Alan Buchsbaum Architect Designer

Surprising juxtapositions between high elegance and downtown funkiness -- a choreography of bright colors and shapes, contrasting textures and patterns, theatrical lighting and quirky found objects -- make up the world of Alan Buchsbaum. An imaginative architect and designer, he was deemed one of the originators of the supergraphics look of the 1960s, the high-tech aesthetic of the 1970s, and the loft look of the 1980s. This lavishly illustrated monograph collects -- for the first time ever -- over forty of his incredible projects. Working in New York during the late 1960s and early 1970s, he became famous for his ad-hoc style. The postwar era's bold materials (vinyl, formica, plastic) were united with his flair for embellishing modern forms while mimicking popular culture's nuances -- a big curve here, a little wiggle there. A favorite among design professionals and magazine editors, his death in 1987 robbed the industry of a major talent. Featured are his notorious loft spaces for his star clients, who collaborated with Buchsbaum on these dramatic transformations. His world of fantasy and luxury was also a place of function and comfort, as seen in his commercial spaces, retail stores, and hotels -- the 1986-87 Nevele Hotel renovation is a tour de force of retro-chic design. Also documented is a cornucopia of his furnishings, including rugs, tables, chairs, and slipcovers. Contributors, all friends, clients, and/or collaborators, recall his ingenuity and flamboyant personality.

Written by renowned architectural historian Alan Powers, 'Serge Chermayeff: Designer Architect Teacher' is a fascinating study of one of the major unsung forces of twentieth-century architecture. Architect of the De La Warr Pavilion and teacher to Rogers and Foster are only a fraction of his immense life and works. This keenly-anticipated title contains over 200 illustrations, 30 of which are in colour. 'Serge Chermayeff: Designer, Architect, Teacher' tells the extraordinary life story of one of the pioneers of twentieth century architecture. Best known for his collaboration with Eric Mendelsohn on the iconic De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, Chermayeff emigrated to America in 1940 to concentrate on teaching. Two distinguished careers spanning two distant countries and virtually a whole century have, until now, conspired to obscure his true influence on the world of architecture. This book, containing 200 black and white and 30 colour illustrations, will fill the gap in the market in the literature about twentieth century architecture.Born during 1900 in Grozny, Chechnya, into an oil-rich Jewish family, he was educated in England but was unable to take up his place at Cambridge after his family's wealth was lost in the 1917 Revolution. He eventually found himself running the modern design department at Waring & Gillow after years earning a precarious living variously as a journalist, professional dancer (including a spell in Buenos Aires managing a dance hall), and interior designer. He quickly became a 'name' along with the likes of Wells Coates, moving in the right circles at a time of intellectual and ideological ferment. He became a key member of the architectural avant-garde, developing his design philosophy based on physical and psychological comfort and visual harmony. As well as the De La Warr Pavilion, Chermayeff produced several important buildings (including his own house at Bentley Wood) before his change of continent and career focus. His teaching career began in earnest, leading eventually to posts at Harvard under J.L. Sert and at Yale under Paul Rudolph, where his students included Norman Foster and Richard Rogers.A brilliant, witty and sometimes devastatingly pessimistic lecturer, Chermayeff's academic career culminated in two books. One of these, Community and Privacy (with Christopher Alexander, 1963) was a bestseller, giving Chermayeff a second wave of fame. He had a wide circle of friends in other disciplines, from art to politics, economics and science, allowing his influence to be understood in the wider intellectual and political context. In an obituary tribute in 1997, his friend and collaborator Alexander Tzonis wrote, 'there are aspects of Chermayeff's thinking that remain as fresh, unfulfilled, topical and demanding as at the time of their inception in the 1960s, 1950s, or even the 1930s. A book about them is urgently needed.' 'Serge Chermayeff: Designer, Architect, Teacher' portrays his conviction in the power of positive thought and action for beneficial change and offers many lessons for the architecture profession in the twenty-first century.

An introduction to architectural thought, this text is a thorough and accessible discussion in search of the principles of the design process. Documenting the non-verbal processes and decisions that architects and designers make is a difficult task, but one that is important when trying to understand the development of architectural design through the ages. Michael Brawne uses his experience as a practicing architect, academic and educator to provide an overview of the subject. By looking at the practices and buildings of architects past and present he incorporates history and philosophy in the search for a theory of design.

An independent bookshop in Glasgow. An ice cream parlour in Havana, where strawberry is the queerest choice. A cathedral in ruins in Managua, occupied by the underground LGBTQIA+ community. Queer people have always found ways to exist and be together, and there will always be a need for queer spaces. In this lavishly illustrated volume, Adam Nathaniel Furman and Joshua Mardell have gathered together a community of contributors to share stories of spaces that range from the educational to the institutional to the re-appropriated, and many more besides. With historic, contemporary and speculative examples from around the world, Queer Spaces recognises LGBTQIA+ life past and present as strong, vibrant, vigorous, and worthy of its own place in history. Looking forward, it suggests visions of what form these spaces may take in the future to continue uplifting queer lives. Featured spaces include: Black Lesbian and Gay Centre, London Category Is Books, Glasgow Christopher Street, New York Coppelia, Havana New Sazae, Tokyo ONE Institute for Homophile Studies, Los Angeles Pop-Up spaces, Dhaka Queer House Party, Online Santiago Apóstol Cathedral, Managua Trans Memory Archive, Buenos Aires Victorian Pride Centre, Melbourne

Eileen Gray started her career as a lacquer artist in Paris creating new furniture and living accessories with striking colors and understated shapes. Her Bibendum chair and E-1027 table today are familiar icons across the world; the ship-shaped home she designed and built on a cliff near Monaco was hailed as a triumph of deluxe modern living; her Dragon chair fetched $28 million at a YSL sale. Her archives bombed during World War II, she was largely forgotten when one-time peers like Le Corbusier were lionized as visionaries. Rediscovered in 1960, she is today a celebrated pioneer of modern design.

Alan Lapidus's life has been a Zelig-like romp through most of the cultural and political highlights of the recent past. He has popped up as architect for or observer of many of our era's most iconic figures, including Donald Trump, various Mafia big shots, mayors, Aristotle and Jackie Onassis, Bob Guccione, pit bosses, real estate legends, and spies. Everything by Design takes us behind the scenes in Las Vegas, Disney World, Havana, Atlantic City, Moscow, the Amazon rainforest, and New York. Along the way we learn why Mickey Mouse never seems to use the restroom, why the baccarat tables in casinos are always far away from the dice tables, why the CIA wanted him to redesign Havana's main synagogue, and why the tunnels under the Hotel Moskva can't be touched. Everything by Design is a keenly observed social and cultural history of modern America by one of its key shapers.