{"id":28886,"date":"2025-07-29T01:59:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T01:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/28886\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T01:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T01:59:16","slug":"the-five-architecture-and-design-books-you-should-be-reading-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/28886\/","title":{"rendered":"The five architecture and design books you should be reading this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDesign\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 29, 2025\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t8 Min Read\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Top up your design knowledge, your dinner party conversation, and spruce up your coffee table in the meantime with these five Monocle-recommended monographs.<\/p>\n

1.
\u2018Magazine C\u2019, South Korea\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Magazine<\/p>\n

From the team behind Magazine B \u2013 the South Korean brand-documentary publication \u2013 Magazine C is a quarterly publication for furniture obsessives. Each edition is dedicated to a single chair, exploring the people, craft and stories behind a chosen design, starting with Jean Prouv\u00e9\u2019s Standard chair, Thonet\u2019s No. 14 and the Louis Ghost chair by Philippe Starck. Compact and sleek, the magazines have a considered aesthetic. A limited use of bright colours and crisp photography give the design a premium feel. Meanwhile, the familiar, neutral serif typeface of FK Roman Standard adds personality.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cTypography in general plays a central role in a magazine\u2019s visual identity and editorial expression,\u201d says editor in chief Minjung Kim. \u201cIt allows imagery of chairs and their surrounding contexts to be presented within a unified and coherent graphic framework.\u201d A valuable contribution to design education, the magazine\u2019s uniquely niche perspective offers a surprisingly diverse mix of content. From personal stories to lifestyle and architectural history, it successfully shows that there\u2019s more to chairs than simply somewhere to sit \u2013 they can also be a lens on contemporary life.
reading-b.com<\/a><\/p>\n

2.
\u2018The New Sustainable House\u2019, Australia<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The New Sustainable House by Sydney-based writer and curator Penny Craswell is a rallying call to action. Architects, designers, builders and their clients have more information, technology and innovative materials at their fingertips than ever before; and yet the building industry is one of the world\u2019s greatest polluters. The notion of designing with the environment in mind has been around for some time \u2013 but meaningful change has been slow.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

To get the industry thinking even harder about its impact \u2013 and what is possible to achieve \u2013 Craswell profiled 25 architect-designed homes from around the world that stand out for their innovative solutions. Highlights include a single-storey mud-brick box built in the Texas desert and an all-timber Swedish cabin that is completely petrochemical-free. What unites this diverse lineup is the shared ambition of architects and clients to do as little harm to the environment as possible, without losing out on comfort or aesthetics. \u201cThere is no one quick fix to sustainable architecture,\u201d says Craswell. But this book is as good a place to start as any.
thamesandhudsonusa.com<\/a><\/p>\n

3.
\u2018A Passion for Jean Prouv\u00e9\u2019, France<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Passion for Jean Prouv\u00e9: From Furniture to Architecture showcases works by the 20th-century French engineer, architect and metal artisan from the collection of gallerists Laurence and Patrick Seguin. Generously illustrated with photographs and previously unpublished drawings, the bilingual publication demonstrates how Prouv\u00e9 was a strong advocate for mass production and industrial techniques.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Seguins\u2019 private collection features little-known pieces, such as the 1939 Saint-Br\u00e9vin table, as well as more iconic works, including the M\u00e9tropole chair and the 1930 Cit\u00e9 armchair. The collection is split between their Paris apartment and gallery and their estate in the south of France, where Prouv\u00e9\u2019s demountable houses are installed en plein air. The Seguins\u2019 passion for Prouv\u00e9\u2019s work attests to his creations\u2019 enduring charm. \u201cHis modernity prefigured many contemporary approaches,\u201d say the collectors. \u201cThere is a real dialogue \u2013 a synergy \u2013 between his furniture and contemporary art.\u201d
patrickseguin.com<\/a><\/p>\n

4.
\u2018Casa Mexicana\u2019, Mexico<\/p>\n

\"Casa<\/p>\n

The rich architectural tradition of Mexico, defined by sun-soaked concrete walls and wooden ceilings, is the subject of Casa Mexicana \u2013 a new publication from British publishing house Thames & Hudson. With photography by Edmund Sumner and text by London-based architecture journalist Jonathan Bell, this colourful monograph takes its readers to 26 homes across the country. From tucked-away houses on the streets of Mexico City to beachside retreats in Puerto Escondido, the book is an exploration of contemporary brutalism and natural textures such as concrete, stone and wood, which seamlessly blend into dense greenery and dramatic landscapes.<\/p>\n

\"Casa<\/p>\n

\"Casa<\/p>\n

Sumner\u2019s photographs capture sweeping vistas and intimate details, while floor plans and drawings offer technical insight. Architects such as Ludwig Godefroy and Mauricio Rocha appear throughout, showcasing the range and ethos of Mexican design today. Whether you\u2019re dreaming of a remote getaway or want to explore the structural nuances of a dynamic architectural movement, Casa Mexicana is a visual journey into the heart of the nation\u2019s built environment.
thamesandhudson.com<\/a><\/p>\n

5.
\u2018Dakar, M\u00e9tamorphoses d\u2019une Capitale\u2019, Senegal<\/p>\n

\"Dakar,<\/p>\n

All cities must change if they want to avoid becoming static mausoleums \u2013 but what\u2019s at risk when that transformation happens too quickly or almost indiscriminately? Authors Carole Diop and Xavier Ricou are worried that part of their hometown, Dakar, is losing its architectural soul in the process of relentless modernisation. So they have put together a book called Dakar, M\u00e9tamorphoses d\u2019une Capitale. It\u2019s half a portrait of the city, half a manifesto for sensitive preservation and wholly a case study for urban planning across Africa.<\/p>\n

\"Dakar,<\/p>\n

\"Dakar,<\/p>\n

From its beginnings as a series of fishing villages inhabited by the Lebu people through to its official founding as a city in 1857, the colonial era and post-independence expansion, each of the Senegalese capital\u2019s historical chapters is explored with illuminating photography and cartographic evidence that unearths traces of the past in the present. Published by \u00c9ditions de l\u2019Aube, it\u2019s an ambitious, impassioned and necessary work. It\u2019s also a rare opportunity to admire pictures of Dakar\u2019s modernist, neo-Sudanese and art deco treasures, as well as the masterpieces of asymmetrical parallelism that shaped its visual identity. All 450 buildings are neatly laid out in the book\u2019s closing inventory, an impressive catalogue of a heritage under threat.
editionsdelaube.fr<\/a><\/p>\n

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