Category: Architecture

Another weighty work from Taschen – the A-Z Of Modern Architecture.

Described as ‘an unprecedented architecture encyclopedia’, this two-volume book covers 566 architects and movements from the 18th to the 21st century, with a biography of each, along with important works, historical context and their general approach. And of course, plenty of images of really striking architecture from around the world.

If you have any interest in buildings of the modern age, this should be worth checking out. Taschen are retailing it at £160, although Amazon are selling it for £105.60.

Find out more about the book at Amazon.co.uk

£200 is a but much for most people when it comes to books, but if you are a fan of classic architecture and interiors, Taschen’s Modernism Rediscovered by Julius Shulman might just about be worth it.

Shulman is a legendary architectural photographer, making California’s Modernist homes world famous in the 1950s. This book set, the follow-up to Modernism Rediscovered from 2000, takes things a step further, offering three volumes featuring 400 Modernist architectural gems from the US and places as diverse as Mexico, Israel, and Hong Kong. Not just the exteriors either, there’s also some superb photography of period interiors, along with the fashions of the day, courtesy of the residents.

Add to that an extensive biography of Shulman, the words of the man himself and a rather smart slipcase to keep all three volumes safe and you just might be tempted to part with the cash. Especially as Amazon is heavily discounting it right now – down to just over £102.

Find out more about the book at Amazon.co.uk

Looking for a weighty bedtime read? Brazil’s Modern Architecture could be your thing.

Edited by Elisabetta Andreoli and Adrian Forty, it’s claimed to be the most comprehensive survey and analysis of 20th-century Brazilian architecture – from the first modern houses of the 1920s and Le Corbusier’s seminal visits to the country, through the well-known ‘heroic’ period of the 1940s and 1950s to its post-1964 crisis, and up to contemporary developments.

Granted you’ll need a firm resolve to get through the numerous essays and explanations, but with 200 colour illustrations and 130 black and white images, it can easily double up as a coffee table book. After all, who wouldn’t want to spend their time looking at photos of Brazilia?

Available now from Phaidon, it retails for just over £16.

Find out more about the book at Amazon.co.uk