architecture in Mumbai is also discussed extensively. This book features several micro-initiatives that have come up with creative solutions for making the city more liveable and beautiful. A special acknowledgment must be reserved for Bas Losekoot, whose luxurious high-quality photography covers the many faces and facets of Mumbai. In his photo essay, he projects an intriguing new light on Mumbai and its inhabitants. Learning from Mumbai will be of interest to architects, planners, architecture and planning students, and for those thinking of starting an architecture or planning firm in India, as well as for anyone interested in Mumbai and Mumbai’s built environment.
Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, is known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world because of its perfect blend of nature, environment, architecture and people. With almost complete preservation of architecture from all historical periods, Prague is second to none among other World Heritage cities for its richness, integrity and diversity. The city is like a European open-air museum of architectural art, and one of the indispensable destinations for architects and architecture lovers to travel in Europe.
Based on years of field and literature research by the authors, this book showcases the achievements of Prague’s thousand-year urban architectural changes and the protection of complete heritage.
Through the interpretation of 43 historic buildings from different periods, this book explores Prague’s urban characteristics and changes. Though priceless, most of these built heritages are beyond the focus of Western architectural history research, and their status and significance need to be readdressed and reassessed.
Text in English and Chinese.
Richard Manion Architecture creates distinctive residences and estates with a respect for traditional forms and historic imagery adapted to modern living. The curated selection of rarely published projects in this second volume of RMA’s work, Streamlined, demonstrates the firm’s signature classicist style, which draws upon traditional and streamlined classical, regional, and contemporary influences to reflect authentic details, proportions, and a sophisticated sense of place for the 21st century.
In this book, the firm’s focus is on the integration of modernism within an overall framework of simplicity and restraint, discretion and harmony. Academic studies of European modernism, with its visionary approach and embodiment of the machine age, have come back to inspire, but with the understanding that many of its roots can be traced back to the heritage of classical design principles. This exquisite, fully illustrated volume showcases RMA’s goal to unite ideas about tradition, history, and modernity in a synergy and explores the meaning of shared architectural imagery and heritage for our time.
This book presents around 100 buildings that were erected between 1917 and 2017, and are already considered to be classics of architectural history. With informative texts accentuated by photos, plans, archive material and, most importantly, facts (planners, construction period, addresses, access), this book is the holistic guide to Stuttgart’s incredible architecture that the world has been waiting for. Featured buildings are by: Theodor Fischer, Martin Elsaesser, Paul Bonatz, Paul Schmitthenner, Rolf Gutbrod, Paul Stohrer, Günther Behnisch, Hans Kammerer, Fritz Leonhardt, Frei Otto, Hans Scharoun, James Stirling, Schlaich und Partner, LRO, UN Studio, Auer und Weber, Atelier 5, Hascher Jehle, Wulf und Partner, and many more.
In the twelve years since Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders was formed, the firm has created a significant body of wooden buildings that are rooted in the seaside vernacular of the fabled region of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. As a design/build firm led by architects, Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders is able to reach a level of aesthetic control not normally associated with light construction today. Each project is approached as an individual work of art and craft specifically associated with its site and client. The eclectic, evolutionary use of architectural history infuses the firm’s designs with fresh interpretations of architectural tradition, subtle playfulness, and wit. The compositional and planning strategies ground the work in the vernacular tradition that evolved into the shingle style, the ‘architecture of the American summer’ to use the words of historian Vincent Scully. The experience of the firm’s principal designers, John and Sharon DaSilva, includes several years at Venturi Rauch and Scott Brown and Cesar Pelli and Associates. The book features over twenty houses and a handful of small institutional buildings in photographs by some of the world’s best architectural photographers and drawings by the firm. Includes essay by noted architecture writer Michael J. Crosbie. Also Available: Ken Tate Architect, Vol. 1: New Classicists, 1864701013, $95.00 Ken Tate Architect, Vol. 2: New Classicists, 1920744436, $90.00 William T. Baker: New Classicists, 1920744576, $90.00 Appleton & Associates: New Classicists, 1920744606, $90.00 Wadia & Associates: New Classicists, 1864702338, $90.00
Pierre Chareau, aménagements et architecture is an unprecedented synthesis of almost 80 interior architecture projects (1908-1938), both private and public, and his architectural projects (1925-1950).
It reveals the evolution of Pierre Chareau’s approach to interior design, from his beginnings as a decorator integrating his furniture into existing spaces, to the advent, over the course of his projects, of a resolutely architectural approach to space, in which furniture comes to life and becomes architecture in its own right. Listing all of these projects, it provides a detailed, illustrated analysis of twenty-five of them, most of which were commissioned by three families: the Dalsaces, the Bernheims and the Dreyfus.
