Skylab: The Nature of Buildings by Skylab and Benjamin Halpern - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 2023-07-27 - 304 pages.
A major overview of Skylab’s built works, from show-stopping residences to high-profile cultural projects, presented via a covetable book design that takes its inspiration from an album or LP.
Skylab: The Nature of Buildings is the first monograph of the Portland, Oregon-based architecture and design studio. Founded by Jeff Kovel in 1999, Skylab has emerged as a leading creative force in the Pacific Northwest and North America. At the vanguard of innovative and sustainable design, the practice is known for a range of spectacular residences designed for leading creatives, as well as distinctive music venues, resorts, and other high-profile projects, including the N M Bodecker Foundation, Nike’s Serena Williams Building, and the Columbia Building. Presenting more than two decades of work, the story of Skylab is told by several influential contributors through reflective essays, interviews, conversations and anecdotes, as well as extensive project photography and illustrations that detail the firm’s design process.
A uniquely crafted object, the book’s design is based on the concept of a double vinyl album, with four 'sides' (A, B, C, D), ten projects 'tracks', inside front- and back-cover gatefolds, and nine project 'interlude' foldout posters in the book.
'Our work balances on three themes: narrative, strategy, and regeneration', Kovel writes in the book’s Preface. 'Narrative is the "what" — a design process based on telling compelling stories. Strategy is the "how" — innovating best practices through construction and market intelligence. Regeneration is the "why" — our north star and the legacy of our work, defined by designing with nature as a partner, seeking to rebalance the relationship with land, time and people. This was the bedrock meaning behind our practice when we started in 1999, and it continues to this day.'
Making Architecture: The work of John McAslan + Partners by Kenneth Powell and Chris Foges - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 2023-08-24 - 352 pages.
The first survey in nearly two decades of the work of John McAslan + Partners.
Making Architecture both provides an up-to-date account of the work of John McAslan + Partners, one of Britain’s most respected and dynamic architectural practices, and analyses the culture of a studio that has made a remarkable contribution to architecture, place-making and the lives of individuals for four decades.
A series of thematic chapters includes detailed, fully illustrated descriptions of many recent and ongoing international projects, from Central and Waterloo stations in Sydney and ten new stations for Delhi Metro to the transformation of King’s Cross station in London; from the sensitive restoration of the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, to the new Doha Mosque and nearby Msheireb Museums in Qatar. It also includes the pioneering initiatives for which the McAslan studio has become well known and that underline the practice’s humanity and sense of social responsibility: the urgent restoration of the Iron Market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the devastating earthquake in 2010; the Hidden Homelessness initiative, begun in 2017; the N17 project that provided a pop-up design studio in Tottenham, London, after the riots of 2011, with the aim of inspiring young people to become engaged in the regeneration of their own community; and many others.
Edited by Chris Foges, with a foreword by Kenneth Frampton and an introduction by Alan Powers, and with contributions by architectural specialists, this beautifully designed book offers the key to understanding the development and philosophy of one of the world’s most socially engaged architectural practices.
The Iconic British House: Modern Architectural Masterworks Since 1900 by Dominic Bradbury and Richard Powers - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 2023-09-21 - 320 pages.
A definitive survey of the finest examples of residential architecture in Britain from 1900 to the present, featuring the major architects of the 20th century and leading emerging talents.
In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in the architectural history and heritage of Britain. This has been driven by many important political, cultural and social factors, as well as a powerful and renewed interest in the design of house and home.
The Iconic British House explores and celebrates fifty of the most architecturally significant houses from 1900 to the present. Encompassing major artistic movements, such as Arts and Crafts, Art Deco, Modernism and Postmodernism, the houses include examples designed by architects Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Edwin Lutyens, Berthold Lubetkin, Richard Rogers and many others. 21st-century innovation and imagination are evidenced in houses by established and emerging talents, such as Seth Stein, Nick Eldridge, Robin Partington and Ken Shuttleworth.
Much more than a celebration of influential homes, this richly illustrated overview is also a comprehensive guide to shifting architectural movements and ideas, a survey of great architects with international relevance and a journey through changing tastes, styles, aesthetics and patterns of living.
