New Books Network
Architecture
Architecture February 12, 2021

The Figure of Knowledge

Conditioning Architectural Theory, 1960s - 1990s

Sebastiaan Loosen, Rajesh Heynickx, and Hilde Heynen

Hosted by Bryan Toepfer
It is a major challenge to write the history of post-WWII architectural theory without boiling it down to a few defining paradigms. An impressive anthologizing effort during the 1990s charted …

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Architecture February 11, 2021

Architecture in Global Socialism

Eastern Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East in the Cold War

Łukasz Stanek

Hosted by Sharika Crawford
In the course of the Cold War, architects, planners, and construction companies from socialist Eastern Europe engaged in a vibrant collaboration with those in West Africa and the Middle East …
Russian and Eurasian Studies February 10, 2021

Moscow Monumental

Soviet Skyscrapers and Urban Life in Stalin's Capital

Katherine Zubovich

Hosted by Jennifer Eremeeva
In Moscow Monumental: Soviet Skyscrapers and Urban Life in Stalin’s Capital (Princeton University Press, 2021), Professor Katherine Zubovich of the University of Buffalo of the State University of New York …
Architecture February 2, 2021

Estate Regeneration

Learning from the Past, Housing Communities of the Future

Brendan Kilpatrick and Manisha Patel

Hosted by Bryan Toepfer
One hundred years ago, the Addison Act created the circumstances for the large scale construction of municipal housing in the UK. This would lead to the most prolific phases of …
Architecture January 15, 2021

Practiceopolis: Stories from the Architectural Profession

Yasser Megahed

Hosted by Bryan Toepfer
Practiceopolis: Stories from the Architectural Profession (Routledge, 2020) is a graphic novel about the contemporary architectural profession, in which it acts as the protagonist in the form of an imaginary …
Architecture January 6, 2021

Modern Architecture and Climate

Design Before Air Conditioning

Daniel A. Barber

Hosted by Nushelle de Silva
Modern Architecture and Climate explores how leading architects of the twentieth century incorporated climate-mediating strategies into their designs, and shows how regional approaches to climate adaptability were essential to the …
Anthropology January 5, 2021

Black Lives and Spatial Matters

Policing Blackness and Practicing Freedom in Suburban St. Louis

Jodi Rios

Hosted by Reighan Gillam
In Black Lives and Spatial Matters: Policing Blackness and Practicing Freedom in Suburban St. Louis (Cornell University Press, 2020), Dr. Jodi Rios examines relationships between blackness, space, and racism, in …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel January 4, 2021

Till We Have Built Jerusalem

Architects of a New City

Adina Hoffman

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
A remarkable view of one of the world's most beloved and troubled cities, Adina Hoffman's Till We Have Built Jerusalem: Architects of a New City (FSG, 2017) is a gripping …
Architecture December 15, 2020

Architecture for the Commons

Participatory Systems in the Age of Platforms

Jose Sanchez

Hosted by Bryan Toepfer
Architecture for the Commons: Participatory Systems in the Age of Platforms (Routledge, 2020) dives into an analysis of how the tectonics of a building is fundamentally linked to the economic organizations …
Asian Review of Books December 3, 2020

Stealing from the Saracens

How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe

Diana Darke

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
Visitors around the world have travelled to Europe to see the tall spires and stained glass windows of the continent’s Gothic cathedrals: in Cologne, Chartres, Milan, Florence, York and Paris …
Architecture November 27, 2020

Making Architecture Through Being Human

A Handbook of Design Ideas

Philip D. Plowright

Hosted by Bryan Toepfer
Architecture can seem complicated, mysterious or even ill-defined, especially to a student being introduced to architectural ideas for the first time. One way to approach architecture is simply as the …
Architecture November 16, 2020

The Urban Fix

Resilient Cities in the War Against Climate Change, Heat Islands and Overpopulation

Douglas Kelbaugh

Hosted by Bryan Toepfer
Cities are one of the most significant contributors to global climate change. The rapid speed at which urban centers use large amounts of resources adds to the global crisis and …
East Asian Studies November 11, 2020

Where Dragon Veins Meet

The Kangxi Emperor and His Estate at Rehe

Stephen H. Whiteman

Hosted by Suvi Rautio
In 1702, the second emperor of the Qing dynasty ordered construction of a new summer palace in Rehe (now Chengde, Hebei) to support his annual tours north among the court’s …
Architecture November 4, 2020

States of Childhood

From the Junior Republic to the American Republic, 1895-1945

Jennifer S. Light

Hosted by Nushelle de Silva
A number of curious communities sprang up across the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century: simulated cities, states, and nations in which children played the roles …
Architecture November 3, 2020

Architect and Entrepreneur

Eric Reinholdt

Hosted by Bryan Toepfer
Today I talked to Eric Reinholdt about two excellent books: Architect + Entrepreneur Volume 1: A Field Guide (Design Workshop Press, 2015) and Architect + Entrepreneur Volume 2: A How-To …
Architecture November 3, 2020

The Contemporary Hindu Temple

Fragments for a History

Annapurna Garimella

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Contemporary Hindu temples raise aesthetic, economic, political and philosophical questions about the role of architecture in making a place for the sacred in society. This book presents the Hindu temple …
Architecture October 27, 2020

Louis Kahn

Architecture as Philosophy

John Lobell

Hosted by Bryan Toepfer
For everyone interested in the enduring appeal of Louis Kahn, this book demonstrates that a close look at how Kahn put his buildings together will reveal a deeply felt philosophy …
Architecture October 13, 2020

The Multi-Skilled Designer

Newton D'Souza

Hosted by Bryan Toepfer
Newton D'Souza's new book The Multi-Skilled Designer (Taylor & Francis, 2020) presents and analyzes different approaches to contemporary architectural design and interprets them through the theory of multiple intelligences. The …
Indian Ocean World October 5, 2020

Swahili Port Cities

The Architecture of Elsewhere

Prita Meier

Hosted by Ahmed Almaazmi
On the Swahili coast of East Africa, monumental stone houses, tombs, and mosques mark the border zone between the interior of the African continent and the Indian Ocean. In Swahili …
Architecture September 22, 2020

Living on Campus

An Architectural History of the American Dormitory

Carla Yanni

Hosted by Bryan Toepfer
Every fall on move-in day, parents tearfully bid farewell to their beloved sons and daughters at college dormitories: it is an age-old ritual. The residence hall has come to mark …