This second volume reveals the designer’s long-term commitment to architecture. It looks back at his involvement in the CIAM, the Société des architectes modernes and the Rassemblement des architectes, as well as his collaboration with the magazine L’Architecture d’aujourd’hui. It offers a critical analysis of Pierre Chareau’s work as an architect, deciphering the 13 projects he worked on in France from 1923 to 1938, and in the United States from 1945 to 1950, from Djemil Anik’s cottage to Robert Motherwell’s studio in East Hampton. Finally, this book offers an in-depth analysis of the Glass House. By drawing up a portrait of Jean Dalsace and his wife Annie, it helps us to understand the central role played by those who commissioned the project. It looks back at the architectural and societal context of the time, explaining the importance of light and hygiene in the Maison de verre. The building site and its vicissitudes are described, followed by a description of the main principles behind the design of the house, and an analysis of its volumes and spaces.
Text in French.
This is a richly illustrated monograph revealing William T. Baker’s masterful detailing and superior craftsmanship of magnificent family residences. Showcasing 14 classically inspired homes of grace and beauty, each property reflects an astute comprehension of life as it is lived in the 21st century, with deliberate nods to historical aesthetics that coexist harmoniously with the architectural language of natural light, passive design themes, voluminous space, and fabulous comfort. Inspired by the bounty of classical architecture found in the grand homes of the southern United States, particularly the state of Georgia, the hallmarks of William T. Baker’s architecture are extraordinary attention to details of craftsmanship and construction, and a keen eye for scale and proportion. His work clearly reflects the aspirations of the American Dream. This beautifully photographed monograph of William T. Baker’s work is the third volume in IMAGES’ successful New Classicist series, and showcases the exquisitely designed homes of the modern family, who entrusted Baker with their dreams and visions, and whose trust has been rewarded with classically inspired homes of grace and beauty. His work contributes greatly to some of the most aesthetically pleasing residences being built in the United States today.
This beautifully illustrated monograph chronicles the architecture of David C. Hovey, FAIA, and his influence on the discipline, as well as the story of his life and career. David Hovey founded Optima in 1978, with the goal of reinventing multifamily housing by combining development and design in a single company. Over the forty-plus years the company has existed, Hovey has built nearly 6,000 residential units. In the process, he has elevated the design of a building type that has, with a few exceptions, been left to developers to produce indifferent work. He challenges the market with something better, something worthy of enfolding families and individuals. Hovey is a modernist, steadfast in his belief in the future, in technology, in material honesty, in structural expression, and in architecture’s ability to improve the lives of people. His work has captured attention, winning critical acclaim as well as many national and regional awards for architecture. The dozen representative projects in this book range from single-family homes to towers and from the company’s early years to the present. Also showcased is Hovey’s work as an abstract sculptor, whose monumental work is installed at some of the multifamily projects examined here. A serious art collector of mostly twentieth-century art, Hovey’s acquisitions are detailed in an illustrated catalog at the end of the book.
The Bund was once a mud land criss-crossed with farm fields, wild reeds, and a rooster fighting yard. Then its shape transformed dramatically looking similar to a European City, thus the mud Bund became the modern and attractive gold Bund. The stories of the Bund are about how the mud land turned into a billion-dollar skyline.
This book is a practiced journalist’s notebook about historical buildings in the Bund. The story of the Bund is the history of Shanghai’s rapid development. The book records the past and present details of 30 buildings on the Bund north of Yan ‘an East Road, and shares hundreds of architectural photos and historical pictures. The 30 buildings listed in the book are accompanied by the latest tourist tips, as well as colorful architectural maps of the Bund and data analysis charts. The great changes in Shanghai can be seen more clearly from the authors’ unique perspective.
Michelle Qiao has done arduous research in Xujiahui Library where abundant historical archives from Shanghai’s old English newspapers are kept. This book presents Bund architecture with the authors’ unique descriptions and vivid photos.
Text in English and Chinese.
Contemporary architect Ralph Johnson, Firmwide Design Director at Perkins&Will, is one of the most prolific and awarded American architects practicing today. Architecture in a Rapidly Changing World is a two-volume monograph commemorating his enduring career, influential legacy, and impressive portfolio of work. Taken together, the volumes explore how individual expression emerges within the context of a larger architectural practice.
