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book review

Art

Book Review: Tropical Interiors and ­Architecture – Living Under the Sun

The tropics are not only an address, but also a way of life. Living Under the Sun is a stunning showcase of modern tropical interiors and architecture that meld local design tradition and bold innovation in compelling ways. More than anywhere else on earth, the tropics demand an architecture that can bridge the gap between what is outside—sea, sand, sky, and sun—and what lies within. The villas, family homes, artists’ ateliers, beach shacks, and urban pieds-à-terre featured in the book embrace their outdoor surroundings to offer fresh, often surprising indoor possibilities that are ideally suited to their climates. The elegantly easy-going work featured in Living Under the Sun exemplifies how to create tranquil settings to soothe our hectic lives, regardless of our geographical location. Where is paradise: at the end of the earth or at home on the sofa? For many, the word paradise conjures up images of a sunny beach with palm trees. For others, it might mean pristine nature, a lively city with much to see and do, lazing in a hammock, or relaxing anywhere with a cool sea breeze. All of these versions of paradise can be found in the tropics. Tropical regions around the globe have…

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Interior Design

Book Review: The Tale Of Tomorrow

The Tale Of Tomorrow is a book about the retro-futuristic epoch that is one of the most visually spectacular in architecture’s history. The utopian buildings of the 1960s and 1970s never go out of style. This book compiles radical ideas, rediscovered photos, and visionary structures. Driven by idealistic visions, utopian architecture aimed to overcome social divisions and political strife, to put us in touch with nature, and to enable us to live humane, healthy lives. For half a century, it was both hope and inspiration. The Tale of Tomorrow surveys this diverse twentieth century phenomenon, featuring renowned works like The House of the Century or the TWA terminal, as well as lesser-known masterpieces, and profiling major thinkers such as Oscar Niemeyer, Le Corbusier, and Eero Saarinen.   By digging through archives, corresponding with descendants of departed architects, and restoring photographs, the collection of utopian approaches herein maintains a visual power and infectious optimism.   Looking at past dreams, The Tale of Tomorrow is a call to reclaim our future. See also: Book Review: 100 Contemporary Wood Buildings Book Review: 100 Contemporary Houses Keep following Best Design Books for the lattest book reviews an to know good books to read! Source:…

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Interior Design

Book Review: Get to know Issey Miyake, the Japanese Designer

In 1983, Japanese designer Issey Miyake told The New Yorker that he aspired “to forge ahead, to break the mold.” With the boundary-defying fashion lines that followed, he not only broke molds, but recast clothing altogether. With a unique fusion of poetry and practicality, his creations blur the boundaries between tradition, modern technology, and everyday function. This definitive history of Miyake’s clothes coincides with a major exhibition at The National Art Center, Tokyo to offer expert insight into the designer’s vision and daring. Initiated and conceived by Midori Kitamura, the book looks at the texture-driven originality of Miyake’s materials and techniques from the very earliest days of his career, before he had even established the Miyake Design Studio. Drawing on more than 40 years of collaborative work with Miyake, Kitamura creates an encyclopedic reference of his material and technical innovations through the clothes based on A Piece of Cloth concept, Body Series of the 1980s, Miyake Pleats series, and such practical, everyday designs as Pleats Please pieces. Stunning photographs from Miyake’s contemporary Yuriko Takagi capture his clothes in their particular quotidian originality, including a breathtaking shoot in Iceland. In her far-reaching essay, meanwhile, leading cultural figure Kazuko Koike offers both…

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Interior Design

Book Review: New New York Interiors

Book Review: New New York Interiors:New New York Interiors is a new release by Tachen, after the great success of New York Interiors, released ten years ago. Much has changed in the Big Apple since then, the city is still bristling with an exciting and eclectic mix of cutting-edge movers, something that you can see in its interiors. New York lives an unprecedented influx of graphic designers, interior designers, artists, gallerists, and collectors. Since September 11, the city has become less money-driven and more creative. All the interiors that you find in this new book where hand-picked by editor and author Angelika Taschen. A spanking new collection of interiors that explores an array of homes as dizzying as the diversity of the New Yorkers themselves. Peek into the apartments of artist Terence Koh, artist and director Julian Schnabel, musician Rufus Wainwright, porn diva Vanessa del Rio, and actress Julianne Moore, among many others, to get an idea of the myriad and marvelous ways New Yorkers love to live. Angelika Taschen studied art history and German literature in Heidelberg, gaining her doctorate in 1986. Working for TASCHEN from 1987 to 2010, she has published numerous titles on art, architecture, photography, design,…

