The fully expanded, updated, and freshly designed second edition of the most comprehensive and widely acclaimed guide to domestic architecture: in print since its original publication in 1984, and acknowledged everywhere as the unmatched, essential guide to American houses. This revised edition includes a section on neighborhoods; expanded and completely new categories of house styles with photos and descriptions of each; an appendix on "Approaches to Construction in the 20th and 21st Centuries"; an expanded bibliography; and 600 new photographs and line drawings. Read more

Discover of a lost Los Angeles from an era before the freeways in this beautiful coffee table book from iconic architectural photographer Arnold Hylen.Los Angeles Before the Freeways: Images of An Era 1850-1950 gives a lush, visual tour of a Los Angeles that no longer exists―one of elegant office buildings and stately mansions that were razed in the name of “progress” to build the city’s famous freeways. Featuring stunning black-and-white photography from Arnold Hylen that captures a lost era, the book contains an original essay by the photographer that provides historical background and context for the time period. This new edition contains additional, never-before-seen photographs from Hylen and newly unearthed information from historian Nathan Marsak on these lost architectural treasures. Read more

Featuring new houses, many additional photographs and a new afterword, Fire Island Modernist offers a fascinating look at the history and culture of this "gay paradise" through the life and work of Horace GiffordAs the 1960s became the "Sixties," architect Horace Gifford executed a remarkable series of beach houses that transformed the terrain and culture of New York’s Fire Island. Growing up on the beaches of Florida, Gifford forged a deep connection with coastal landscapes. Pairing this sensitivity with jazzy improvisations on modernist themes, he perfected a sustainable modernism in cedar and glass that was as attuned to natural landscapes as to our animal natures. Gifford’s serene 1960s pavilions provided refuge from a hostile world, while his exuberant post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS masterpieces orchestrated bacchanals of liberation. Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift once spurned Hollywood limos for the rustic charm of Fire Island’s boardwalks. Truman Capote wrote Breakfast at Tiffany’s here. Diane von Fürstenberg showed off her latest wrap dresses to an audience that included Halston, Giorgio Sant’ Angelo, Calvin Klein and Geoffrey Beene. Today, such a roster evokes the aloof, gated compounds of the Hamptons or Malibu. But these celebrities lived in modestly scaled homes alongside middle-class vacationers, all with equal access to Fire Island’s natural beauty.Blending cultural and architectural history, Fire Island Modernist ponders a fascinating era through an overlooked architect whose life, work and colorful milieu trace the operatic arc of a lost generation, and still resonate with artistic and historical import. First published in 2013 and long out of print, this iconic book returns in an expanded edition, including five new featured houses, drawings of previously unseen homes, new photography, updated scholarship and a new afterword by Charles Renfro.This book was published in conjunction with Gordon De Vries Studio Read more

A photographic tour featuring the doorways of the most beautiful city in the world.With more than three hundred photographs of Paris’s most enchanting doorways from Raquel Puig, creator of the popular Instagram account of the same name, Doorways of Paris presents a whole new way to explore the most beautiful city in the world. Organized by arrondissement so residents and visitors alike can seek out the doors as they walk, this book celebrates the glories of the city’s architecture, from Napoleonic majesty to art nouveau whimsy, Haussmannian symmetry to art deco elegance. Doorways of Paris is a portal to Parisian life that will have readers longing to find a doorway to call their own. Read more

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“An engaging historical account and an attractive, practical resource.” ―BooklistColonial, Neoclassical, Queen Anne, Craftsman―what distinguishes one architectural style from another? This unique book will allow readers to recognize the architectural features and style of virtually any house they encounter. Here, architect John Milnes Baker explains the historical, cultural, and technical influences that shaped each of these styles and many more. Organized in periods, from Early Colonial (1600–1715) to the Modern Movement (1920–60) and beyond, this tour of America’s varied residential architecture is rendered in elevation drawings that precisely illustrate the key characteristics of each style.Nearly 25 years since the original publication of American House Styles, this updated edition includes a new preface and house styles from the mid-1990s to the present―from the rise and fall of the McMansion to energy-efficient, regionally influenced homes. The illustrations, now in color, are more delightful than ever in a new, larger format. This a must-have volume for anyone interested in architecture or adding a bit of style to their home. Color illustrations throughout Read more

