Norman Weinstein of The Architectural Record selects his favorite architecture books of the year, which range from a coming-of-age memoir to a treatise on Turkish art and architecture.
Weinstein's list is in semi-alphabetical order, with no particular book ranking more highly than the others. His taste runs to the unusual, such as with this book:
"Jane Alison, editor, The Surreal House (Yale University Press, $70). Archigram's merry pranksters gave legs to future British cities, but back in Paris between the wars, the surrealists gave urban housing erotic breasts, vertiginous stairways to nowhere, and fireplaces serving as toy train stations. Framed by a variety of informative (but unfortunately humorless) scholarly essays that offer a single epiphany – the deepest gift surrealism gave to modern architecture was the rebirth of the Gothic – the hundreds of color illustrations offer a remarkably discerning catalogue of bizarre architectural dreams that could ricochet into whimsically engaging follies for our time."
Read the full story: Best Architecture Books of 2010
Top 10 Books - 2011
Planetizen is pleased to release its ninth annual list of the ten best books in urban planning, design and development published in 2010. This year's selection includes some big names, some big ideas -- and a book called "Toilet."
Top 10 Architecture Books of the Year
Norman Weinstein, architecture writer for The Christian Science Monitor, picks his top ten books on architecture that came out in 2009.
The "vicious cycle of real estate mania" — and how we might find our way home
Book review: In "The Lost and the Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family, and Second Chances," Kevin Fagan humanizes the housing crisis like never before.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
As El Niño approaches, Newsom vetos bill aimed at protecting California levees from flooding
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state’s allocated $170 million was enough funding; State experts estimate it will cost $3.3 billion to repair the California Delta's levees.
Boston sues Trump administration over revoked infrastructure grant
The Trump administration withdrew the infrastructure grant because less than 1% of the money would go to electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
NYC to turn city-owned property into thousands of homes
The city has scheduled a public hearing regarding the development for October.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello