design books

Book review: WorkScape New Spaces for New Work

December 14, 2016

Book review: WorkScape New Spaces for New Work – WorkScape reveals how trailblazing companies from around the world are redefining where we work and how we work together. The book showcases office spaces by innovators such as Facebook, Google, YouTube, Monocle, KPMG, Red Bull, and Urban Outfitters that promote new forms of work, creativity, and collaboration. In addition to presenting architecture and interior design, WorkScape also explores more unconventional parameters that can make going to and being at work more attractive and satisfying. The forward-thinking offers featured here include company-run childcare facilities, bike share programs, communal vegetable gardens, and fully equipped health and wellness facilities. In WorkScape, office environments from global players are shown alongside compelling examples from smaller enterprises, temporary ventures, and freelance endeavors that all shake off the cubicle culture of the past. The book’s careful pairing of stunning images with in-depth project descriptions and detailed floor plans make it an invaluable reference for anyone looking to redefine their workplaces, impress their partners and clients, and inspire their staff to think outside the box. See also: Our House in the City: New Urban Homes and Architecture The way we work is currently undergoing fundamental changes. Thanks to globalization and…

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Book Review: Nendo – Interior Design Book from Japan

December 13, 2016

Book Review: Nendo – Interior Design Book from Japan – The epitome of contemporary design from Japan that is also setting the tone for design’s future on the global scene. Oki Sato founded nendo in Tokyo in 2002. Since then, it has become one of the most sought-after design studios worldwide. The name nendo is Japanese for modeling clay. It is indicative of the studio’s playful, yet rational approach. Nendo: 10/10 is a comprehensive monograph of the studio’s work. Each of the book’s ten chapters showcases one of nendo’s design principles. Chapters explore, for example, nendo’s compelling approach to multiplying, linking, concealing, balancing, magnifying, and folding. Featured projects include vibrant store concepts and mystically inspired exhibition spaces as well as sculptural furniture pieces, home accessories, and design objects. Nendo’s impressively clear, yet intriguingly sophisticated work not only represents the epitome of contemporary design from Japan, but also sets the tone for design’s future on the global scene. See also: Our House in the City: New Urban Homes and Architecture There are few design studios worldwide that can deliver projects of such consistently high quality as the Japanese studio Nendo. Expertly melding architecture and interior, product, and graphic design with sculpture and installation,…

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Book Review: Coffee Table Books to Offer this Christmas

December 12, 2016

Book Review: Coffee Table Books to Offer this Christmas – AD Style Director Jane Keltner de Valle rounds up her favorite art books to add to your list this holiday season. Grace, The American Vogue Years (Phaidon, $175) If you’re someone who judges a book by its cover, this one’s a no-brainer. The slipcased tome is beautifully oversized and dressed in Bordeaux red with a charming illustration of its heroine splashed across the cover. John Derian Picture Book ($75) Walking into a John Derian store is like entering a cabinet of curiosities. His decoupage collectibles sourced from 19th-century artwork illustrate flora, fauna, landscapes, and all manner of exotica—and are so vast you could get lost in them for days. Wanderlust: Interiors That Bring the World Home (Rizzoli, $50) Designer Michelle Nussbaumer fills her homes with exotic objets from around the world, and now her richly layered approach to decorating has been memorialized in this beautiful picture book. The Coveteur: Private Spaces, Personal Style (Abrams, $35) Voyeurism is nothing new, but the Coveteur is largely to thank for bringing it into the 21st century. The popular website gives us entrée into the closets and personal spaces of the fashion elite. Domus: A…