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Book Review 1000 Chairs
Interior Design

Book Review: 1000 Chairs

Written by Ana Cardoso More than any other piece of furniture, the chair has been subjected to the wildest dreams of the designers. The particular curve of a backrest, or the twist of a leg, the angle of a seat or the color of the entire artifact all reflect the stylistic consciousness of each era. From Gerrit Rietveld and Alvar Aalto to Verner Panton to Eva Zeisel, from Art Nouveau to International Style, from Pop Art to Postmodernism, the phenomenon of the chair is so complex that it requires a reference work as comprehensive as this to do it full justice. They are all here: Thonet’s bentwood chairs and Hoffmann’s sitting-machines, Marcel Breuer’s Wassily chair and Ron Arad’s avant-garde armchairs. The book devotes one page to each chair, displayed on its own as pure form, with biographical and historical information about the chairs and their designers. A special treat for anyone who loves design and a must for collectors! The editor Charlotte & Peter Fiell have written numerous TASCHEN books, including 1000 Chairs, Design of the 20th Century, Industrial Design A–Z, Scandinavian Design, Designing the 21st Century, Graphic Design for the 21st Century, 1000 Lights and Contemporary Graphic Design. They…

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Book Review 1000 Lights
Interior Design

Book Review: 1000 Lights

Designed to be a companion to the classic title 1000 Chairs, this edition contains an awesome selection of over 1,000 lights. Presented chronologically by decade are the 20th century’s most interesting electric lights, from Tiffany’s beautiful leaded-glass shades to completely outrageous designs from the late 1960s and 1970s to the latest high-tech LED lamps. All major styles are represented here—Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modern Movement, De Stijl, Postwar, Pop, Radical, Post-Modern, and Contemporary—in 640 pages of truly illuminated works. This definitive reference work is a must-have for collectors and design fans. The editor and author Charlotte & Peter Fiell have written numerous TASCHEN books, including 1000 Chairs, Design of the 20th Century, Industrial Design A–Z, Scandinavian Design, Designing the 21st Century, Graphic Design for the 21st Century, 1000 Lights and Contemporary Graphic Design. They also edited TASCHEN’s Decorative Art series and the 12-volume domus 1928–1999. About the series Bibliotheca Universalis — Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe at an unbeatable, democratic price! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, the name TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together nearly 100 of our all-time favorite titles in a…

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Book Review 100 Contemporary Wood Buildings
Interior Design

Book Review: 100 Contemporary Wood Buildings

100 Contemporary Wood Buildings – Discover the wooden structures of the 21st century. Not so very long ago, some might have considered wood a material of the past, long since replaced by more modern components such as concrete and steel. The truth is radically different. Bolstered by new manufacturing techniques and ecological benefits, wood has seen a fabulous resurgence in contemporary construction. See also: Book review: The American Mater, Jeffrey Bilhuber This double-volume survey explores how architects around the world have created and invented with this elementary material. Featuring follies, very large buildings, and ambitious urban renewal schemes, it celebrates the diverse deployment of wood from architects in China, Chile, and everywhere in between. We see how wood can at once transform urban spaces, as in the Metropol Parasol in Seville by Jürgen Mayer H, and allow for sensitive interventions in natural environments, as at the Finnish Forest Research Institute by SARC Architects, or the Termas Geométricas Hot Springs Complex by Germán del Sol. True to all Taschen architecture tomes, the book pays tribute to many emerging international talents, as well as to such renowned figures as Tadao Ando to Renzo Piano. It celebrates each of these architect’s vision and innovation, as well…

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Book Review 100 Contemporary Houses (1)
Interior Design

Book Review: 100 Contemporary Houses

Book Review: 100 Contemporary Houses – Domestic bliss: Innovative, intimate architecture from China to Chile, written by Philip Jodidio. Designing private residences has its own very special challenges and nuances for the architect. The scale may be more modest than public projects, the technical fittings less complex than an industrial site, but the preferences, requirements and vision of particular personalities becomes priority. The delicate task is to translate all the emotive associations and practical requirements of “home” into a workable, constructed reality. See also: Book review: Carrier and Company – Positively Chic This publication rounds up 100 of the world’s most interesting and pioneering homes from the past decade, featuring a host of talents both new and established, including John Pawson, Richard Meier, Shigeru Ban, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, Herzog and de Meuron, Daniel Libeskind, Alvaro Siza, UNStudio, and Peter Zumthor. Accommodating daily routines of eating, sleeping, and shelter, as well as offering the space for personal experience and relationships, this is architecture at its most elementary and its most intimate. About the series: Bibliotheca Universalis— Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic Taschen universe. Since Taschen started the work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, the editor become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together…

