Best books for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition, Part 1
The past year saw an abundance of new books of interest to Canadian architectsmany of them authored by Canadian designers. As the holidays approach, were rounding up this years best books.You may also be interested in this round-ups companion post, our2024 Holiday Gift Guide.Modern Architecture: The Basics by Graham Livesey ($19 CAD)University of Calgary architecture professor Graham Liveseys recently released survey examines technological, stylistic, socio-political, and cultural changes that have transformed the history of architecture since the late 18th century. Broad definitions of modernity and postmodernity introduce the book, which features 24 short thematic chapters looking at the concepts behind the development of modern and postmodern architecture. These include major historical movements, key figures, and evolving building typologies. The book also looks at the changing city during the 19th and 20th centuries, and examines how issues including gender, race, postcolonialism, and Indigeneity are informing contemporary architecture.100 Rooms by RZLBD (Reza Aliabadi) ($35 CAD)As a sequel to The Empty Room: Fragmented thoughts on Space (Actar, 2020), this book by Canadian architect Reza Aliabadi, founding principal of RZLBD, offers one hundred iterations of a square room, each of which tells a different story of the emptiness between the walls. Each spread in the book consists of a plan and a physical model of a room, conceived as an excavation of the geometry and order inherent within an identical square base. The rooms hold no design intentionno scale or functionbut point to the infinite possibilities that emerge from a square. The book is also linked to the 100 series of short videos, which can be viewed on RZLBDs YouTube channel.Too Fun by Leala Hewak ($35 CAD)This LP-sized book explores Raymond Moriyamas brutalist masterpiece, the Ontario Science Centre, through 150 photographs of Hewaks family outings to the playhouse in the months before its closure. The book features text excerpts from architect Raymond Moriyamas typewritten design notes anticipating the creation of the Science Centre in 1969. Where architecture ends and exhibits begin should be blurred, wrote Moriyama. The images have a retro feel: after Leala was told she couldnt photograph visitors (even with their permission), her partner, artist and actor Don Hewak, volunteered to feature prominently in the images. Don experimented with wearing a lab coat for the photos, then settled on a Mad Men-like suit to reference the 1960s era of the building. Leala had only started documenting the exterior of the building when it was abruptly closed on June 21, 2024, so the book also includes images of the site enclosed by blue fences, and of some of the many rallies protesting the shuttering of the beloved institution.As It IsA Precarious Moment in the Life of Ontario Place by Steven Evans ($50 CAD)As It Is: A precarious moment in the life of Ontario Place takes readers on a journey through the landmark site, aiming to capture the essence of the iconic buildings by Eberhard Zeidler and waterfront park by Michael Hough, while painting a picture of Ontario Places uncertain future. The books 102 black-and-white photographs were taken by photographer Steven Evans between November 2021 and June 2023. The images are interwoven with texts by Evans, urban affairs journalist John Lorinc, and AGO curator of photography Maia-Mari Sutnik.Read our review here.Royal Manitoba Theatre Centreby WAF ($30 CAD)Designed by Winnipegs Number Ten Architectural Group, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre is a Winnipeg cultural institution. Completed for Manitobas centennial, the award-winning Brutalist building houses Canadas longest-running English regional theatre company. This book contains a foreword by Laurie Lam and essays by Alison Gillmor, Jeffrey Thorsteinson, and Susan Algie.TC Cuadernos by Alison Brooks ($64 CAD)This 386-page monograph charts eighteen built works by Canadian ex-pat Alison Brooks. The award-winning projects, completed in the past 20 years, range from single family homes to masterplans, largely in and around London, UK. The selection includes Brookss recently completed Cohen Quadrangle at Exeter College (the first Oxford College to be designed by a female architect), and Windward House in Gloucester, UK, which was selected as RIBAs 2021 House of the Year. (Brooks is the only UK architect to have received all four of the RIBAs most prestigious architectural awards: the Stirling Prize, the Manser Medal (twice), RIBA House of the Year, and the Stephen Lawrence Prize). The monograph provides a comprehensive documentation of the selected projects, including descriptive texts in Spanish and English, photographs, drawings and key construction details that illuminate each projects tectonic and conceptual intent.An Alliterative Lexicon of Architectural Memories by Alberto Prez-Gmez ($28 CAD)The culmination of a lifetime thinking and writing about architecture, McGill Professor Emeritus Alberto Prez-Gmezs two-volume lexicon offers new ways to engage with architecture and aims to enrich the readers experience of the built environment. Entries include traditional and modern architectural terminology, rendered with a display of philological origins, and enriched with first-person narratives interweaving architectural history and