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FASHION

Book Review: GUCCI New Book – Blind For Love

December 7, 2016

Book Review: GUCCI New Book – Blind For Love – Released in a limited edition of 2,000, Blind for Love presents inspirational and backstage photographs by noted British artist Nick Waplington documenting the Gucci Cruise 2017 collection runway show, which was held in one of London’s most historic landmarks, the Cloisters in Westminster Abbey. Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele’s ode to quintessentially British culture and aesthetics, showcasing iconic English motifs such as garden flowers, King Charles spaniels, and the Union Jack, the collection juxtaposes punk attitude with classic British stateliness. In the best tradition of photo-reportage, Waplington captures candid moments behind-the-scenes before, during, and after the event. The show’s soundtrack featured a haunting version of the traditional English ballad “Scarborough Fair,” and the lyrics of the song run as a refrain through the book, enhancing the evocative images. Photographs by Nick Waplington Art directed by Chris Simmonds. Renowned for his unfiltered depiction of British life, in the best tradition of photo-reportage Waplington captures candid moments leading up to the Gucci Cruise 2017 collection’s presentation, as well as behind-the-scenes images during and after the event. The show’s soundtrack featured a haunting version of the traditional English ballad “Scarborough Fair,” and the…

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Contemporary Residential Architecture and Interiors by James Silverman

December 1, 2016

Contemporary Residential Architecture and Interiors by James Silverman – Contemporary Residential Architecture and Interiors Photographed by James Silverman, endless expanses. Interior design, architecture, and spectacular views of sweeping landscapes. Infinite Space showcases James Silverman’s masterful photography of stunning houses. This book is a dazzling compilation of dream houses with a view, photographed by James Silverman on his travels. Whether of a remote mountain cabin in Norway, a sensuous desert oasis in Morocco, or a monolithic concrete home in Switzerland, Silverman’s photographs capture the seemingly uninterrupted flow between interiors and exteriors. The featured architecture is defined by elements that absorb, reflect, or deliberately break with their surroundings. See also: Get Inspirted by Contemporary Interior Designs at Interiors Now 3 Silverman’s images play with perspective and sight lines. They underline the harmony of perfectly composed juxtapositions of built structures and natural landscapes. Collected here, they also show how “infinite space” has established itself as a key precept of contemporary architecture around the world. See also: Book Review: Zaha Hadid Complete Works 1979-today James Silverman is one of the foremost photographers of architecture and interiors in the world today. A Briton who resides in Sweden traveling the world for his projects. Images by…

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Book Review: The Shopkeepers and Small Stores Rebirth

November 30, 2016

Book Review: The Shopkeepers and Small Stores Rebirth – In the age of online shopping, opening a store and becoming a shopkeeper seems like a bold move. Yet from Vienna to Vancouver, storefronts are emerging once again as worthy opponents to commercial corporations. Customers embrace individual businesses that share the distinctive knowledge, personalities, vision, and humor of their owners. Whether brand new and based on innovative ideas or passed down for generations and revamped, the stores and their shopkeepers featured in this book stand out for the singular experience they provide to their customers and the personal selection of items they sell. The Shopkeepers: Storefront Businesses and the Future of Retail celebrates the diversity and creativity of brick-and-mortar businesses, telling the stories of the shops and their unique owners. See also: Get Inspirted by Contemporary Interior Designs at Interiors Now 3 Good stores still exist. In fact, their number is growing. Well-designed specialty shops that are inspired by the small manufacturers and mom-and-pop operations of the past are now sprouting up. These outlets are defying e-commerce and anonymous online shopping with outstanding products, original interior design, innovative concepts, and, first and foremost, friendly and competent customer service. See also: Book Review: Zaha…

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Book Review for Kitchen Kulture: a Place to Cook, Eat and Celebrate

November 29, 2016

Book Review for Kitchen Kulture: a Place to Cook, Eat and Celebrate – The kitchen is the new living room: a space for social gathering, collaborative cooking, event hosting, and communal dining. Undergoing immense transformation through time and continually adapting to current social and aesthetic trends, the room that used to be a service area relegated to the back of the house is now the multi-functional hub of the home. See also: Get Inspirted by Contemporary Interior Designs at Interiors Now 3 Kitchen Kulture is an inspiring visual feast that shines a light on all that the twenty-first century kitchen can be. The kitchens presented in this book are testing grounds for environmentally-friendly innovation as well as lively spaces that inspire a higher quality of life by prompting better eating habits and bringing together family and friends. From a vast, open-plan kitchen in a London townhouse to a kitchenette inside a student studio in Berlin, the professionals behind these designs uncover the full potential of today’s kitchen through their creativity. See also: Book Review: Zaha Hadid Complete Works 1979-today At home, the kitchen is where the best parties end, the wildest affairs begin, food trends are set, small culinary businesses are founded,…

