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.
The Walking Tour City Guide series provides an engaging bridge between conventional tourist books, which contain less information on architecture, and academic books, which are often too specialized for a leisurely audience. A Walking Tour: Ahmedabad – the first to focus on an Indian city – provides hand-drawn illustrations that escort the reader from building to building, providing information on history, architectural styles, uses and purpose, and the architects themselves. Focusing on the blend of medieval and modern architecture in Ahmedabad, the authors explore the magnificent old city and the historic ‘Pol’ houses. They also shed light on the buildings built by modern masters, such as Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn. From havelis and temples to mosques, markets, and buildings that were only made possible because of the work of Mahatma Gandhi, the authors provide a lively illustrated tour through this city which has seen Mughal, Maratha and British influences in its culture, food and architecture.
For Belgian architect Jef Van Oevelen (b. 1955) architecture is more than merely solving a technical puzzle or playing with volumes. Architecture is about materializing goals and values within a historical, sociological, political and economic reality. His internship and co-operation with the legendary Antwerp avant-garde architect Georges Baines was pivotal in the development of this vision and philosophy. Only by contextualizing architecture correctly and by respecting materials, people, possibilities and boundaries one can achieve authenticity and sincerity.
From these principles, he has been working since 1987. Next to designing smaller projects and renovating private houses, participation in various competitions also made him familiar with large-scale projects. Something that has already resulted in contracts for schools, office buildings, libraries, cultural institutions and above all many public and social housing projects.
Text in English and Dutch.
For more than two decades, Beta-Plus has specialized in exclusive coffee table books on architecture, interiors and gardens. For this new edition of the Yearbook, the focus, as last year, is on top quality, traditional craftsmanship and understated class.
This volume, in a handy format, contains exclusive new projects from renowned architects, interior designers, garden and landscape architects, and experienced professionals from all over the world.
Published to coincide with Contemporary Living Yearbook 2022 is Timeless Living Yearbook 2022, which emphasizes classic and more traditional forms, the integration of antique building materials, wood and natural stone, exclusive fabrics and objects, the restoration of homes and farms.
Both Yearbooks complement each other perfectly and together offer a selection of dozens of recently finished villas, country houses, townhouses and apartments.
Text in English French and Dutch.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum houses an extraordinary collection of ‘prisoners’ objects’. These were made by prison inmates and presented to the ICRC delegates who visited them, as provided for by the Geneva Conventions. For over a century, these objects have borne mute witness to the numerous violent episodes that continue to ravage our planet, from Chile, Vietnam, Algeria and Yugoslavia, to Rwanda and Afghanistan. Made from simple materials – whatever comes to hand in a prison – these objects express the need to escape the world of the jailbird. As a Lebanese inmate puts it, ‘Creating is a way of acquiring freedom of expression, it gives us a means to say what we think while everything we see around urges us to keep quiet and to forget who we are.’ While some of these works touch us through their simplicity, others astonish us with their beauty or ingeniousness. Each bears the imprint of a personal story loaded with emotion, inviting us on a journey through time and collective history.
When you think of Ibiza, you think of sun, sea, sand, and the Mediterranean way of life. But that’s not all: you think of gorgeous design, funky interiors, scrumptious food and breathtaking nature. With that in mind, it’s time for an ode to good taste, La Pura Vida. This magnificent book will bring the summer vibe into your home with the most beautiful interiors, imposing architecture and pictures that will have you imagining you are standing amidst the azure bays yourself. Two hundred and forty pages filled with joy and good taste, interiors, architecture, and scenery.
As the modern world changes and evolves, so does the modern lifestyle. Our levels of home comfort, desires, and overall life satisfactions are being defined in new ways, often contrasting with notions of the ‘traditional’ house design. We aim to live simpler lives yet somehow manage to have more material possessions than before; and we opt to reside in open-plan homes that provide a sense of freedom. All too often traditionally designed homes are no longer able to satisfy our contemporary living needs. The restoration of living spaces is usually to restore existing buildings that may have become impractical over time, if not outdated. These days, the challenge is how to adapt and transform these existing buildings to modern standards, all the while maintaining what may still be useful, special features or design characteristics, or what we like most about the space. This book showcases a selection of examples of how people from around the world have ingeniously refurbished an old house to meet their needs for a modern lifestyle. With vivid descriptions, detailed drawings and rich photography (including befores and afters), this book provides designers and architects, as well as owner-builders of old houses several excellent strategies on how to approach their restoration, and how to convey a modern life concept, revitalizing, and refreshing the houses for the next generation.
In the last 30 years the composition of the family in Japan has changed dramatically. In addition, the advancements in technology have expanded to the range of options available for living. Necessarily, this has resulted in changes in the construction world as well, particularly housing design. This book brings together more than 60 distinctive Japanese residential and interior designs. These case studies show how designers pay great attention to people’s daily lives, arranging the layout of small spaces to make them seem larger.
