From inspiring rewilding guides to tomes on prolific architects like Yasmeen Lari, 12 recently released and forthcoming titles ensure literary adventures all season long.
Sky-High, by Eric P. Nash; designed by Benjamin English; PA Press, 208 pages, $40
In his latest hardcover, researcher and New York Times writer Eric P. Nash surveys 12 skyscrapers redefining New York’s architectural vernacular. Photography by Bruce Katz—which highlights projects including One World Trade Center by David Childs, faia emeritus, of SOM; Central Park Tower by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; and Brooklyn Tower by SHoP Architects—appears with Nash’s commentary on the structures’ contributions to the city’s evolving skyline and culture.
Design Dreams: Virtual Interior and Architectural Environments, by Charlotte Taylor and Maison de Sable; designed by Alexandria Martinez; Chronicle Chroma, 208 pages, $29.95
Although CGI—or computer-generated imagery—is synonymous with filmmakers, architects and designers have harnessed the technology to articulate their creative visions. In a new book, London-based designer Charlotte Taylor digs into the archives of her popular Maison de Sable Instagram account to showcase the work of 3D rendering artists who create fantastical and utopian architecture, interiors, and landscape designs that walk the line of reality and imagination.
Concrete Jungle: Tropical Architecture and Its Surprising Origins, by Gestalten, 304 pages, $90
Have summer travel on the brain? Indulge in a little architectural wanderlust with this Gestalten tome, dedicated to inspiring Modernist works in flora-filled, tropical destinations. Projects such as RP Arquitectos’ Zoncuantla Apartments in Veracruz, Mexico—clad in earth-toned, board-formed concrete—are visual vacations you’re not likely to forget.
digitalSTRUCTURES: Data and Urban Strategies of the Civic Future, by Wendy W. Fok; designed by Rachel Pendleton, Yarzar Hlaing, Isabelle “Iza” Dabrowski, Tara Akdora, JJ Jin, and Jessica Marquez; Oro Editions, 240 pages, $35
This interactive read interrogates the relationships between urban spaces and digital structures, examining everything from supply chains to civic planning. Author Wendy W. Fok weaves prose together with mixed-reality, augmented-reality, and cartography, exploring how data interacts with physical and virtual environments.
The Book of Wilding, by Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell; Bloomsbury, 560 pages, £31.50
Nature writer Isabella Tree teamed up with her conservationist husband Charlie Burrell for this forthcoming Bloomsbury book, due out in October. With chapters focused on everything from reviving water systems to resurrecting plant life—cultivated by the couple’s own quest to rewild their 3,500-acre estate in England—it promises to be worth the wait.
Decolonizing Design, by Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall; illustrated by Ene Agi; MIT Press, 136 pages, $22.95
Design anthropologist Elizabeth “Dori” Tunstall takes a hard look at Modernism in this MIT Press text, exposing how the movement has furthered colonization. But the author—the dean of design at Toronto’s OCAD University—doesn’t just offer criticism; she also points a way forward, using her research to show how practitioners can embrace BIPOC communities through an inclusive design approach.
Unmaking Waste: New Histories of Old Things, by Sarah Newman; designed by Mint Liu; University of Chicago Press, 296 pages, $30
Given the 620,000-square-mile Great Pacific Garbage Patch off the coast of California, it remains hard to deny humanity’s troubled relationship with waste. But when did that relationship begin? University of Chicago anthropology professor Sarah Newman takes readers back to ancient Mesoamerica to trace the origins of how people have approached trash and defined useless objects throughout history.
John Pawson: Making Life Simpler, by Deyan Sudjic; designed by Pawson studio; Phaidon, 296 pages, $100
Authored by critic, curator, and longtime friend Deyan Sudjic, this visual biography on John Pawson examines the British architectural designer’s career through a dive into his building designs, clients, and the art that has inspired him. Making Life Simpler maps Pawson’s unconventional route to a career in architecture and his time in Japan with renowned designer Shiro Kuramata—who encouraged him to study the discipline—while honoring his portfolio spanning monastic buildings, luxurious hotels, restored historical churches, and London’s Design Museum.
Architectures of Spatial Justice, by Dana Cuff; MIT Press, 304 pages, $34.95
As architects become increasingly aware of how their designs foster or inhibit equity in the built environment, UCLA professor Dana Cuff explores urban projects that address social issues in the U.S., Japan, Chile, and Mexico. Culled from the author’s 20-plus years of research, the buildings offer helpful lessons for promoting spatial justice through design—and make a strong argument for a radical rethinking of basic architectural practice.
Yasmeen Lari: Architecture for the Future, edited by Angelika Fitz, Elke Krasny, Marvi Mazhar, and Architekturzentrum Wien; designed by Alexander Ach Schuh; MIT Press, 288 pages, $39.95
In a retrospective on Yasmeen Lari—Pakistan’s first female architect and the winner of the 2023 RIBA Royal Gold Medal—readers are guided on a journey that celebrates the renowned architectural designer’s three-decades-long commitment to decarbonization and decolonization in the built environment. The volume shares some of Lari’s never-before-seen drawings, plans, and photographs alongside original essays from international contributors on the intersection of architecture and activism.
Land Art as Climate Action: Designing the 21st Century City Park, edited by Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian; designed by Schifino Design; Hirmer Publishers, 240 pages, $45
Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian, co-founders of the Land Art Generator initiative in Nevada, have packed this title with thought-provoking examples of regenerative design and landscape architecture. Punctuated with 300 photographs of artworks—ranging from the design for a photosynthetic installation by Santiago Muros Cortés to a haunting steel-and-bone arch by Michael Christian—the book underscores ways that artists respond to the climate crisis with moments of beauty.
The Brutalists: Brutalism’s Best Architects, by Owen Hopkins; designed by SJG / Joost Grootens, Philipp Doringer; Phiadon, 368 pages, $69.95
Intuitively organized in alphabetical order, this tome spotlights more than 200 examples of Brutalist projects from industry giants and lesser-known practitioners alike. Author Owen Hopkins, also a curator and architectural writer, does more than showcase projects: He dives into the carbon footprint and gender dynamics that pervaded the often-discussed style, asking readers to consider its legacy.