Volume 1: Creative Journey encapsulates Johnson’s career from architecture school to the present, with a selection of his built and unbuilt work from 1971 to 2012, including the Contemporaine, an iconic residential high-rise in downtown Chicago. Volume 2: Recent Work explores his latest projects in more depth and includes the Tinkham Veale Student Center at Case Western Reserve University, the Shanghai Natural History Museum, the Northtown Library and Apartments, the Damen Green Line Station, and the Suzhou Science and Technology Museum. While Johnson’s approach has evolved over six decades of practice, his adherence to the core values of humanism, environmentalism, and modernism has never wavered.
“I fully intend to lean heavily on my copy of Blanning’s guide in planning my next trip to the region, not least as she helpfully includes places to stay and eat too. The mix of the practical and educational with a real sense of love for the region is a gift that will keep giving for many years to come.” — Club Enologique
“… it’s an essential buy for any enthusiast, budding or committed.” — Decanter
“Clear, structured and full of practical insight, this book serves as both a primer and a companion for anyone keen to understand one of France’s most varied and rewarding wine regions. It is well worth buying for the way it brings coherence, context and character to a place that repays curiosity.”— Forbes
Wines of the Loire Valley provides an up-to-date guide to the wines of this historic region. The hallmark of Loire wines is their balance between succulent fruit and refreshing acidity but the Loire Valley encompasses a vast array of wines, not only the well-known and trusted names but many more little known, overlooked and undervalued. The complex patchwork of vineyards that extends more than 500 kilometers along France’s longest river is a haven of discovery for wine lovers. The Loire’s winemakers are at the forefront of the move towards a more natural approach to winegrowing, making it a preferred choice for anyone looking for organic, biodynamic and ‘natural’ wines. While higher-profile regions are struggling with rising temperatures and excessive alcohol levels, the cooler vineyards of the Loire are benefiting from warmer vintages. The first part of the book covers the Loire Valley’s history and presents an overview of the region, the grape varieties used, the wine styles produced, and the viticulture and vinification of the Loire Valley. The second part profiles the main regions and the individuals shaping the vinous landscape of the Loire Valley today, from Muscadet on the Atlantic coast, through Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre in Centre Loire, to Côtes d’Auvergne in the Upper Loire. A final chapter gives an overview of Loire vintages.
“This book is here to remind long-time movie fans why these important 20th-century icons will forever remain the Fabulous Faces of our time.”
— The Eye of Photography
“Enigmatic, dazzling and fabulous: the faces of Hollywood’s golden age.” — The Times
“A new book pulls together glamorous portraits of film stars from the 1920s to the 60s who could draw an audience with their name alone.”
— The Guardian
“Intense close-ups, staged embraces and smouldering, emotive glances exude star power in this fitting tribute to a bygone age.”
“Star quality emanates from every page.”— The Lady Magazine
Fabulous Faces of Classic Hollywood brings together some of the greatest portraits taken by leading Hollywood portrait photographers during the motion picture industry’s golden years of 1920 to 1960. Little-seen negatives, long buried in the remarkable and internationally renowned archives of the John Kobal Foundation, have been unearthed and printed to reveal some of Hollywood’s favorite stars at the height of their careers. Full-page images of Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, as well as lesser lights including Anna May Wong, Lon Chaney, Lupe Velez and Ramon Novarro, will remind long-time movie fans why these important 20th-century icons will forever remain the fabulous faces of the movie world.
Selected by best-selling author Robert Dance and writer and award-winning film producer Simon Crocker, over 200 photographs are presented alongside an essay by Dance, describing what it takes to become a fabulous face and an international icon.
Bonnard drew on the Japanese printmakers, especially Hiroshige, to convey the essence of Paris not through its monuments or vistas, but with scenes of bustling daily life observed from idiosyncratic angles. But unlike the Japanese artists, he worked with a painterly sense of texture and color that remains as astonishing today as when it was first published. This is one of the three hugely original portfolios of etchings brought out in 1899 by the great dealer Ambroise Vollard, and printed by the master craftsman Auguste Clot. The other two are by Édouard Vuillard and Maurice Denis, and all three are being published simultaneously by Pallas Athene.
U Thong, 100 or so km north of Bangkok, has been an important site for over 2,000 years, as witnessed by the discovery of a 3rd century Roman coin. The moated city was connected to the Chin river, thereby gaining access to international trade routes.
The inhabitants of the early centers of Classic Southeast Asian civilization were already wealthy enough to own large quantities of ornate jewelry such as imported beads from India and carved stone from Taiwan. They had so much gold that central and western mainland Southeast Asia including the U Thong area was known in Sanskrit as Suvarnabhumi, the Golden Land.
This publication brings a new perspective to the study of ancient gold from U Thong. The author is a trained research metallurgy scientist, and these skills have been brought to bear on the highly significant corpus of early gold artifacts found in and around the moated city, the largest accumulation of such artifacts from any of the ancient muang of Thailand.
