Books on sculptors, designers, furniture makers, architects and more are included in our Design Book list for December 2016. All of these new design books will be released throughout the month and are sure to inform and inspire readers.
“Purism in Concept, Form and Materials: The Pioneering Work of Hermann Rosa”
Single-handedly –without heavy machinery or cranes– the sculptor Hermann Rosa constructed studio spaces as accessible large-scale sculptures made of exposed concrete. On the one hand, they are open and cleverly composed surfaces, resembling the works of De Stijl or Bauhaus in the „"dematerialized" classic modernity style while on the other hand they consist of commonplace heavy materials, similar to his contemporaries of Paul Rudolph or Le Corbusier.
This volume sheds light on how Rosa's sculpting power and architectural spatial designs melt into a singular expression. Radically and precisely he focused on the spatial and objective, foregoing any kind of color and decoration, with all details playing a subordinate role to the clarity of shape. Based on new and historic photos, sketches, plans and texts, in this book his body of work is examined and placed in an international context.
BASIC FACTS: “Purism in Concept, Form and Materials: The Pioneering Work of Hermann Rosa” is written by Martin Bruhin (Author). Published by Braun Publish, Csi. Release Date: December 6, 2016. Hardcover; 180 pages; $49.95.
“Where Architects Stay: Lodgings for Design Enthusiasts”
The combination of architecture and vacations is highly inspiring. It promises relaxation and pleasure, beauty and style, all in one. Each of the vacation lodgings presented in “Where Architects Stay: Lodgings for Design Enthusiasts” can fulfill even the most discerning demands of a traveling architect.
All lodgings are unique architectural jewels with a wellbeing guarantee and a personal touch that are design-visions come true. From the archaic forest hut in the mountain, the decorated loft in a major metropolis, or the idyllic house by the lake – these part-time dream houses allow visitors to forget the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
BASIC FACTS: “Where Architects Stay: Lodgings for Design Enthusiasts” is written by Sibylle Kramer. Published by Braun Publish, Csi. Release Date: December 6, 2016. Paperback; 192 pages; $39.95.
“City Dressing: What You See is What You Get”
Madje Vollaers and Pascal Zwart founded Studio VollaertsZwart in 1991 as a design studio for interdisciplinary design and visual communication. They investigate the interaction between disciplines such as architecture, sculpture, fashion and communication and use this knowledge to develop new visual scenarios. In the past 20 years VollaersZwart has developed into the 'haute sculpture' designers for city dressing, designing exhibitions, art and communication on the streets and in the landscape.
Famous projects are the marriage of Dutch royals Willem Alexander and Maxima, the Tunnel of Love, Love Parade and North Sea Jazz Festival. This monograph shows their 50 best projects within their social context, timeframe and artistic value, includes the new project “Wish You Were Here” in Rotterdam (Erasmus bridge - 20 March 2016) and a foreword by the mayor of Rotterdam
BASIC FACTS: “City Dressing: What You See is What You Get” is written by Studio VollaersZwart (Author) and Edo Dijksterhuis (Author). Published by Lannoo Publishers. Release Date: December 12, 2016. Hardcover; 208 pages; $59.95.
“Close to Nature: Inspiring Houses off the Road”
Photographer Mirjam Bleeker and stylist and designer Frank Visser have known each other for more than 18 years. During this time they have traveled around the world, often without a fixed plan, seeking adventures and beautiful houses. On their travels, they visited the homes and holiday retreats of some fascinating people, built in the most beautiful and unspoiled places. Immortalized in full-color photographs, this book is a homage to the remote way of life.
BASIC FACTS: “Close to Nature: Inspiring Houses off the Road” is written by Frank Visser (Author) and Mirjam Bleeker (Author). Published by Uitgeverij Luster. Release Date: December 20, 2016. Hardcover; 256 pages; $50.00.
“The Long Life of Design in Italy: B&B Italia. 50 Years and Beyond”
Italian design and its resounding international success are the result of the fortunate encounter between contemporary design culture and the visions of entrepreneurs such as Piero Ambrogio Busnelli (1926–2014). Established in 1966 as a way to make the most of what Busnelli saw as the great potential of new materials for the production of furnishings, an innovative approach carried forward by his successors.