A hand-drawn guide to architectural styles throughout historyArchitectural Styles is an incomparable guide to architectural styles across the centuries and around the world. Modeled after an architect's plein air sketchbook, the volume features hundreds of detailed drawings by esteemed architectural illustrator Robbie Polley alongside incisive and informative descriptions. This unique guidebook takes readers from Europe and the Americas to Egypt, China, and India. It covers a host of historical and contemporary architectural styles, from ancient and classical to Pre-Columbian, Romanesque, Renaissance, Palladian, art nouveau, Brutalist, and biomorphic. It describes the histories and characteristics of the building traditions of each era and region of the world, and looks at key architectural elements such as buttresses, spandrels, curtain walls, and oculi. The book also includes a section on building parts―from domes and columns to towers, arches, roofs, and vaulting―along with a detailed glossary and bibliography.Comprehensive and authoritative, Architectural Styles is an essential resource for architects and designers and a must-have illustrated guide for anyone interested in architecture or drawing. Read more

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The most comprehensive publication to date on the stunning modernist architecture that defined the landscape of Soviet-era UkraineWhat does Ukrainian modernist architecture look like, and why isn’t it better known in the West? Photographer and architectural tour guide Dmytro Soloviov is fighting to preserve the disappearing modernist heritage of his native Ukraine. These innovative buildings represent an extraordinary blend of function, avant-garde aesthetics and ingenious design, but despite these qualities, they remain largely unrecognized. This is a result of several factors, including the stigma of belonging to the Soviet era, corruption, neglect, as well as the ongoing threat of destruction from both unscrupulous developers and war. From masterpieces such as the Kyiv Crematorium and Salut Hotel, to previously undocumented examples like the Uzhhorod Airport Terminal and the Novoarkhanhelsk Police Station, Soloviov has traversed Ukraine photographing the exteriors and interiors of these important buildings and their monumental art (mosaics, stained glass and sculptures). While the nation’s attention is consumed by more existential matters, he has documented the unique identity of one of the least cataloged periods of Soviet architecture, his images forming a singular record of an unexpected and rapidly disappearing legacy. An introduction by renowned architecture critic Owen Hatherley, complete with historical images, cements these buildings in a cultural and political context. With over 120 examples across 240 pages, this publication is the most comprehensive available on the subject. Read more

Though it lies just across the Mediterranean from Europe, barely a stone’s throw from Spain’s southernmost tip, Morocco couldn’t possibly be farther away.With its mountainous and desert landscapes, labyrinthine souks, delectable cuisine, exquisite rugs and textiles, vibrant mosaics, fragrant odors, mesmerizing music, and welcoming people, Morocco is a most alluring and tantalizingly exotic destination. Digging a little deeper into the myth of Morocco, Barbara and René Stoeltie bring us this eclectic selection of homes to demonstrate all that is most wonderful about the Moroccan style: from tiled, turquoise swimming pools and lavish gardens to carved wooden furniture and jade-colored marble fountains.With more than 500 pages featuring stunning, inspiring photographs, flipping through these fairy tale-like visions of exotic havens (ideally while sipping a steaming cup of sweet, fragrant mint tea) will instantly whisk you away. Read more

