When the survival of the Catholic Church was threatened during the Republic and Catholic shelter churches were not allowed to be recognizable from the street, what was not allowed to be shown on the outside was compensated for on the inside. In the 17th century, the robes became gold, silver and silk expressions of silent resistance, but also of a feminist agenda of the makers. Behind closed doors, everything was literally and figuratively pulled out to propagate the Catholic faith. Worn ball gowns with colorful flowered French, English and Chinese fashion fabrics were donated to the church by rich, pious women so that beautiful and special church vestments could be made from them. So it could easily happen that a priest in a pink robe with flowers stood at the altar.
This book sheds new light on Delft pottery from the 17th and 18th centuries. During this period, the Delft pottery industry took off, under the strong influence of a changing world. Delft potters were seen as true innovators. Today, ceramics is experiencing another heyday. A new vanguard of Dutch makers is rediscovering the age-old craft and taking a fresh look at the material and its significance. Pioneering Ceramics zooms in on innovation within the ceramic craft. The basic recipe of ceramics has hardly changed over the centuries, but the world in which ceramics are made has. The publication takes a closer look at similarities and differences between pioneering makers then and now.
Text in English and Dutch.
Rietveld Schröder House: A Biography of the House tells the story of the iconic house and its creators, Truus Schröder (1889–1985) and Gerrit Rietveld (1888–1964). The construction of the house, the designs by ‘Schröder & Rietveld Architects’, the war years, the renovations and the many family parties: this richly illustrated publication builds up a picture of the colorful life of the idiosyncratic Rietveld Schröder House.
In addition to many previously unpublished photographs, drawings, designs and letters, the book provides in-depth insight into Rietveld and Schröder’s collaboration and their shared ambition to radically change traditional (interior) architecture. The research by authors Natalie Dubois and Jessica van Geel also convincingly shows that Truus Schröder’s role was far greater than previously assumed. As a gifted designer, Schröder was much more than Gerrit Rietveld’s ‘muse’. Her creative vision proved crucial to their joint projects.
With its bespoke design by Irma Boom, this publication is a tribute to the world-famous house built in 1924 that continues to inspire today. Rietveld Schröder House: A Biography of the House is an accessible and essential reference work for lovers of modern architecture, art history and revolutionary daring.
This publication coincides with the centenary of the Rietveld Schröder House, and is issued in collaboration with Centraal Museum Utrecht.
Text in English and Dutch.
Image © Rietveld Schröder House
Fotoalbum met portretfoto’s van Gerrit Rietveld – Collectie Centraal Museum Utrecht / Rietveld Schröderarchief
Afbeelding van Rietveld Schröderhuis – aanzicht tussen bomen door, 1925 uit het zuiden, met kale boompjes – Collectie Centraal Museum Utrecht / Rietveld Schröderarchief
Interieur verdieping, ingeschoven schuifwand woonhoek 1925 afdruk – Collectie Centraal Museum Utrecht / Rietveld Schröderarchief © Pictoright
Please Look in the Basement is a quirky collection of posters of lost cats, dogs, birds and other pets, carefully curated from the collection of Maarten Inghels, Jan Lemaire, Jean-Michel Meyers, Denis Meyers and Nicolas Marichal from Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent. Fellow collector and writer Maarten Inghels took the posters as the starting point for conversations with the owners. Apart from the posters, this maverick collectible bundles whimsical anecdotes about loneliness and friendship in the big city. How do you find an escaped animal? Does a cat survive a fall from the fourth floor? And did the fortune-teller really see the location of the lost dog in her crystal ball? Please Look in the Basement is an ode to the bizarre occurrences of our four-legged friends and the doltish typography of homemade posters. Inghels tells the stories of pets who one day decide to go their own way.
Text in English, French and Dutch.
Sculptures of Stones by Ronny Delrue depict female statues that are either made of bricks or covered with masonry-like patterns. They form a critical riposte to the heroic male statues of former leaders that are scattered around our cities. Furthermore, the forms also broaden our prior knowledge of the depiction of figures in the public sphere. Sculptures of Stones shows drawing to be a form of spontaneous expression. It offers an alternative to the all-pervasive means of instant communication that govern the world today, namely digital tools and social media systems. Delrue’s drawings are both action and representation. Unlike the electronic devices, a drawing redeems the option of an unmediated, direct action and reflection in and on the world. It re-positions the function of the artist as a free, sovereign subject, who touches the world and is ready to participate and influence history.
English, Dutch and French.
“With this collection, I attempt to clarify that these are not only textile designs. There is a lot more to it than that: making links to developments in the fields of art, culture and politics is only logical and at least as important. My collection seeks above all to stimulate curiosity when reading (or learning to read) images.” – Marc Van Hoe
The Van Hoe Collection – Grammar of Textiles presents The Van Hoe Collection which mainly consists of textile designs, in part weaves and a number of rare books from the period from 1830 to 1990: a period of great artistic and aesthetic changes. Including essays by Mireille Houtzager – Dutch Textile & Costume historian and Johan Valcke, Hoanry Director, Design Flanders, and others.