B&B Italia has from the outset been the furniture industry that invests more than any other in research and experimentation on new technologies, collaborating with many of the leading international architects and designers: from Afra and Tobia Scarpa to Antonio Citterio, Mario Bellini to Gaetano Pesce, Zaha Hadid, Patricia Urquiola and Naoto Fukasawa. This book charts the company’s history through the products and places that have marked out its development, casting a spotlight on the way its corporate strategies as explored by its designers.
BASIC FACTS: “The Long Life of Design in Italy: B&B Italia. 50 Years and Beyond” is written by Stefano Casciani (Author), Giorgio Busnelli (Foreword), Renzo Piano (Contributor) and Ferruccio de Bortoli (Contributor). Published by Skira. Release Date: December 20, 2016. Hardcover: 360 pages; $70.00.
“Ingrid Donat”
This is the first comprehensive monograph on Ingrid Donat, one of the most sought after designers of the end of the 20th century. Donat creates pieces of sculpted furniture, in the tradition of Giacometti, she also creates sculpted furniture, most often in bronze. Taking a painterly approach to this weighty medium, Donat draws on diverse decorative influences. Art Deco, tribal tattooing, the work of Gustav Klimt and Armand-Albert Rateau have all inspired the intricate patterning of her work.
Born in Paris into a family of artists, Donat was raised in Sweden. In 1975 she returned to her birthplace to explore her passion for sculpture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. During these years she began to apply her sculptural talent to functional pieces, strongly encouraged by her mentor Diego Giacometti. Only in 1998 did Donat begin to exhibit publicly a body of work she had been creating for over twenty years.
BASIC FACTS: “Ingrid Donat” is written by Anne Bony (Author). Published by EDITIONS NORMA. Release Date: December 20, 2016. Hardcover; 304 pages; $80.00.
“Tadao Ando: Château La Coste”
The Château La Coste in Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, near Aix-en-Provence, is a working vineyard, and, since 2004, a destination for a world-class collection of modern and contemporary art and architecture. For the past decade, the vineyard has been inviting artists and architects from around the world―including Tadao Ando, Louise Bourgeois, Liam Gillick, Jean Nouvel and Richard Serra, among others―to visit Château La Coste and select a location on the estate for a site-specific installation.
“Tadao Ando: Château La Coste” explores the five works by the Japanese architect (born 1941) featured at the Château: Gate, Art Centre, Four Cubes to Contemplate Our Environment, Chapel and Origami Benches (all completed in 2011). Illustrated with sketches, models and production photography, this volume also includes an essay by architecture historian Philip Jodidio analyzing how Ando’s architecture inscribes itself into the landscape.
BASIC FACTS: “Tadao Ando: Château La Coste” is written by Philip Jodidio (Author) and Tadao Ando (Artist). Published by Actes Sud. Release Date: December 27, 2016. Hardcover; 256 pages; $45.00.
“Starchitecture: Scenes, Actors, and Spectacles in Contemporary Cities”
In recent years, media and critical attention has been lavished on famous architects, and the contributions of their designs to the branding of cities. The post-“Bilbao effect” global landscape is one where cities compete for the highest-profile skyscrapers, cultural projects, and high-profile developments designed by star architects whom even casual readers know by first name: Frank Gehry, Bjarke Ingels, Jean Nouvel, Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas. Far less is known about the decision-making processes behind these projects and their subsequent urban effects.
A unique combination of urban studies and photography, “Starchitecture” investigates projects designed by star architects in cities including Paris, New York, Abu Dhabi, Bilbao, and the architectural microcosm of the Vitra campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Author Davide Ponzini and photographer Michele Nastasi seek to explain and critique a growing global condition by revealing how starchitecture has been and continues to be deployed in cities around the world.
BASIC FACTS: “Starchitecture: Scenes, Actors, and Spectacles in Contemporary Cities” is written by Davide Ponzini (Author) and Michele Nastasi (Author). Published by The Monacelli Press. Release Date: December 27, 2016. Hardcover; 216 pages; $40.00.
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