theory with Prez-Gmezs memories and musings on the nature of architectural making.Bah House of Worship by Joe Carter and Nooshfar Anna ($54 CAD)This book tells the story of the architectural design and construction of the worldwide Bah Temples, or Houses of Worship. The Bah global community believes in the unity of all religions, and has constructed a continental House of Worship, open to all, on each continent. Two of these Temples were designed by Canadian architects: the Temple located in Delhi, India, by Fairborz Sabha, and the Temple in Santiago, Chile, by Hariri Pontarini Architects.Iranian-Canadian Fairborz Sabha was asked to design the Bah Temple in Delhi while still in his late twenties. Wishing to create a building that would resonate with the regions rich cultural heritage, he modelled the building as an abstracted lotus flower, symbolizing spirituality and beauty. Following the buildings dedication in 1986, Canadian Architect Arthur Erickson remarked that the Temple was one of the most remarkable achievements of our time, proving that the drive and vision of spirit can achieve miracles.Canadian architect Siamak Hariri led the design of the most recent of the Bah Houses of Worship, perched on the foothills of the Andes in South America. Inspired by the universal experience of light, Hariri sought to create a glowing temple of light, which would be welcoming to people of all faiths.Illustrated by over 500 images of completed temples, construction process photos, and architectural drawings, this book is a deep dive into the design thinking and construction of this remarkable global series of buildings.Set Pieces by Diamond Schmitt Architects ($105 CAD)Diamond Schmitt Architects new volume centres on the firms portfolio of performing arts buildings. Through case studies that spotlight 15 design elements, the book examines how design enhances and transforms the perception of performance. Diamond Schmitt is proud to have designed more than 60 performing arts spaces around the world, and in surveying these projects forSet Pieces, we realized that we did not want to produce a conventional architectural monograph, says founding principal Don Schmitt. Rather than showcase these buildings as whole entities, we wanted to think about the fragments and design moments that make up these spaces and which contribute to a great place of performance. Through the innovative design ideas explored, from David Geffen Halls floating fireflies to incorporating Texan vernacular into Buddy Holly Hall, we hope that readers will find new joy and appreciation in these details which reveal the transformative and emotional power of architecture.Rhythms of Change by Mitchell Cohen ($40 CAD)Rhythms of Change is an accessible and entertaining account of the 20-year-long journey to revitalize Torontos Regent Park. The story is told by Mitchell Cohen, the CEO of The Daniels Corporation since 1984, and a leader in steering the organization as a socially conscious real estate developer. Cohen draws on his background as a songwriter and musician to structure the book: casting the journeys phases as sets of tuning up, initial melodies, and eventually, a crescendo of social infrastructure and a fusion of melodies. The political battles and board room dramas that allowed the development to take its final shape are colourfully recounted, giving insight into the myriad consultations, partnerships, negotiations that were needed to bring the development to fruitionalong with the overarching vision maintained through it all.Casa Loma: Millionaires, Medievalism, and Modernity in Torontos Gilded Age by Matthew M. Reeve and Michael Windover ($50 CAD)Casa Loma: Millionaires, Medievalism, and Modernity in Torontos Gilded Age is the first scholarly book dedicated to this Canadian landmarkthe castle the sits on a ridge near downtown Toronto. Compiling nine essays by six authors from different backgrounds, Casa Loma situates the famous house on the hill within Torontos architectural, urban, and cultural history.Fast + Epp was selected by Cannon Design as the engineer for the Richmond Skating Ovals long-spanning wood roof. Photo by Stephanie TraceyDesign TrailsAdventures of a Structural Engineerby Paul Alexander Fast (Orders upon Request)The book crams in a vast array of Pauls wonderful creativity in timber engineering. The global move among structural engineers and architects to timber for all the right reasons is accelerating, and Paul is far ahead in this game. At its heart, this book is really about celebrating living wood and structural timber in equal measure. If you are looking for inspiration about how to use timber in your designs, then this book is for you. Interspersed with this inspiration is a set of stories about Pauls familys interactions with the life of the timber when it was living wood. This adds to the brilliant use of timberwe all love a good story, after all.Among the exquisite photographs of extraordinary structures, the imagery includes many simple, but illuminating, sketches and photographs depicting key underpinning structural principles to demonstrate what lies at the heart of the final complex-looking outcome. These explanations are gold dust for the reader, explained so beautifully.Read our review here.The post Best books for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition, Part 1 appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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