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Books | 11 Feb 05 | Stumble
I buy, receive and otherwise come to own an almost crushingly large number of books, and am frequently required to add new storeys to my home to accomodate this tremendous volume of paper and ink. I've spent the last few months poring over several recently-released books on contemporary architecture, industrial design and related subjects; much of what winds up in my mailbox is somewhat dry and academic, but there are a few gems that should have a much wider audience, and I'll try to give a quick idea of what to expect from the field. Please read on below for a quick glance at five books that I found particularly noteworthy. [this is the first of two installments]
I was very happy to receive Dish: International Design for the Home, Julie Muller Stahl's catalogue for an exhibition of the work of 30 young women designers working all over the world. The book covers graphic, product, landscape and other even more specific design trades, giving special attention to designers whose work showcases recent and interesting techniques in "fabrication, material or concept." Not one of these designers are well-known; part of what makes the collection so appealing is that every piece is made by a young, developing professional, someone who is starting to develop and refine their own style, and the book - 195 pages and lots of photographs - does a great job of illustrating the newness & excitement evident in so many of these designers' work.
New Scandinavian Design is a perfect example of what a coffee-table book should be. Wonderful printing, several hundred excellent photographs, and content that is of particular interest to me - this was one of the better book purchases I've made in months. There is very little in this volume of the heyday of Scandinavian furniture design; rather, it focuses, like Dish above, exclusively on young contemporary designers doing innovative work with all sorts of traditional and new materials. The signature traits of their region's continued design supremacy are still present, of course; usefulness, subtlety, honesty. I can easily recommend this book to anyone with an interest in contemporary industrial design, especially if you are not familiar with the work of the current generation of Scandinavian designers. Harry wrote a more complete description of the book recently.
The Next House contains profiles on 25 really unique and almost startlingly unorthodox single-family homes scattered all over the world. Author Lola Gomez trained in architecture and lives and works in Barcelona, but the book spans the world, although more emphasis is put on European homes than those on other continents. There is very little traditional about any of these homes, from their furnishings to the very way their residents live within them; to some extent, they all require a new way of thinking about the purpose and role of a house. For all that, and even the fact that I can't imagine myself living in one of these structures, I found the book tremendously interesting and the photographs striking and very well-executed.
The third in a series that I've enjoyed, Raul Barreneche's Modern House Three lives up to its predecessors - and surpasses them. 250 pages of of recent homes in Mexico, the US, Japan, China, Australia and throughout Latin America are realized in excellent photographs (interiors and exteriors), drawings and short descriptions of each project. This is more than a pretty picturebook, though; the editors of volumes one and two, Barreneche includes substantial technical information on building materials and techniques, energy-saving technology and other aspects of the building process for each project. I don't think this one will be on bookshelves for another few weeks; my copy is an advance review version, but I do recommend keeping your eyes peeled for this once it hits the shelves. Barreneche is a very prolific author, but his attention to detail and dedication to this particular subject are obvious and welcome in a field too-often populated by casually-written and -edited books.
Finally, John Connell's Creating the Inspired House might focus on less contemporary spaces, but I think many of the lessons taught in the book are just as applicable to new, modern homes. I've posted a complete review of the book over on Hewn & Hammered; there's also a short interview with the author over on that site. -Joshua