Text in English and Dutch.
Linda Vinck is a visual artist with a long-standing and sustainably developed body of work centered around rhythm and pattern formation. The materiality of her artworks strengthened by the mixed media techniques the artist uses, demonstrate her fascination by the interplay of predictable and unpredictable micro-forms in nature, psychocorporeal transformations, dance, and contemporary composers. The impact and integration of color and spirituality in her practice refer to her yearlong residencies in Cape Verde, South Africa, and Japan.
For almost five decades Linda Vinck has been developing a consistent body of work around rhythm and pattern formation. This comprehensive publication contextualizes and presents this artist’s oeuvre, and introduces her prolific language as a visual artist in relation to her unique artistic identity.
Text in English and Dutch.
In the last quarter of the 19th century, the Netherlands was a popular travel destination for artists. The American artists Gari Melchers and George Hitchcock visited the country in the 1880s. In 1884, they settled in Egmond aan Zee, then little more than a small, isolated fishing village. There they painted the life of the people and the landscape. Melchers soon garnered international success with The Sermon, while Hitchcock caused a furore with A Tulip Field. The presence of Melchers and Hitchcock in Egmond exerted a great attraction on professionals. A large crowd of artists traveled to Egmond, especially after Hitchcock in 1891 started his summer courses, which attracted remarkably many female artists. Among the artists who worked there were James Jesuba Shannon, Henri Moret, Florence Upton and Letta Crapo Smith. Longing for Egmond offers an overview of the developments in the Egmond artist colony and the key role played by Hitchcock and Melchers fulfilled there.
Erwin Olaf – Freedom offers an intimate look at the life and work of Erwin Olaf, one of the Netherlands’ most groundbreaking photographers. Known for his staged, cinematic imagery and bold aesthetic, Olaf’s work explored themes of sexuality, transience, vulnerability, and activism. This book, launching alongside a major Stedelijk Museum exhibition, provides a fresh perspective on his artistic legacy, including unseen works created during his final years.
A tireless advocate for equal rights, Olaf’s photography captured the beauty and struggles of marginalized communities – queer individuals, people of color, those with disabilities, and the everyday person. His final pieces, including Self-Portrait with Lungs (2023), reveal an even deeper personal and artistic reckoning.
With striking imagery and personal insights, Ewin Olaf – Freedom is a powerful tribute to an artist who redefined contemporary photography and left behind a legacy of beauty, defiance, and humanity.
Iron People tells the story of the war in Ukraine through the unique perspective of its railway workers. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the 230,000 men and women working on Ukraine’s railways have played a vital role in the country’s defense and daily survival. Stretching nearly 25,000 kilometers, the railway network has been a frequent target of Russian attacks. More than 1,100 railway workers have been injured, and over 790 have lost their lives. Yet despite the danger, a deep sense of duty—and the will to survive—drives these workers, supported by their families, to keep the trains running. Dutch photographer Jelle Krings has been documenting the lives of these railway workers and their loved ones since the start of the invasion. His work paints a powerful and moving portrait of resilience, courage, and humanity.
This richly illustrated book follows the journeys of Dutch artist Isaac Israels (1865–1934), whose restless wanderlust took him across Europe and profoundly shaped his artistic vision. The son of painter Jozef Israels, Isaac immersed himself in the cultural life of cities such as Paris, London, and Berlin, and traveled extensively through Italy, Austria, Spain, Denmark, and Sweden. Even during the First World War, he continued to explore the continent, sketching the people and places he encountered. His dynamic paintings reveal a Europe in transition—vibrant, cosmopolitan, and increasingly modern. Through Israels’ eyes, the book reflects on themes of migration, identity, and the visual expression of “Europeanness” at the dawn of the 20th century. Presented by the Kröller-Müller Museum, home to one of the world’s foremost collections of modern art, it offers an evocative journey through both art and history.
For Guilty Grounds, Dutch photographer Steffi Reimers traveled to Calabria in southern Italy. There, she explored the dark side of Calabrian history and the origins and kidnapping practices of one of the world’s most powerful criminal organizations, the ’Ndrangheta. She reveals the landscapes of the Aspromonte National Park as silent witnesses to the pervasive influence of the ‘Ndrangheta. Landscapes that were once pristine and peaceful now resonate with memories of events that have left their mark, subtly breaking the omertà’, the sacred code of silence, so central to the ‘Ndrangheta’s power.
