Atmospheres by Peter Zumthor
Discusses the intangible quality of architecture that is also perhaps the most important.

Theoretical Anxiety and Design Strategies in the work of eight contemporary architects by Rafael Moneo
Provides great coverage on how we are where we are by looking at the influential eight that have and continue to impact work and thinking.

Seven Interviews with Tadao Ando by Michael Auping
The curator of the Fort Worth Modern held interviews with Ando during the design and construction of the new museum. If you liked Thinking Architecture by Peter Zumthor you will love this one as well. Another great reminder that it is all about order, space and light.

The Perfect House: A Journey With the Renaissance Master Andrea Palladio
by Witold Rybczynski
If all you know of Palladio is the Villa Rotunda then you must know more. This breezy book covers his life and some of his villas. There is much here that will educate and hopefully lead you to look more deeply into the most influential body of work perhaps ever. Enjoy.

Parallax by Steven Holl
This book is not really a monograph but is instead an extended notebook or sketchbook. A work that is one part conversation, one part project descriptions and one part manifesto. Short textual expositories are interlaced with beautiful photographs of Holl's buildings and projects as well as his seductive watercolors. There is much to explore here along with many thoughts that any designer can find as useful departures.

Work Life by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien
This monograph covers the work of a married couple working in New York. I had Tod for studio in graduate school and from him learned the value of clarity and quietness. Their work embodies these qualities as well as an amazing attention to detail and materiality. The book is a large beautiful object. Most of the photos are full page bleeds in high contrast black and white. The text is sparse but it follows the theme of quiet thoughtful work. This is one of those books you pick up everyday for a quick look to remind you of what architecture is all about.

Clark and Menefee by Richard Jensen
Working in Charlottesville, Virginia and South Carolina, W.G. Clark and Charles Menefee have quietly produced a body of work of amazing clarity and simplicity. Something to think about when you have the urge to rotate and collide everything you can. The quality of the drawings are outstanding.

The Emerald City and Other Essays on the Architectural Imagination by Daniel Willis
A great set of essays on a range of topics including the heaviness and lightness of architecture. The most interesting is the discussion of how the practice of architecture has changed and how we might consider new modes of practice. If the proliferation of bad buildings brings you down, you should read this.

Le Corbusier: The Villa Savoye by Jacques Sbriglio
Part of the Le Corbusier Guides series, this little book in English and French takes you on a fairly deep discussion of the house and all of its spaces. This promenade is followed by a history of the project in turn followed by a discussion of Le Corbusier’s theoretical framework for the house. This covers such areas as his five points and the uniting of the motor car to the house. It is a good book. There is not any overinflated verbiage, giving a straightforward formal understanding of the house.(1999, Birkhauser)

Geography of Home: Writings on Where We Live by Akiko Bush
Akiko Bush writes for Metropolis magazine and this book collects a series of essays she did on the various parts of the house. Her discussion includes rooms and elements of the house and how they evolved into our modern usage. Sometimes it seems as if she is writing for House and Garden but most of the time she gives nice thought to the rooms we inhabit daily. Her notion that a beautiful set of bookshelves in the bathroom may be the only necessary accessory is brilliant. Nothing too deep here but it is enjoyable just the same and I learned a few things along the way. A nice plus is that the book is designed well and is that perfect size; making you want to pick it up and thumb through.(1999, Princeton Architectural Press)

Supermodernism by Hans Ibelings
An easy to follow description of what seems to be hot in architecture now. Also a well done brief discussion of modernism and post modernism and how they have foregrounded what the author calls supermodernism. Great pictures as well.

Thinking Architecture by Peter Zumthor
This is one of those little books that you end up carrying around with you for several weeks even though it only takes a few hours to read because you want to go back to it and get deeper. It is mostly his thoughts on buildings and there is also his thinking about the design studio.

Architecture as Space by Bruno Zevi
If you want to talk about space with any semblance of intelligence than you need to read this thirty-year old classic.

A quick list of some of my favorites:

What is Architecture? by Paul Shepheard

Translations from Drawing to Building by Robin Evans

The Mathematics of the Ideal Villa by Colin Rowe

Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture by Kate Nesbitt (Editor)

Studies in Tectonic Culture by Ken Frampton

Details of Modern Architecture: Vols. 1+2 by Ed Ford (These are now out in paperback)

1/31/07

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