A remarkable classic work on traditional Japanese architecture, and how the style and features can serve as a model for contemporary residential buildings.With incredible detail (as well as numerous architectural plans and drawings), author and architect Heino Engel describes everything from room functions and the flexibility of partitions to the influence of human anatomy on Japanese units of measure. Rather than exploring why the traditional Japanese house is built the way it is, Engel delves into the practical information: what the Japanese house is and how it is built.This book is not simply a description of the features of the Japanese house, but "an invitation to probe the possibilities of utilizing this architectural achievement of the Japanese…in modern living and building," according to the author, who further believes that the unique details of the Japanese house are better suited as a pattern for contemporary housing than any other form of residential structure.With a new foreword by architect and professor Mira Locher, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, this updated hardcover edition brings this popular work to modern readers—in hopes that they may find ideas to adopt into their own home. Read more

The best new houses from Mexico, currently the exciting epicenter of the architecture scene fueled by brilliant young practices, a booming economy, and a liberal sprinkling of concrete.Mexico’s domestic architecture scene is on the rise, characterized by innovative homes that play with texture through the use of concrete and stone, maximize the piercing quality of light, and prioritize efficient use of space. Expert architecture photographer Edmund Sumner has rounded up the best examples from the last decade for this new volume, which will fill a gap on the shelves of many architecture and lifestyle-interested readers.In Casa Mexicana, twenty-six houses showcase the trends and themes in Mexican residential architecture with plans and drawings and a focus on the allure of the contemporary Mexican lifestyle. With stunning photography, the book profiles these sun-saturated houses in extraordinary landscapes. 350 color illustrations Read more

Richly detailed and full of engaging stories, this charming guide traces the history of Chicago's unparalleled architecture.Meticulously researched, engagingly presented, and richly detailed, Seeking Chicago is truly a must-read for anyone interested in the story of the Windy City and how it got that way. Unlike other books about local history, here Tom Miller reveals the stories of many smaller, more modest buildings that are off the beaten track - the very structures that most guide books overlook - along with the iconic landmarks.Chicago is possibly the most important American city for experiencing important architectural masterpieces. There are numerous ways to learn about its architectural heritage, from museums to curated walking and driving tours and even a boat tour. While the basic factual histories of Chicago's landmarks are fairly well known, there are additional layers of history - often with dramatic human interest angles - that don't always get included in the "official" tours. Tom Miller tells the story of Chicago's rich architectural and social history building by building. The stories behind the city's buildings is an impressive architectural history reading and a dramatic sampling of American social history--family feuds, scandals, and mob hits. He excels at uncovering the dramas that have unfolded within the architecture and detailing them to tell an engaging and largely unknown side of Chicago's history. Read more

A compelling survey of Texas houses that draw both on the heritage of pioneer ranches and on the twentieth-century design principles of modernism.Helen Thompson and Casey Dunn, the writer/photographer team that produced the exceptionally successful Marfa Modern, join forces again to investigate Texas modernism.The juxtaposition of the sleek European forms with a gritty Texas spirit generated a unique brand of modernism that is very basic to the culture of the state today. Its roots are in the early Texas pioneer houses, whose long, low profiles express an efficiency that is basic to the modern idiom.This Texas-centric style is focused on the relationship of the house to the site, the materials it is made of - most often local stone and wood - and the way the building functions in the harsh Texas climate.Dallas architect David R. Williams was the first to combine modernism with Texas regionalism in the 1930s, and his legacy was sustained by his protégé O'Neil Ford, who practiced in San Antonio from the late 1930s until his death in the mid 1970s.Their approach is seen today in the work of Lake/Flato Architects and a new generation of designers who have emerged from that distinguished firm and continue to elegantly merge modernism with the vocabulary of the Texas ranching heritage.Twenty houses are included from across the state, with examples in major urban centers like Dallas and Austin and in suburban and rural areas, including a number in the evocative Hill Country. Read more

