Metropolis Digital Optimism Talks logo

Join us every second Tuesday of the month for a dose of optimism with thought-provoking guests who are revolutionizing their fields. Innovators will lead virtual workshops for an hour of discovery, inspiration, and community. Led by editor in chief, Avinash Rajagopal, these workshops will be guided by our audience, where questions are not only welcome but encouraged.

Register Now
natural habitat cold spring home exterior

Metropolis Editors, Natural Habitat, sustainability, sustainable architecture

METROPOLIS Introduces Natural Habitat, a Sustainable Homes Video Series

The series debuts with a tour of a tranquil upstate New York retreat designed with Passive House principles.

Read more
a composite image of four different book covers

July 26, 2022

9 Books to Add to Your Architecture and Design Reading List

Metropolis editors select the best summer and fall releases from the top art, architecture, and design publishers.

By: Metropolis Editors

Illustration: Courtesy the Publishers

From Swiss-themed towns in the American Midwest to a manifesto that calls for a more equitable form of architecture and urbanism, recently released books in design publishing point to new ways of seeing and relating to the built environment.

Faye Toogood: Drawing, Material, Sculpture, Landscape 

Edited by Alistair O’Neill, Phaidon, 280 p.p., $89.95

an image of a book with the title "Faye Toogood: Drawing, Material, Sculpture, and Landscape"

This month, Phaidon is releasing the first monograph to survey British designer Faye Toogood’s practice spanning interiors, sculpture, furniture, and fashion. The richly illustrated volume features essays by curator, writer, and historian Glenn Adamson as well as Dallas Museum of Art senior curator Sarah Schleuning. 

Nature of Enclosure 

Edited by Jeffrey S. Nesbit , Actar, 298 p.p., $35

An image of two books, one closed and one flipped open to a page on a black background. The title of the book reads: Nature of Enclosure

Edited by Jeffrey S. Nesbit, Nature of Enclosure gathers over 20 experts in architecture, landscape design, design theory, geography, and tech, in order to interrogate the role of the built environment in a post-pandemic society.  

Spatializing Justice: Building Blocks 

By Teddy Cruz and Fonna Forman, MIT Press, 144 p.p., $22.95

An image of a yellow book cover that reads: Spatializing Justice: Building Blocks

In a new manifesto from MIT Press, architect Teddy Cruz and political theorist Fonna Forman, call for a new type of architecture that “confronts social and economic inequality and uneven urban growth.” Thirty tenets, or “building blocks,” serve as actions for collective change, including: Confront Inequality, Decolonize Knowledge, Transgress Borders, Rethink Ownership, Resist Privatization.

Meet Me By the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall

By Alexandra Lange, Bloomsbury, 320 p.p., $25

An image of a book cover depicting the interior of a shopping mall. The title reads: Meet me by the Fountain: an Inside History of the Mall

Alexandra Lange’s new book examines the history and future of the shopping mall, from its invention in the 1950s to the “Dawn of the Dead Mall.” Chronicling the architecture of the mall in an entertaining and accessible account, Lange reveals how design formed this everlasting cultural symbol of the so-called American Dream. 

Swissness Applied: Learning from New Glarus 

Edited by Nicole McIntosh and Jonathan Louie, Park Books, 220 p.p., $50

an image of a book cover that reads: Swissness Applied: Learning from new Glarus

The small town of New Glarus, Wisconsin, was founded by Swiss settlers as a dairy farming village in 1845 prior to becoming the popular Switzerland-themed tourist destination that it is today. A new book investigates New Glarus’ transformation from a European immigrant town to an American Midwestern symbol of Swissness through contributing essays that touch on the role of imagery and appropriation in architecture.

Modern Buildings in Britain: A Gazeteer 

By Owen Hatherly, Particular Books, 608 p.p., $64

An image of a book flipped open to the title page that reads: Modern Buildings in Britain: A gazetteer

From British architecture critic Owen Hatherly, Modern Buildings in Britain is an encyclopedic guide to Britain’s most consequential Modernist architecture. With over 600 pages of analysis, the book also includes 300 photographs that illustrate the history of architecture in Britain covering topics ranging from Brutalism to Ecomodernist experimentation. 

Together by Design: The Art and Architecture of Communal Living

By William Richards, Princeton Architectural Press, 160 p.p., $25

An image of a book cover with a bunch of colorful illustrated houses on it. THe title reads: Together by Design: The Art and Architecture of Communal Living

What are the architectural and social benefits of communal living? A new book by William Richards aims to find out. Together by Design explores the design of shared spaces from the multigenerational home and roommates sharing an apartment to co-housing and senior living. The book surveys more than 15 contemporary projects with photography, renderings, and plans. 

Bauhaus: A Graphic Novel

By Valentine Grande, illustrated by Sergio Varbella, Prestel, 128 p.p., $25

An image of a book cover that features a bauhaus building and shapes on it. The title reads: Bauhaus: A graphic novel

Described as a “love letter to the Bauhaus school of design,” Bauhaus: A Graphic Novel, provides an in-depth, illustrated look into the history of the iconic school. Divided into three chapters, the book traces the evolution of the Bauhaus from Weimar to Dessau to Berlin and chronicles key figures such as Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, and Josef and Anni Albers. 

Young Projects: Figure–Cast–Frame 

By Bryan Young, Monacelli Press, 308 p.p., $55

an image of a book cover that shows a bunch of 3D multicolored tiles. The title reads: Young Projects: Figure, Cast, Frame

A new monograph explores the design process and formal and material discoveries of Young Projects, the decade-old firm helmed by Brooklyn-based architect Bryan Young. Complete with 250 images of completed and proposed projects, Young Projects: Figure–Cast–Frame is divided into five chapters that correlate to five houses that represent innovations in the firm’s practice. 

Would you like to comment on this article? Send your thoughts to: [email protected]

Related