Posts filed under “Books”
The Future History of the Arctic
The Future History of the Arctic by Charles Emerson (amazon.uk.com) The Arctic is one of man’s frontiers geopolitically, physically and psychologically. Recently the area has been the subject of renewed interest, as the icecaps melt it could be the place where new trade routes open up. Where oil and gas wealth are stored if only [...]
101 Things I learned in Architecture School
101 Things I learned in Architecture School by Matthew Frederick. (Amazon .co.uk / .com) A friend loaned this book to me and before I hand it back, long overdue, I thought I’d write a few things about it. I read it through once, at the beginning of my loan from cover to cover, then again [...]
Ways of Seeing by John Berger
Ways of Seeing by John Berger Amazon .com .uk The basic premise of the book is simple, that people see and understand things and themselves by sight. That as seeing establishes our place in the world then how we see is important. But from these basic assertions a fast and near complete deconstruction of culture [...]
House of Orphans by Helen Dunmore
House of Orphans by Helen Dunmore Amazon (.com) (.uk). This is an interesting book because it is by a British author but the novel is set in pre-revolution Finland. As such the author faces the challenge of making the characters and settings both believable and accurate without bogging down the story with too much detail. [...]
Provisional Book Review
Provisional – Emerging modes of Architectural Practice US by Elite Kedan, Jon Dreyfous, Craig Mutter (Princeton Architectural Press 2009) This book takes nine practices from the U.S.A which are by their nature different from a standard architectural practice and look at how they work. Some things are about the practical building relationships during a project for [...]
Newly Drawn
Nine up and coming Finnish Architecture practises have a book publication out called Newly Drawn – Emerging Finnish Architects (website). The firms involved are; Hollmén Reuter Sandman, Verstas, NOW, Anttinen Oiva Architects, Lassila Hirvilammi, Avanto, ALA, AFKS and K2S. The link to buy the book is here.
This Gaming Life by Jim Rossignol
Its always good to start a book with a bang and This Gaming Life does just that. In May 2000 I was fired from my job as a reporter on a finance newsletter because of an obsession with a video game. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. From here the stage [...]
The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson Amazon.com | uk Compare a bacteria with a human, with a city, with the planet. Weave in two personal stories and the clash of ideas and of the inherrant messiness of progress, and you may get the outline of this book. The Ghost Map is at once a real [...]
White Death by Robert Edwards
White Death by Robert Edwards Amazon uk | usa As a British citizen I was brought up with the popular blockbuster WWII films and jingoistic historical notion of WWII being a kind of good versus evil battle. The idea is still somewhat preserved now with the Third Reich being the last word in totalitarian regimes, [...]
Antikythera Mechanism
Decoding the Heavens is a book about the Antikythera mechanism a 2000 year old device that could conceivably be called the worlds first computer. There is a nice short video of the man responsible for rebuilding it describing what it does.
21st Century Atlas of World Architecture
The Phaidon Atlas of 21st Century Architecture is out for Christmas (isn’t it about 92years early?). The Times does a nice little review of this coffee table bound volume. I particularly like the bit about the Nordics, although Sweden is conspicuously absent. Norway, Finland and Denmark: for consistent quality, these three are always in the [...]
Skateboarding, Space and the City
Skateboarding, Space and the City by Iain Borden amazon.com|.uk Iain Borden effectively tells the history of the rise of skateboarding, board and boardpark history and the evolution of skateboarding itself. Lefebvre‘s The Production of Space is the main jumping off point for this book but necessarily reinterpreted through the attitude of skateboarders to the city. [...]
Nightlands
Nightlands Nordic building by Christian Norberg-Schulz. Amazon (uk|us) A tip off from a reader of this blog sent me to this book for which I will be eternally grateful. First I should start with a warning you that this is not a coffee table publication, the pictures are sparse and in black and white. However [...]
Living on Purpose
My Dad has a new book out on 24th April 2008, called Living on purpose. I was back over at my parents a few weeks ago and Dad was kind enough to give me a copy which I have read already. It’s really excellent and if you are interested at all in life’s bigger questions, [...]
Page 123
John Hill of A Daily Dose of Architecture Tagged me with this meme; 1. Pick up the nearset book (of at least 123 pages). 2. Open the book on page 123. 3. Find the Fifth Sentance. 4. Post the next three sentences. 5. Tag five people. Due to my daughters age and strong hands, all [...]
Reading List 2008
Archinect has a great reading list for 2008, and dysturb has a good post on 010′s upcoming publications of 2008. 010 really has been one of the great Architectural Publishing houses over the last few years, and it looks like 2008 will be no exception.