South of the border, rich colors and woven textiles form a unique design aesthetic, crafted by the union of local Aztec and Mayan cultures and Spanish influences. Bold pigments and vivid patterns come together in simple and rustic spaces, resulting in a way of living that is both invigorating and homely; an authentic Mexican style.The dynamic writer and photographer duo Barbara and René Stoeltie have struck gold again—this time with a truly breathtaking look at Mexico’s most remarkable abodes. Traveling far and wide, from Costa Careyes to the Yucatán Peninsula, this photographic journey will surprise, delight, and inspire you.From the home of Constructivist architect Luis Barragán, a restored 16th-century hacienda, to a traditional Mayan thatched-roof dwelling, the contrast of styles within the pages of this book are testament to the country’s vibrantly diverse palette of textures and hues. With many new images, some never published before, prepare to be transported to the heart of lush and eclectic Mexico.About the seriesTASCHEN is 40! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible publishing, helping bookworms around the world curate their own library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia at an unbeatable price. Today we celebrate 40 years of incredible books by staying true to our company credo. The 40 series presents new editions of some of the stars of our program—now more compact, friendly in price, and still realized with the same commitment to impeccable production. Read more

Paris has long been the world’s most popular destination and, in the view of many, the world’s most beautiful city— the product of two thousand years of continuous improvement and refinement.The Making of Paris is the story of how Paris evolved from a small fishing village on an island in the middle of the Seine River into the City of Light. The focus of the book is on the city as seen from the street, in order to understand the evolution of the urban landscape of Paris through the rues and boulevards and the buildings and monuments from its long and storied past. Read more

Essential reading for both native New Yorkers and tourists alike, How to Read New York unveils the boundless diversity of Gotham’s architectural wonders. Covering every era of New York architecture—from what remains of the colonial days to the latest postmodern skyscraper—this unique guidebook illuminates the fascinating architectural and urban history of New York.  Organized chronologically and by architectural style, the book covers key highlights of the built environment from the Battery to Inwood. Many of the skyline’s most iconic buildings are included, along with many lesser-known buildings that are architecturally interesting. Charmingly illustrated with 430 line drawings and vintage engravings that bring old New York to life, the book concludes with a map section that suggests themed walking tours. Read more

The stories of Ireland's best-known castles. Majestic and magnificent, designed to both intimidate and inspire, castles are a common feature across Ireland's landscape, with over 1000 examples remaining - some intact, some in ruins, all awesome. This book celebrates the most popular Irish castles, from the Norman fortress of Bunratty to the five-star splendor of Ashford, from medieval Malahide to dramatic Dunluce. Read more

Within the global constellation of increasingly connected urban centers, shifts in cultural preferences, design thinking, and spatial signification often reflect transitions in capital forces and economic realities. This spring 2014 course was constructed around the belief that globalization imposes unprecedented forces that directly impact the built environment. The pedagogical focus was twofold: to establish an intellectual framework to understand and embrace the interrelationship between real estate and design, so that design thinking becomes a value-adding and differentiating component in development; and to rethink, anticipate, and reinvent practice paradigms in an academic setting that respond to exigent and transformative environmental, market, and cultural changes. Read more

Soviet vernacular architecture across 18,000 miles in 14 countriesPhotographer Christopher Herwig first noticed the unusual architecture of Soviet-era bus stops during a 2002 long-distance bike ride from London to St. Petersburg. Challenging himself to take one good photograph every hour, Herwig began to notice surprisingly designed bus stops on otherwise deserted stretches of road. Twelve years later, Herwig had covered more than 18,000 miles in 14 countries of the former Soviet Union, traveling by car, bike, bus and taxi to hunt down and document these bus stops.The local bus stop proved to be fertile ground for local artistic experimentation in the Soviet period, and was built seemingly without design restrictions or budgetary concerns. The result is an astonishing variety of styles and types across the region, from the strictest Brutalism to exuberant whimsy.Soviet Bus Stops is the most comprehensive and diverse collection of Soviet bus stop design ever assembled, including examples from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Abkhazia, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus and Estonia. Originally published in a quickly sold-out limited edition, Soviet Bus Stops, named one of the best photobooks of 2014 by Martin Parr, is now available in a highly anticipated, expanded smaller-format trade edition. Read more