This book shows Reimers’ images, but also tells the stories of the ’Ndrangheta’s victims and their family members. Often, their bodies were never found and are presumed to have been buried, destroyed, or fed to animals in Calabria’s unforgiving wilderness. And apart from that, Antonio Nicaso, an expert on organized crime and co-author of Blood Brothers, also tries to outline the context in which this all happened. Finally Reimers tells her own story, the story of a young woman – a forensic photographer by day, but first and foremost an artist. While inspired by real events, her work is an artistic exploration, a personal and imaginative response to Calabria’s dark history. Throughout the process, she encounters obstacles that complicate her attempt to shape this story visually, foregrounding the tension between lived reality and artistic interpretation.
Verstrengeld (“entwined”) by Dutch photographer Floor Martens is a poetic visual meditation on the interconnectedness of humans, nature, and time, addressing the ‘zeitgeist’ of a younger generation. Through a deeply personal lens, Martens explores the transformation and decay that define all living matter, tracing parallels between the human body and the natural world. Her photographs — depicting (often naked) bodies, trees, flowers, and skies — capture the delicate balance between fragility and endurance, intimacy and distance, life and loss. Employing analogue techniques alongside written text, sound, and sculptural gestures, Martens creates an immersive, sensorial experience that transcends the photographic image. Each composition suggests a metaphysical dialogue, where the veins of a leaf mirror the lines of a hand, and the cycles of growth and decay reveal beauty in impermanence. Verstrengeld reflects Martens’ commitment to slowing down perception, allowing the ordinary to emerge as extraordinary. This tril-ingual publication is both a visual elegy and a philosophical inquiry — an invitation to contemplate our entanglement with the living world.
Text in English, Dutch and French.
This book brings together masterpieces from the collections of the Mauritshuis and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. Twenty-five paintings from The Hague and twenty-five masterpieces from Madrid enter into dialog, revealing the power and versatility of European painting.
For this publication, twenty Spanish and Dutch writers were invited to respond to the works. From their own backgrounds and perspectives they wrote personal stories and reflections around one universal theme: love. Love between people, love of nature and love of art. Love can connect, move and comfort, but it can also reveal longing, loss and vulnerability. The selected paintings show this richness in a striking way. The result is a book that not only unites artworks, but also stories, emotions and different ways of looking.
Contributors include Karin Amatmoekrim, Hanna Bervoets, Gershwin Bonevacia, Sacha Bronwasser, Radna Fabias, Tobi Lakmaker and Antonio Muñoz Molina.
The exhibition Katharina Grosse – Black Bed at MUNCH is the first museum presentation of the German artist in Norway. Celebrated internationally for expanding painting beyond the canvas, Grosse creates environments that blur boundaries between image, architecture, and space. The exhibition centers on Black Bed, a new installation that revisits her seminal work Das Bett (2004). The accompanying publication, designed by internationally recognized Dutch book designer Irma Boom, a leading figure in contemporary bookmaking, focuses on Black Bed and Das Bett and explores Grosse’s approach to painting as a spatial and experiential medium. Curator Katrine Elise Agpalza Pedersen discusses Das Bett as a key work in her practice. The publication also includes an interview with Grosse, in which she reflects on her long-standing engagement with Edvard Munch’s work. Richly illustrated, the publication presents the scale, energy, and inventive approach that define her work.
This inspiring book is for wine connoisseurs and amateurs convinced that their hobby deserves the most beautiful space in their private home for storing, displaying, tasting and sharing their favourite wines. The greatest specialists in custom-made wine cellars and spaces, renowned architects, designers and passionate oenophiles show their hidden gems: integrated in the kitchen or the living room, in a cellar or near the swimming pool or another space for relaxation…
Text in English, French, Dutch, and Spanish.
After the success of Learning from Mumbai (Mapin 2013) the authors of the Learning from India series continue their journey to unravel the lessons that can be learned from practising architecture and urban planning India’s bustling cities. This time, their focus is the country’s capital: New Delhi. Boasting numerous essays and maps, Learning from Delhi lays the groundwork for a series of interviews with architects and planners based in the city. Fresh talent finds a place in this volume, and is showcased alongside the work of established institutions. Abstract theoretical explorations are placed within the local framework through the perspectives of scholars such as Pradip Krishen and Mohammed Shaheer, who are familiar with the city and its buildings. These Indian narratives on Delhi and its developmental life are balanced by the take of foreigners such as Joeri Aulman. A special place in this volume has been reversed for Bas Losekoot’s remarkable photo essays, which bring the city to life in a way never-before seen. Learning from Delhi will be of significance to both students and practitioners of architecture and planning, as well as people interested in Delhi and its built environment. This book is supported by the creative industries fund, NL.
Dr. Balkrishna Doshi (1927–2023) was foremost among the modern Indian architects. An urban planner and educator for over 70 years, Doshi has to his credit outstanding projects ranging from dozens of townships and several educational campuses. Apart from his international fame as an architect, Doshi was equally known as an educator and institution builder. He received several international and national awards and honors, and in 2018 Doshi was selected as the Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, internationally known as architecture’s highest honor.
