#architecture book

26.3.17 it’s a sunny day today so I’ve tidied my room and these were some things I was putting away and wanted to show you guys because I know they’re not strictly studyblr but I really love them all. Hope everyone’s having a good day! Xxxx emily

Of the many students of Viennese architect Otto Wagner Jože Plečnik (1872-1957) surely was one of the most gifted: buildings like the Zacherlhaus and the Heilig-Geist-Kirche in Vienna, the renovation of the Prague Castle or the numerous iconic buildings in Ljubljana are testament to the overabundant creativity he unfurled all over the former Austria-Hungary and its successor states. Among the most prominent experts on Plečnik was Tomáš Valena who untimely died in 2019 and whose significant book „O Plečniku“ from 2013 finally was released in a German translation earlier this year: „Jože Plečnik: Für eine humanistische Architektur“, published by Birkhäuser, is a collection of essays that provide novel perspectives on the architect’s work under the auspices of space and landscape. Valena through the examples of the Prague Castle, his plannings for Split and the urban redevelopment of Ljubljana poses new questions to an architecture that is still capable of providing contemporary impulses: Plečnik, who was deeply rooted in tradition, took up the different strands that a particular place or site provided and joined them in his designs and buildings. Well-versed in history, philosophy and politics the architect e.g. with the Prague Castle transformed a historic building into a symbol of newly gained freedom and democracy. In an equally complex historical context Plečnik also transformed Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, with a clear idea in mind: to put the people in the center of his plannings. Through the renovation of bridges and the river banks, park and plazas as well as market buildings and several unrealized, very ambitious projects he gave the city a modern and decidedly civic identity. Tomáš Valena supplements these plannings with a genealogy of the architect’s ideas and their relation to history and philosophy.

Despite its high scientific value the present volume is a highly readable and thought-provoking addition to the overall Plečnik literature that once again proves that contemporary questions posed to historic architecture can yield surprising results. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Julius Shulman’s photographs his Stahl House (1959) is an icon of mid-century architecture and its creator Pierre Koenig (1924-2004) was catapulted into the limelight. The house, together with its predecessor, the Bailey House, was Koenig’s contribution to the legendary Case Study House Program initiated by John Entenza for his Arts & Architecture magazine. One who is intimately acquainted with Koenig’s life and work is Neil Jackson, architect and architectural historian, who in his last book provides an in-depth perspective on the oeuvre of the architect: „Pierre Koenig - A View from the Archive“, published by the Getty Trust Publications in 2019, is based on Koenig’s archive at the Getty that the author used to trace both his life and work. Koenig studied at the USC at a time when the post and beam construction was a central topic in the curriculum, a focal point Koenig didn’t share: his interest lied with steel, a material that would occupy him throughout his entire career. Accordingly the projects featured in the book are all based on his gradually refined steel frames as well as his adamant waiver of air condition in favor of natural ventilation. Having unrestricted access to all kinds of archival material Jackson documents each project in great detail: correspondence between client and architect, plan material and drawings documenting the progress of each building and occasional photographs add up to a highly readable examination of Koenig’s work. At the same time, and lending to the biographical material analyzed, the author provides a lively picture of the architect that includes such details as his plummeting grades at university after presenting projects based on steel constructions.

With this said Neil Jackson‘s is a valuable addition to James Steele‘s classic monograph that adds additional depth and detail to the overall picture of Pierre Koenig. A highly recommended read for anyone interested in California modern architecture.

In almost eight decades of active practice Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012) designed a vast amount of projects covering a multitude of typologies. From his early involvement with the Ministry of Education and Health, the later design of Brasília with Lucio Costa, the Communist Party HQ in Paris during his forced exile in France to his late works Niemeyer actively wrote architectural history in Brazil and beyond. One of the most avid documentarist of Niemeyer’s built oeuvre is architectural photographer Leonardo Finotti who together with Andrey Schlee, Sylvia Fischer and Michelle Castro published „Oscar Niemeyer“ in 2021, a fantastic monograph featuring more than 180 of the architect’s buildings. Finotti arranged his photographs in such a way that similarities become apparent and recurring elements in different contexts and dimensions can be identified, a very interesting presentation that without words vividly explains the master’s architecture. Completely in black and white Finotti’s photographs form the coherent backbone of the book while at the same time providing the visual cues to the insightful essays included in the book: Andrey Schlee and Sylvia Fischer contributed a thorough yet diverting biographical sketch of Niemeyer’s long life that is organized along its many stages from his childhood to his late life and death. Of particular interest nonetheless is Nivaldo Andrade’s whose essay focuses  on Niemeyer’s impact on 20th century Brazil with regards to art, culture and politics, an aspect that outside of Brazil is often overlooked. Being member of the Brazilian communist party PCB Niemeyer also took part in strikes, artists’ initiatives and the political discourse in Brazil. At the same time he was friends with numerous creatives, poets, musicians and intellectuals and actively took part in his country’s cultural life. 

The present edition of the book is an artists’ edition that comes in a plexiglass slipcase with printing plates of Leonardo Finotti’s photographs of Niemeyer buildings on each side. It can be used either traditionally as slipcase or mounted on the wall as an artwork and makes the book beyond its great content that bit more special!

Except for his European projects Richard Neutra had almost all of his projects photographed by Julius Shulman, his trusted partner who turned many of his buildings into icons of modern architecture. Accordingly Shulman very much shaped the reception and perception of Neutra’s architecture which can most lavishly be experienced through the present monumental monograph: Barbara Mac Lamprecht and Peter Goessel’s „Neutra - Complete Works“, first published by Taschen in 2000 and later reissued in the present smaller edition which still is somewhat unwieldy. After a negligible introduction to Neutra’s work and life the book unfolds the entire panorama of the architect’s work including lesser-known gems and losses like the Von Sternberg House. Each project is accompanied by very insightful texts by Barbara Mac Lamprecht that combine design elaborations, Neutra quotes and building history, exceptional texts that are highly readable and very informative. What is still puzzling about the book is the plans: although newly drawn for every project they lack detail and surely don’t do justice to the architect’s elaborate representational idiom. The same goes for the complete absence of sections which might have made up for the overly simple plans. But aside from these flaws it is always a pleasure to browse through the book: page after page the carefully staged Neutra buildings remind the reader of Neutra‘s profound sense for creating unique habitats for each client.