Robert Konieczny, founder and principal of KWK Promes, in Poland, specializes in projects renowned for ingenious concepts and unique design. His works examine closely the nature and interpretations of spatial journeys for the viewer or those who inhabit the space, be it for residential works, public buildings, or international cultural festivals and exhibitions, such as the Venice Biennale. The firm’s work especially with kinetic architecture fuses seamless design principles with inventive concepts, namely movable structures that both catch light and create a uniquely experiential environment. A leader in industry innovation, Konieczny and KWK Promes was awarded the World Architecture Festival Award for the best building in 2016.
“Our designs are shaped by logic. Inside these pages we showcase a unique and detailed précis that narrates the story of the concepts behind our buildings.” — Robert Konieczny
“The ideas expressed by Robert Konieczny are quite radical and surprising—his forms are unexpected, and often closed or heavy at first sight. Though the Polish context, in terms of climate, history, and sociology may imply such solutions, KWK has laid out a series of concepts that could readily be applied to other places, surely generating other types of buildings. This is not a style so much as it is an intellectual construct.” — Philip Jodidio
An award-winning architecture firm practicing in the heart of New York City, Oliver Cope Architect has been building exceptional homes since 1988. One of the premier residential firms in the country, they have earned a reputation for creating one-of-a-kind residences of the highest quality, crafted to meet the specific needs and desires of their clients. The firm’s unique combination of technical and artistic expertise results in projects that appear timeless, effortless and appropriate to their sites and surroundings. From Park Avenue apartments to historic brownstones, to houses large and small, they draw on their collective knowledge and experience to help clients realize homes. Here, in their first book, they share a selection of those homes with the world. Including drawn plans for all of the projects, original sketches illuminating the process, and richly illustrated with commissioned photography throughout. This book is not only about a collection of homes, but the team behind them, and the way that they build.
The green architecture movement is a worldwide phenomenon that addresses sustainability and a parallel awareness of how the built world is enriched by nature. This lavishly illustrated book presents the most beautiful and innovative buildings from around the world and explores how they incorporate plants and architecture in both interior design and construction. With inspiring projects and practical tips for both the professional and the enthusiast, the author explores the best of what’s green in houses large and small, apartment buildings, and offices.
Belgium has all the assets to become a true whisky country. The knowledge required to make whisky is readily available, thanks in part to our centuries-old culture of beer and jenever. A number of Belgian jenever distilleries and breweries have been experimenting with whisky for quite some time, but the concept of ‘Belgian whisky’ only really took off in the recent past. Every year new initiatives arise and time after time the announced releases are sold out in no time. Belgian whisky is appreciated, has become a sought-after collector’s item and regularly wins gold and silver at international competitions. For the first time, an overview of Belgian whiskies and whisky houses is published in book form. An indispensable reference work for collectors and whisky lovers alike.
Text in English, Dutch and French.
This is the second book in a series (after Barcelona Interiors 9789401485586) that presents the most inspiring interiors in the most beautiful cities in the world. London Interiors showcases famous and classic homes, converted industrial buildings, and historic mansions. This book takes you through the front door of homes in the bustling metropolis, and surprises you time and time again with eclectic, elegant, and creative interiors. A must-have for all architecture and interior design lovers.
The fifth edition of this bestseller celebrates 40 of the most beautiful houses and apartments from all over the world, containing exclusive new projects from renowned architects, interior designers, garden and landscape architects, and experienced professionals.
Published to coincide with Contemporary Living Yearbook 2023 is Timeless Living Yearbook 2023, which emphasises classic and more traditional forms, the integration of antique building materials, wood and natural stone, exclusive fabrics and objects, the restoration of homes and farms.
Both Yearbooks complement each other perfectly and together offer a selection of dozens of recently finished villas, country houses, townhouses and apartments.
Text in English, French, Dutch.
“The quality of the reprint is nearly perfect, with a good selection of papers for the three sequential parts of the book: the texts, the drawings, and the black-and-white photographs. Text and drawings are on matte heavyweight pages, while the photos are on glossy paper. The inks make everything read well; in particular, the drawing reproductions are exquisite.” — Archidose
Edwin Lutyens, one of the most famous architectural names of the 20th century, died in 1944. As a memorial, three large volumes of his drawings and photographs were commissioned from the thousands found in his office, and were published by Country Life.
All three volumes will be republished in 2023. The first volume contains his own plans, elevations and copious details of the finest examples of his domestic buildings, on which his huge reputation principally rests. The book embodies the quintessence of the man and his work; the variety of style and design seen in the houses brings together in one volume the many strands of Lutyen’s fertile mind. Two further volumes will include his corporate and public buildings.
The genius of Lutyens is now universally recognized. In the work featured in this book, we can now see not just the professionalism of a great architect, but also the loving care with which he set down the most minute detail, with the result that this is one of the few books in existence that can be used to provide working drawings.
This lavishly presented coffee table book features 60 new residential projects with a focus on the beautiful use of natural stone. The Beauty of Natural Stone in Private Residences includes over 200 photographs of houses and apartments where the use of this timeless organic material has been used to create unique and stunning entrance halls, kitchens, bathrooms, and wellbeing rooms. Packed full of inspiration this is a must buy for those looking to recreate similar spaces in their own homes.
