Despite its title, New York Dozen may encapsulate a period of time better than a city. Whereas New York City is too large and diverse to be defined by any one set of architects, the 12 firms that architecture professor Michael J. Crosbie chose to highlight in his study are representative of the current moment in the city’s building design—economically pragmatic, respectful of their work’s social and environmental context. Inspired by Five Architects, a landmark 1972 survey of the work of New York architects Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, John Hejduk, and Richard Meier, Crosbie aims to highlight a new set of architectural values by featuring 60 projects from 12 of New York’s most celebrated young firms. The new dozen do not necessarily follow in the footsteps of the elder five, nor are they cohesive as a group. But with a common interest in cross-disciplinary design and learning from their peers, the architects do embody a generation that has embraced both collaboration and social technology. • $59.95; Images Publishing, July 2011