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Book Review LEE, a Signed Copy By Lee Radziwill
Interior Design

Book Review: LEE, a Signed Copy By Lee Radziwill

See also: Book review: Carrier and Company – Positively Chic As begun in the best-selling Happy Times, her first book with Assouline, Lee Radziwill’s colorful journey continues in the much-anticipated Lee. In this quest for privacy and freedom within a highly publicized life, Radziwill shares her unique perspective as a witness to history, recalling her friendships with the numerous cultural figures, from Rudolf Nureyev to Truman Capote, who have punctuated her life. Filled with anecdotes and personal photographs, Lee is Radziwill’s reflection on the people who have opened intellectual and emotional doors throughout her life. Lee Radziwill has been a mother, an actress, an interior design consultant, and a public relations executive for Giorgio Armani, and in 2008 received the Légion d’Honneur from the French government. The younger sister of the late Jacqueline Onassis, Radziwill fell in love with Paris on her first trip to Europe, with her sister, in 1949. Today Radziwill leads a quiet life, dividing her time between New York City and Paris. Richard David Story, who has been friends with Radziwill for over ten years, is editor in chief of Departures magazine, published by American Express Publishing. He has previously worked in editorial roles with Travel +…

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Book Review New Book by Brazilian jeweler H.Stern
FASHION

Book Review: New Book by Brazilian jeweler H.Stern

See also: Book review: Carrier and Company – Positively Chic Now celebrating seventy years of tradition and innovation, Brazilian jeweler H.Stern was crowned “the king of colored gemstones” by Time magazine. In 1945, Hans Stern fell in love with precious jewels. At a small office in Rio de Janeiro, he created what was to become the largest jeweler in Brazil and Latin America—and one of the most celebrated in the world. H.Stern’s first fifty years are characterized by vivid aquamarine, amethyst, and topaz gems, mirroring the vivid hues and pulsing energy of Brazil that German-born Stern found so fascinating when he moved there. Before his influence, the jewelry industry’s focus remained on diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, but H.Stern’s unique and striking pieces quickly made Brazilian colored gemstones desirable and valuable. Current artistic director Roberto Stern, building on the technical foundations laid down by his father, has led the company into the present, collaborating with some of the world’s most fascinating creative minds—from Tim Burton to Diane von Furstenberg to Grupo Corpo—to design spellbinding collections for the modern woman.   While continuing to emphasize Hans Stern’s value of craftsmanship, today’s H.Stern is defined by subtle yet daring and inventive pieces—the glittering results…

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Book Review La Collection Privée Christian Dior
FASHION

Book Review: La Collection Privée Christian Dior

See also: Book review: Carrier and Company – Positively Chic La Collection Privée Christian Dior is a portfolio of refined fragrances reflecting the unique legacy of the founding couturier. Allowed unprecedented liberty of creation, François Demachy, perfumer-creator of Dior, draws on the remarkable heritage of the maison to compose bold and unique fragrances crafted from the finest precious ingredients. Exploring creative olfactory territories, and produced with the utmost respect for artisanal tradition, the perfumes of La Collection Privée Christian Dior embody all the savoir faire of the house of Dior. Comprising sixteen perfumes and four Precious Elixirs, La Collection Privée Christian Dior is formulated with exceptional materials such as Florentine iris, Indonesian oud, and jasmine from Grasse, grown and harvested exclusively for Dior, and at the heart of each signature fragrance is a specific Dior reference.   Featuring evocative text by fragrance expert Élisabeth de Feydeau, La Collection Privée Christian Dioris a beautifully illustrated volume that unveils the creative journey behind this exquisite tour de force of haute parfumerie from Dior. Dior perfumer-creator since 2006, François Demachy grew up in Grasse, where he developed an unconditional love of fine materials and learned the alchemical secrets of perfumery. Demachy has cultivated special…

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Hospitality Interior Design Ideas