The goldsmiths were as highly skilled as those anywhere else in the world, but almost all previous studies have been written by people who can only study the outer appearance to draw conclusions regarding its age and place of origin.
“A recent addition to the city’s literary landscape – tantalisingly titled The 500 Hidden Secrets of London – more than lives up to its name. With something for every type of visitor, it is brimming with surprises…” — Worldwide Writer
In this brand new and thoroughly revised edition of the bestselling London city guide author Tom Greig not only shares a lot of new secrets, he also included two outside-the-box city walks: an ideal way to explore a part of the city in a day. Many of the new addresses in this guide are in East-London, an area Tom has explored more intensely since the first publication of The 500 Hidden Secrets of London in 2017.
Of course the best hidden secrets in the rest of the city are still included as well, such as the bakery on Brick Lane that’s open 24-hours and that’s famous for its salt-beef bagels; the only modernist house open to the public; the historic church where you can hear avant-garde electronic music; or the art deco car park that hosts art installations and fashion shows. The book contains 500 places and details that few people know, making it the perfect guide 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 Paris, The 500 Hidden Secrets of Boston, The 500 Hidden Secrets of Copenhagen, The 500 Hidden Secrets of Tokyo, and many more. Discover the series at the500hiddensecrets.com
The 500 Hidden Secrets of Chicago reveals 500 off-the-beaten- track places and interesting details for anyone who’s keen to explore Chicago’s best-kept secrets, e.g. 5 cafés for sitting a spell, 5 iconic merchants, 5 ways to enjoy the Chicago river, 5 unlikely art destinations, 5 historic music spots… and much more.
In an age of soaring uncertainty, small moments of connection – with ourselves and our planet – matter more than ever before. The 200 intimate portraits in this volume tell stories of courage, hardship and hope, across continents and through generations.
10 Years of Remembering Wildlife is the tenth book in the Remembering Wildlife charity series, which has so far raised more than $1.5 milion US Dollars for conservation. It will be an anthology of images selected from each of the previous books in the series (elephants, rhinos, Great Apes, cheetahs, lions, African wild dogs, bears, leopards and tigers) plus new for this year: pangolins. The aim of the creators is to make the most beautiful book ever seen on the species and to use that to raise awareness of the plight facing that animal, which this year will be pangolins and also funds to protect it. Each book is full of images generously donated by many of the world’s top wildlife photographers. All profits from the sale of this book will be donated to projects working to protect pangolins.
The Basilica of Saint Mary Major is the only patriarchal basilica of the four in Rome to have retained its paleo-Christian structures and is the resting place of Pope Francis. This elegant guide showcases ultra-high gigapixel photography of the Basilica’s interior and traces its history from 425 AD and tradition has it that the Virgin Mary herself inspired the choice of the Esquiline Hill for the church’s construction. Appearing in a dream to both the Patrician John, the landowner of the Esquiline Hill, and Pope Liberius, she asked that a church be built in her honor on a site she would miraculously indicate. This is the essential and most innovative guide to this important pilgrimage and tourist site in Rome.
Text in English and Italian.
Effie Gray was an innocent victim of a male-dominated society, repressed and mistreated. Or was she? John Ruskin, the greatest art critic and social reformer of his time, was a callous misogynist and upholder of the patriarchy. Or was he? John Everett Millais, boy genius, rescued the heroine from the tyrannical clutches of the husband who left his wedding unconsummated for six years. Or did he? What really happened in the most scandalous love triangle of the 19th century? Was it all about impotence and pubic hair? Or was it about money, power and freedom? If so, whose? And what possibilities were there for these young people caught in a world racked by social, financial and political turmoil? The accepted story of the Ruskin marriage has never lost its fascination. History books, novels, television series, operas and now a star-filled film by Emma Thompson have all followed this standard line. It seems to offer an easy take on the Victorians and how we have moved on. But the story isn’t true.
In Marriage of Inconvenience Robert Brownell uses extensive documentary evidence – much of it never seen before, and much of it hitherto suppressed – to reveal a story no less fascinating and human, no less illuminating about the Victorians and far more instructive about our own times, than the myths that have grown up about the most notorious marriage of the 19th century.
Joel Denot (b.1961) is a French photographer. His images are centered on the essential elements of photography: light, color and shape. They are neither figurative nor abstract, with colored surfaces floating in a void, framing each other and projecting shadows of overlapping colors: orange then pale pink then blue then bright pink; red then green then pink then grey-blue. Produced entirely during the shoot, they are a purely photographic gesture, created without laboratory work. This is the first monograph on his career.
Text in English and French.