Gift giving can be a tricky alchemy but this collection of architecture and design books is guaranteed to satisfy the armchair (and real life) travellers on your list, taking them on a visual odyssey across the world.
Elemental living
Phaidon
£29.95
From clifftop houses to rainforest retreats, this book journeys through 60 of the world’s most innovative buildings, designed to make the most of their natural surrounds. Among old favourites – Philip Johnson’s Glasshouse and Adalberto Libera’s Casa Malaparte – are new structures including humble cabins, repurposed bunkers and tree houses by contemporary practices including Olson Kundig and Sou Fujimoto.
Where they Create: Japan, by Paul Barbera
Frame
€29
Photographer Paul Barbera takes readers inside the creative studios of Japan’s top creatives in this edition of Where They Create, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the ateliers of Tadao Ando, Kenya Hara, Toyo Ito and White Mountaineering. Accompanying Barbara’s photo essays are insightful interviews by Kanae Hasegawa, who grills the creatives on their processes, inspirations and the nuances of office life.
Brutal London by Simon Phipps
September Publishing
£14.99
Photographer Simon Phipps celebrates the graphic qualities of Brutalism in his new book Brutal London. The black and white tome explores the city’s best concrete landmarks by borough, plotting them on maps so you can roam them yourself.
Close to Nature: Inspiring houses off the road by Mirjam Bleeker & Frank Visser
Luster
€39.95
While the structures of Elemental Living offer a sleek take on remote living, Closer to Nature is a decidedly more rustic affair. Photographer Mirjam Bleeker and interior designer Frank Visser have sought out ‘off-grid’ abodes from Argentina to Taiwan, strung together with interviews and profiles on their unorthodox residents.
Holiday Architecture by Jan Hamer and Christiane Pfau
Urlaubsarchitektur
€34.95
January is a time for wanderlust, and what better to fuel it than Holiday Architecture’s 2017 bilingual tome of architect-designed vacation homes. Drawing from his blog of the same title, editor Jan Hamer has teamed up with Christiane Pfau to go inside some of Europe’s most striking holiday homes you can rent, and unravel the stories of how they came about… Expect revived railway stations, crisp concrete chalets and everything in between.
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