Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011
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A collection of Adjaye’s snapshots from his travels around metropolitan areas of Africa. Provides a unique sense of how cities developed on that continent. One of the most appealing aspects of the book is the way it shows the connection between ugliness and beauty in these urban settings.
The catalogue for the second part of an exhibition organized by the Cooper-Hewitt Museum to help show that design is not just about beautiful things—but also about improving the lives of people who have very little. Highlights interesting, clever, inspired, and unconventional applications of design to difficult, thorny urban problems.
The author, John Hill, runs a blog called Daily Dose of Architecture. For his book he canvassed the city, including every borough, to find and profile new architecture—from the least glamorous social housing to new super-tall office buildings. Beautifully illustrated; great graphics. Covers over 200 projects. Provides an impressive sense of how much has been built in New York in recent years.
An investigation of one of the more advanced and extreme house designs in New York since Paul Rudolph was tinkering with his own apartment in the 70s. Incredible photography by Robert Polidori.
Shulman photographs wonderfully document southern California as it urbanized and formed a modern aesthetic. A wonderful chronicle of the height of the California dream. The quality of the photograph is uniformly magnificent.
Another exhaustively documented tome by Rem Koolhaas—this one profiling the Metabolism movement of Japanese architects in the 60s, said by Koolhaas to be the first non-Western Avant-garde. Through a series of interviews with the architect practitioners and their clients, the book shows how the movement melded modernist aesthetics with the mission of modernizing post-war Japan.
The just-published catalogue of a MoMA show from 2010 that deals with the impact of rising sea levels in New York due to climate change. Examines a full range of extreme, modest, and radical proposals for dealing with this environmental circumstance. Documents elegant design approaches involving the interaction of architecture, planning, engineering, and climate science.
A classic house book about the way the modern aesthetic has interacted with the landscape and the light in New England. Includes photography of other than pristine not-yet-lived in interiors, but also shots of how people actually live in the houses.
Addresses the centrality of the city as a key evolving world trend. Describes cities as areas of concentration of creativity, energy, communication, that is exponential. The kind of book that makes you want to talk back to it—to sit down with the author and have a discussion—which to me makes it the best kind of book. A real antidote to the heavy sights that people tend to have in response to the rapid growth rate of megacities.
Announcements
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design edited by Ian Lynam
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design
Edited by Ian Lynam
Publisher: Slanted Publishers
Published: March 2019
Total Armageddon is about design. And culture. And complexity, notably how we, as a global civilization, deal with science fiction, taste, social media, the cities we live in, aesthetics, PowerPoint, burkas, Big Tech, full-contact sports, and other thorny topics. The book celebrates 15 years of independent publishing and brings together a who’s who of authors and essays from 32 issues of Slanted Magazine.
A Field Guide to Color by Lisa Solomon
A Field Guide to Color: A Watercolor Workbook
By Lisa Solomon
Publisher: Roost Books
Published: August 2019
In this creative workbook you’ll discover fresh ways to connect with color in your art and life. Using watercolors, gouache, or any other water-based medium, explore color theory while playing with paint through a balanced blend of color experiments and loose color meditations. This inspiring workbook will change the way you relate to color
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon by Dennis Bernstein and Warren Lehrer
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon
Poems by Dennis Bernstein
Visualizations by Warren Lehrer
Introduction by Steven Heller
Publisher: Paper Crown Press
Published: September 19, 2019
“From a kidnap note for a world held hostage by an A-bomb, to a Holocaust survivor’s tattooed arms where the numbers just don’t add up, Five Oceans in a Teaspoon re-envisions a poetry memoir via a textual kaleidoscope... Bernstein and Lehrer are the Rodgers and Hart of Visual Poetry.” — Bob Holman, poet, poetry activist and chronicler, and founder of the Bowery Poetry Club
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City by Paul Goldberger
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City
By Paul Goldberger
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Published: May 2019
An illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic.
Charleston Fancy by Witold Rybczynski
Charleston Fancy: Little Houses and Big Dreams in the Holy City
By Witold Rybczynski
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: May 2019
Charleston, South Carolina, which boasts America’s first historic district, is known for its palmetto-lined streets and picturesque houses. The Holy City, named for its profusion of churches, exudes an irresistible charm. Award-winning author and cultural critic Witold Rybczynski unfolds a series of stories about a group of youthful architects, builders, and developers based in Charleston: a self-taught home builder, an Air Force pilot, a fledgling architect, and a bluegrass mandolin player.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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