Best Design Books

Shigeru Ban: Challenging Accepted Notions of Architecture

January 22, 2017

Shigeru Ban: Challenging Accepted Notions of Architecture – From emergency relief shelters to a cardboard cathedral and exhibition spaces in shipping containers, Pritzker Prize–winning architect Shigeru Ban has made his name with his restlessly inventive response to material and situation, as much as with his humanitarian work at the sites of natural and man-made disasters. See also: Free eBook: Must-Have Limited Edition Furniture In the spirit of a three-dimensional poetry, Ban uses materials as an incorporated part of his design, selected not for their cutting-edge credentials but rather for their expressive ability, their capacity to convey the building’s overall concept. In particular, Ban has made regular use of paper tubing in projects as varied as the Japanese Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hanover and emergency shelters for Rwanda’s Byumba Refugee Camp. This essential introduction, compiled with Ban’s own collaboration, presents his most important projects to date to survey the full reach and importance of, in the words of the Pritzker Prize jury, a “committed teacher who is not only a role model for younger generations, but also an inspiration.” See also: Free eBook – Best Home Decor Ideas to Inspire You Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Architectu re series features: an…

Book Review: Revolutionary Architecture Projects by Renzo Piano

November 22, 2016

Book Review: Revolutionary Architecture Projects by Renzo Piano – While some architects have a signature style, Renzo Piano seeks to apply coherent ideas to extraordinarily different projects. His buildings impress as much for their individual impact as for their diversity of scale, material, and form. Piano rose to international prominence with his codesign of the Pompidou Center in Paris, described by The New York Times as a building that “turned the architecture world upside down.” Since then, he has continued to craft many high-profile cultural spaces, including the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago; the Morgan Library Renovation and Expansion in New York; and, most recently, the Whitney Museum of American Art, an asymmetric nine-story structure in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District with both indoor and outdoor galleries. In New York and London, the Renzo touch has also transformed the skyline with the towers of the New York Times Building and the Shard, the tallest building in the European Union. See also: Book Review: Álvaro Siza Complete Works This essential introduction travels from Osaka, Japan, to Bern, Switzerland, and through many cities, structures, and islands in between, to explore the staggering scope of the Renzo Piano repertoire. From the “inside-out” Pompidou…

Book Review: 100 Contemporary Wood Buildings

March 15, 2016

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…