Summer Reading for Design Lovers: The Story of Architecture Daily Features

What’s on our summer reading list? As design book devotees, we’re turning to The Story of Architecture by Witold Rybczynski.

Recently, Designers & Books had a chance to talk with the author about how he conceived his expansive and engaging history of buildings from the Stone Age to the present day—his 22nd book— and what readers can take away from it.

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One Book and Why: Design School Dean Frederick Steiner Recommends . . . One Book and Why

In this summer installment of “One Book and Why,” Frederick Steiner, dean of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, recommends Before Central Park, an authoritative recent chronicle of two centuries of the history of New York City’s most famous work of of urban landscape design

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15 Books about Beaches, Rivers, Water, and Design Themed Book Lists

From modern houses on Cape Cod to landscaping for coastal areas to the design of surfboards, here are 15 design-related books on beaches and other bodies of water to usher in summer.

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Dutch Book Design: 1914–1945 Rare & Beautiful

From trade catalogues to children’s stories, Dutch graphic designers during the first half of the 20th century produced a memorable body of work that deserves revisiting.

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Daily Features Summer Reading for Design Lovers: The Story of Architecture

What’s on our summer reading list? As design book devotees, we’re turning to The Story of Architecture by Witold Rybczynski.

Recently, Designers & Books had a chance to talk with the author about how he conceived his expansive and engaging history of buildings from the Stone Age to the present day—his 22nd book— and what readers can take away from it.

More...

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Book List of the Week

Book List of the Week: Milton Glaser

Milton Glaser (1925–June 26, 2020) “made graphic design look alive, vibrant, and human,” writes Rudy VanderLans. The Emigre Fonts cofounder is one of several designers who count the classic Milton GlaserGraphic Design, first published in 1973 and the most popular compilation of Glaser’s work, among the books that have inspired their careers.

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Themed Book Lists

25 Books on Gardens, Landscape, and Design
American Gardens Sam Watters Editor
Architecture Now! Landscape Philip Jodidio
Avant Gardeners Tim Richardson

Archives & Libraries

The Louis I. Kahn Collection at the Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania

Kahn’s original drawings models, and correspondence offer a “view from the drafting room” of the architect’s work, writes Witold Rybczynski.

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Themed Book Lists

25-Plus Books on Women in Design
An Architecture of Education: African American Women Design the New South Angel David Nieves
The Art Deco Murals of Hildreth Meière Catherine Coleman Brawer
As Long as It’s Pink Penny Sparke

Most Frequently Chosen Books

10 Most Frequently Chosen Design Books
Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture Robert Venturi
Towards a New Architecture (Vers une Architecture) Le Corbusier
Delirious New York Rem Koolhaas

Most Frequently Chosen Books

10 Most Frequently Chosen Non-Design Books
Ulysses James Joyce
Invisible Cities Italo Calvino
In Praise of Shadows Jun’ichiro Tanizaki

Interviews

Still Learning from Denise Scott Brown

Designers and Books spent an afternoon with architect and urban planner Denise Scott Brown at the suburban Philadelphia home she shares with her husband, architect Robert Venturi, talking with her about what went into making the book Learning from Las Vegas—and the studio class that prompted ither thoughts about the book’s significance today, new writing, and what she’s working on next.

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Design Matters: On Books

Design Matters Podcast: Debbie Millman & Book Designer Irma Boom

In this interview by Design Matters host Debbie Millman on Design Observer, book designer Irma Boom talks about why she doesn’t think the book is dead, how she designs, and much more.

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Quote of the Day

A global Baedeker to the long and interesting history of the planned suburb.