Book List of the Week: Cesar Pelli
“A Most Exciting Vision for Architecture”
By Steve Kroeter July 22, 2019
Recognized for a lifetime of distinguished achievement in architecture—and the recipient of more than 200 awards and prizes for his contributions to the field—Cesar Pelli (d. July 19, 2019) designed some of the contemporary world’s most famous buildings. Among them are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1997), the globe’s tallest buildings until 2004; the World Financial Center, now Brookfield Place (1981–88) in New York; and the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles (1975, 2013).
Pelli, who was born and educated in Argentina, worked in the offices of Eero Saarinen on several key projects, including the TWA Terminal at JFK Airport, and later with Gruen Associates, before founding his own practice (Cesar Pelli & Associates, now Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects) in 1977. That same year he became Dean of the Yale University School of Architecture (a post he held through 1984). With his former wife, the landscape architect Diana Balmori, he collaborated on numerous projects for 70 years.
The list of books that inspired Cesar Pelli, which he graciously shared with Designers & Books, reflects the modernist thinking that grounded his work. His 1999 book, Observations for Young Architects, an “architectural autobiography,” distills the wisdom and experience gained from many years as a practitioner and an educator.
View the List of Books That Inspired Cesar Pelli.
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Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019
A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.
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Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context
By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020
An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
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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