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Book Review: Interiors for Restaurants, Bars and Unusual Food Places

November 28, 2016

Book Review: Interiors for Restaurants, Bars and Unusual Food Places – Going out to a restaurant or bar is always about more than just eating and drinking. Whether we’re seeking the adventure of a once-in-a-lifetime culinary experience or the familiarity of traditional cuisine, atmosphere makes a difference and we increasingly want it to be all-consuming. Let’s Go Out Again is an eclectic showcase of atmospheric eating spaces from around the world. The featured projects represent state-of-the-art collaborations among architects, artists, designers, restaurateurs, and chefs that target not only all of our senses, but our identities and values too. Let’s Go Out Again is comprised of six chapters, each of which exemplifies an aesthetic and conceptual point of view: Understatement, Modern Musings, Rough and Local, Progressive, Graphic Spaces, and Dramatic. Each of these approaches goes beyond the visual to buoy and amplify the philosophies of the kitchens or bars that they help define. The result is a congenial synergy between flavor and atmosphere, place and taste. See also: Get Inspirted by Contemporary Interior Designs at Interiors Now 3 Eating is more than a basic physical process. It is a social, aesthetic, and cultural need. We go out to meet friends or business…

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Get Inspirted by Contemporary Interior Designs at Interiors Now 3

November 24, 2016

Get Inspirted by Contemporary Interior Designs at Interiors Now 3 – A successful home is the perfect synthesis of personality and zeitgeist; it is a living work of art, a cultural artifact, and the object of ceaseless curiosity. Highly sensitive to this phenomenon, Interiors Now series tracks the constantly evolving and multifaceted fabric of contemporary interior design around the world. Each new volume—destined for casual readers and professionals alike—assembles a fresh and inspiring collection of recently created residences that demonstrates how to bring out the best in the space that matters most: your home. See also: Book Review: Álvaro Siza Complete Works Whether it is photographers Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin’s New York loft with its Eames 2.0 alder expanses and cozy corners, Jacques Grange’s relaxed romance for Francis Ford Coppola’s palazzo in Southern Italy, or the apartment of a young art collector couple in Mumbai—all the projects have been chosen as expressions of personal vision that together give the full picture of what really counts in interior decoration right now. See also: Book Review: Rooftops Design, Islands in the Sky The editor A native Austrian, Margit J. Mayer started her journalism career in 1983 at WIENER magazine in Vienna. Focusing…

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Book Review: New Approach of Architecture and Design by Josef Hoffmann

November 23, 2016

Book Review: New Approach of Architecture and Design by Josef Hoffmann – Before aesthete, designer, and architect Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956) came along, Austrian architecture and design was suffocating under a surfeit of opulent ornamentation and bombastic flourish. With his radical new approach and a band of like-minded figures, Hoffmann was a founding father of the Viennese Secession and Wiener Werkstätte,andrevolutionized Western aesthetics with a brave new minimalism. See also: Book Review: Álvaro Siza Complete Works This essential introduction explores Hoffmann’s key ideas, projects, and designs to understand his radical aesthetics and their continued influence on European architecture and design, from monochrome interior schemes to the cutlery we put on the table. We explore his integral role at the center of both the Vienna Secession in 1897 and the Wiener Werkstätte, and his commitment to stylistic purity, including some of Europe’s first major modernist buildings, such as the Purkersdorf Sanatorium (1904) and the Palais Stoclet (1905–1911). See also: Book Review: Rooftops Design, Islands in the Sky The author August Sarnitz is a practicing architect and professor of history and theory of architecture at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna. His many publications include books on R. M. Schindler, Lois Welzenbacher, Ernst Lichtblau,…

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