Billie Eilish is a fashion phenomenon. Her goth-skate-anime wardrobe resonates loud and clear with her generation and anyone who doesn’t want to be defined. Courted by the world’s biggest fashion houses, Billie has a way of spotlighting inclusivity, body image, environmental issues and more, while always looking awesome. In the latest addition to this popular series, fashion writer Terry Newman casts her eye over a young megastar with oversized clothes and an even bigger attitude.
When Billie Eilish burst onto the music scene aged just 14, her outfits told everyone who she was before they’d downloaded a track. She was savage and brooding. Her clothes were large and matched her attitude. Her wardrobe was made up of labels that speak the language of Gen Z and everyone who doesn’t want to be defined by others. Growing up hasn’t changed a thing – though she now has the command of fashion houses the world over. As such, Billie often mixes and matches Chanel, Balenciaga, Rick Owens, Yohji Yamamoto, Raf Simons and Prada with finds from Slumpy Kev, Skoot, The Incorporated and Freak City, and the result is beyond the realms of meta-modernism. It’s a look that might very well bite the hand that feeds it, but Eilish doesn’t care. She wears what she likes when she likes. And we’re here for it.
Knokke Le Zoute has been a real household name in the Low Countries for decades when it comes to stunning architecture, art, design and luxury. From sleek, modern houses to the famous white villas and renovated apartments chock-full of art. In this book, the art and design fanatics from Knokke offer us an exclusive look into their dream homes. Their interiors tell a unique story from years of searching for the perfect piece to accidental discoveries that bring an interior together. The diverse owners of the houses in the book (from gallery owners to photographers) each experience Knokke in their own way.
Text in English, French and Dutch.
Tourist Modernist is a tribute to Belgium’s lesser-known modernist heritage. In 2019 Gerlin Heestermans started the online heritage platform toeristmodernist.be to share her passion for beautiful modernist houses and buildings and draw attention to their heritage value and vulnerability. She outlined several architectural walks to put this special – often unprotected – heritage on the map. Now there is the Tourist Modernist guide, featuring Gerlin’s 12 favorite walks along modernist gems in cities such as Ostend, Liège and Brussels, but also Eeklo, Charleroi, Tournai and Mariakerke, for example. Each walk is comprehensively described and illustrated with photos of the exterior façades and a clear map; handsome interior images offer a glimpse of the unique designs hidden behind the front doors.
The fisherman’s hut and the arcachonnaises, magnificent residences of the Belle Époque, have shaped the coastline of the Arcachon basin, from the Ville d’Hiver d’Arcachon to the tip of Cap Ferret. Following in the footsteps of Art Deco architects such as Roger-Henri Expert and Le Corbusier, a new generation of designers from the early 1950s went on to leave their mark, sometimes modernist, sometimes brutalist, on the Basin’s landscape, with a series of villas and houses that, alongside the rare collective dwellings, gave it its distinctive present-day appearance. Concerned to preserve the natural setting, the architects have competed in ingenuity to fit into this grandiose and fragile territory. Among them, the Salier-Courtois-Lajus-Sadirac team from Bordeaux, Raphaëlle and Jacques Hondelatte and Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal (Pritzker 2021), have invented an art of living here, with architecture that respects the environment, which has helped to make this unique natural site between the dunes, the pine forest and the ocean better known and loved.
Text in French.
The sixth edition of this bestseller celebrates 26 of the most beautiful houses and apartments from all over the world, containing exclusive new projects from renowned architects, interior designers and experienced professionals.
Published to coincide with Contemporary Living Yearbook 2024 is Timeless Living Yearbook 2024 ISBN 9782875501301, which emphasizes classic and more traditional forms.
Both Yearbooks complement each other perfectly and together offer a selection of dozens of recently finished villas, country houses, townhouses and apartments.
Text in English, French, Dutch.
The sixth edition of this bestseller, celebrating 30 of the most beautiful houses and apartments from all over the world. The book contains exclusive new projects from renowned architects, interior designers, and experienced professionals around the globe.
Published to coincide with Timeless Living Yearbook 2024 is Contemporary Living Yearbook 2024 ISBN 9782875501318, which emphasizes contemporary architecture and design.
Both Yearbooks complement each other perfectly and together offer a selection of dozens of recently finished villas, country houses, townhouses and apartments.
Text in English, French and Dutch.
Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) was one of the great architects of the twentieth century. His Edwardian country houses, surrounded by rhapsodic gardens, beguiled clients with their romance and wit. After 1918, the war memorials that he created symbolized a grieving nation’s sense of loss. In the new capital of the British Raj, New Delhi, the Viceroy’s House or Rashtrapati Bhavan had a footprint bigger than Versailles. His unfinished Liverpool Cathedral would have rivalled St Peter’s in Rome.
Intensely shy, Lutyens hid his personality behind puns and jokes – and yet he could be called ‘part mystic’, a reference to an inner profundity. Rich in stories, this entertaining and stylish short biography is a major new study incorporating fresh research which shows this most charismatic of architects in a new light.