This autobiography captures Doshi’s career from his childhood to his studies in Bombay and London, his work at Atelier Le Corbusier in Paris and collaboration with Louis I Kahn for IIM Ahmedabad. It recounts his meetings with the most remarkable persons in his own and allied fields, and his equally remarkable patrons, and the story of his own family.
Put together, for the first time, from the lifelong diaries and notes maintained by him, Paths Uncharted is a personal recounting of this remarkable journey unfolding over more than 80 years and across all the continents.
Architectural research by the two Geneva architects in their office Bassicarella focuses on a few fundamental themes: Materiality, presence, construction, pre-fabrication and the internal figure. In a sequence of volumes in the Bibliotheca series, the architects reflect on those themes using illustrative details, short texts and technical data on the materiality of their remarkable buildings in the Geneva region. Text in English, French, and German.
Architectural exhibition is an important aspect in the study and transmission of architectural culture. The academic thoughts and design styles that influence the trends of global architecture are all established through one or a series of important architectural exhibitions. This book is produced based on the GSD (Harvard Graduate School of Design) autumn exhibition: ‘Towards a Critical Pragmatism: Contemporary Chinese Architecture’. It reveals a unique perspective of contemporary Chinese architecture by showcasing 60 works from 60 contemporary architects within five thematic categories: cultural, residential, regeneration, rural, and digital.
The selected architects attempt to maintain, from the earliest moments of the design process to its finished outcome, a certain level of critical thinking and quality. It is a record of the continuous evolution and growth of contemporary Chinese architecture and hopes to open up a new avenue from which to encourage further conversation regarding both the present and future state of China’s architecture culture.
Based in a historically distinguished town near New York City, the firm of Bentel & Bentel Architects has been led for over 50 years by two generations – men and women – of one family. The interweaving of their experiences, lifestyles, and personal philosophies has produced a uniquely elegant series of works including public buildings, restaurants, and hotels. The buildings are equally notable for their thoughtful relationships to the structures they occupy or adjoin, the communities in which they stand, and the experiences of their intended users. Bentel & Bentel’s accomplishments reflect not only its cumulative design experience but the insights the partners bring to their work from a variety of related activities: painting, sculpture, dance, design of furnishings, architectural history, and education. Reflecting the lives and accomplishments of the firm’s partners, this monograph is composed of three narratives: Who We Are, What We Do, and Who We Were.
Singapore’s Orchard Road sits alongside New York’s Fifth Avenue and Paris’ Champs Elysees in the pantheon of prestigious retail districts. For more than 40 years, DP Architects has contributed to the development of Orchard Road’s architectural typography, the regionalism of which is flavoured with a uniqueness born of inventiveness and an accommodation of contextual forces. Evolution of a Retail Streetscape is much more than simply a lush visual and textual narrative showcasing DP Architects’ extensive contribution to the character, growth and personality of the famous Singapore shopping and entertainment precinct. It also explores the concept of retail architectural typology generally, provides a brief contextual history of Singapore from British colonization onwards, outlines the development and evolution of Orchard Road in particular, and explores some of the world’s other famous shopping streets.
How can industrial buildings with long histories and spatial uniqueness be integrated into urban life more actively? How can newly built industrial plots with large-scale industrial and commercial buildings be situated and integrated into urban planning and design?
This book features nearly 40 cases of redevelopment and industrial design by the German architectural firm gmp Architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen (mainland China), and some German cities. These designs are for commercial and industrial buildings, cultural and convention centers, exhibition halls and data centres. They apply gmp’s design concept to industrial buildings within the context of the metropolis, work that is characterized by conciseness, diversity, unity, uniqueness, and orderliness. This book provides examples of, and references to, urban industrial building areas and industrial architecture design, and can be used as a reference by teachers and students of urban planning studies, architectural history, architectural heritage conservation, and architectural design.
Text in English and Chinese.
The ARCASIA Awards for Architecture is an annual award established by the Architects Regional Council Asia to recognize the outstanding architectural works of Asian architects. It hopes to encourage the inheritance of the Asian spirit and promote the improvement of the Asian architectural environment as well as the role of architects and architecture in the social, economic and cultural development of Asian countries. This special issue of Architecture Asia gives a comprehensive review of the 26 winning projects of ARCASIA Awards for Architecture 2022 which includes Single Family Residential Projects, Multi-family Residential Projects, Commercial Buildings, Resort Buildings, Institutional Buildings, Social and Cultural Buildings, Specialized Buildings, Industrial Buildings, Historical Restoration Projects, Adaptive Reuse projects, Integrated Development. Through brief project descriptions and rich images, it provides a wonderful opportunity for readers all over the world to get a quick glance at what happened in Asian architecture in 2022.