Paolo Deganello
Paolo Deganello’s Book List
All of my research and projects focus on trying to overcome the many injustices that afflict the most vulnerable individuals of society. Thus my ideal client almost never has the power to commission a project from me. I try to use the project opportunities presented to me to represent “the new”—bearers of radical rethinking—even if the resulting ideas contradict the reasons for those opportunities.
My design work is critical design, in the sense that it is design that functions as a critique—since many of my works aren’t built or produced. My book list reflects this approach.
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A short history of industrial design that is “produttivistic” (focused on the processes of production) but also foreshadowed the inherent contradictions of the discipline in the face of ecological degradation.
I suggest that young architects and designers create for the “99 percent.”
This history helps us to understand the social implications of architecture.
A fundamental guide to sustainable design.
Catalogue of the exhibition RE-CYCLE held at MAXXI (National Museum of the 21st Century Arts) in Rome in 2011–12, which asked architecture and design to respond to the destruction of the planet.
The work and ideas of the DIY design collective Recession Design, formed in 2008 in Milan. Composed of young designers from a variety of different countries, the collective designs and produces creative and original but inexpensive furniture using simple industrial materials and artisanal processes.
The history of a group of young architects in Florence who used politics and art to go beyond the Modern Movement.
Our deep economic crisis is a crisis of the world’s dominant financial system, which also dominates the cultural and political realms. We must change radically to meet this crisis, and this book helps us to understand that imperative.
From Piranesi to the 1970s. The history of the limits of the Modern Movement in architecture analyzed in relation to social conflicts, political ideologies, the arts, and philosophy.
The “reconstruction” of an artistic movement that was fundamental to the development of Italian radical architecture.
Announcements
Now is Better by Stefan Sagmeister
Now is Better
By Stefan Sagmeister
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: October 2023
Combining art, design, history, and quantitative analysis, transforms data sets into stunning artworks that underscore his positive view of human progress, inspiring us to think about the future with much-needed hope.
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future by Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future
By Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: May 2022
Rawsthorn and Antonelli tell the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide. Focusing on four themes—Technology, Society, Communication, and Ecology—the authors present a unique portrait of how our great creative minds are developing new design solutions to the major challenges of our time, while helping us to benefit from advances in science and technology.
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People by Debbie Millman
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World's Most Creative People
By Debbie Millman
Publisher: Harper Design
Published: February 22, 2022
Debbie Millman—author, educator, brand consultant, and host of the widely successful and award-winning podcast “Design Matters”—showcases dozens of her most exciting interviews, bringing together insights and reflections from today’s leading creative minds from across diverse fields.
Milton Glaser: POP by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Milton Glaser: POP
By Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: March 2023
This collection of work from graphci design legend Milton Glaser’s Pop period features hundreds of examples of the designer’s work that have not been seen since their original publication, demonstrating the graphic revolution that transformed design and popular culture.
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall
By Alexandra Lange
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: June 2022
Chronicles postwar architects’ and merchants’ invention of the shopping mall, revealing how the design of these marketplaces played an integral role in their cultural ascent. Publishers Weekly writes, “Contending that malls answer ‘the basic human need’ of bringing people together, influential design critic Lange advocates for retrofitting abandoned shopping centers into college campuses, senior housing, and ‘ethnocentric marketplaces’ catering to immigrant communities. Lucid and well researched, this is an insightful study of an overlooked and undervalued architectural form.”
Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition) by Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition)
By Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Publisher: Letterform Archives Books
Published: October 2023
This facsimile edition of Die Fläche, recreates every page of the formative design periodical in full color and at original size, accompanied by essays that contextualize the work, highlighting contributions by pathbreaking women, innovative lettering artists, and key practitioners of the new “surface art,” including Rudolf von Larisch, Alfred Roller, and Wiener Werkstätte founders Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann.
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