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The future of brick-and-mortar bookstores has been in peril for at least a decade. But whether you’re actually shopping for a book or not, you might actually find yourself wandering into a bookstore by accident. Because fashion brands, from French icon Sonia Rykiel to New York City-based Warby Parker, are curating books not as objects to read but as objects of décor. — Quartzy
More and more trendy retailers that used to be exclusively online (think Warby Parker, Glossier, or Everlane) are beginning to open brick-and-mortar concept shops & flagship stores in major cities, and books appear to be front and center in store design — sometimes as mere decoration but... View full entry
MVRDV, in collaboration with local architects Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute, has completed the much anticipated Binhai Public Library in Tianjin, China, and first photos reveal a mountainous topography of curved bookshelves creating an amorphous atrium that holds a spherical... View full entry
The Parthenon of Books in Kassel, Germany is part of the Documenta 14 art festival. With the help of students from Kassel University, Minujín identified over 170 titles that were or are banned in different countries around the world, and constructed the full-size replica of the iconic temple from those books, plastic sheeting, and steel. — Bored Panda
Photo: alexgorlinCreated by Argentinian artist Marta Minujín, 74, the monumental replica of Greek Parthenon consists of 100,000 banned books and symbolizes the resistance to political repression. The Parthenon of Books taking shape in Kassel. Photo by Rosa Ruehling View full entry
Any design maven is aware that America's West Coast is chockfull of historic mid-century modern architecture designed by the likes of Charles and Ray Eames, Rudolph Schindler, John Lautner, and Richard Neutra. Of course, there's more than just the most infamous icons, but where to begin? Whether... View full entry
Describing her entry, Murdaugh writes, "The components flat pack easily, and the hinging construction of the frame streamlines assembly. Simply unfold the base frame, attach the flanges, and construct the cabinet and seat according to an instruction pamphlet using provided hardware. In effect, this design maximizes the functionality of the book kiosk as a means of emphasizing its role as an intersection of community and learning, while elegantly maintaining ease of assembly.” — Chronicle Books
Little Free Libraries can be found in front yards, community centers, and public spaces all over the world. They support literacy and provide access to books on the community level. The first Little Free Library was created in 2009; now there are over 40,000 Little Free Library sites stewarded in... View full entry
Depending on the level of surreality you favor in your coloring book exercises, The Brutalist Colouring Book from Belgian graphic designer Marc Thomasset allows you to create wildly imaginative or strictly literal renderings of various famous brutalist landmarks, including works by William Pereira... View full entry
The imaginary realm of architecture frequently ventures off into scales that are improbable, if not outright impossible, on the politically and gravitationally constrained Earth (think Étienne-Louis Boullée, or Lebbeus Woods). In a similar if less secular vein, Napp Studio has conceived of an... View full entry
Everyone on their phones at the holiday table is a depressing reality of our modern era—so why not balance it out, by gifting everyone some solid books to cozy up with? Failing that: books are also great for dressing coffee tables, door jams, impressing dates, or keeping jewels in their hollowed... View full entry
In this fascinating piece by Rumaan Ali for Slate, he explores how children's picture books offer a fun historical survey of the ideal architecture and interior decor for each place and time, spanning from the early 20th century to contemporary times. Although the books usually incorporate some... View full entry
While pronounced ocular structural features are not unheard of (consider the exterior of DS+R's Broad Museum) Winy Maas, co-founder of MVRDV, is drawing attention to his firm's mirrored spherical auditorium sited in the almost complete 34,200 square meter Tianjin Library. “The Eye is the... View full entry
Arquitectura Viva's 2016 Spain Yearbook is a visual throwback of the last 12 months in Spanish architecture, revisiting 24 top-notch buildings that were all completed in the country over the last year. Recently released by Arquitectura Viva — who previously published monographs on Rem... View full entry
As the stories of Hadid and Scott Brown show, the pairing of architecture prizes (or at least the big ones) and women raises hackles. Hadid won the Pritzker Prize amid talk that she did not deserve it; Scott Brown did not win the prize amid talk that she did not deserve it. No solo female architect has won the Pritzker Prize since Hadid, nor has a husband-and-wife architectural team ever been honored. Indeed, to date, of the 39 Pritzker Prize laureates, only two (or about 5 percent) are women. — Despina Stratigakos
Excerpted from her new book, Despina Stratigakos sheds some light on the Pritzker's lack of awarding women architects in their own right.More on Archinect:Despina Stratigakos on the emerging "third wave of feminism" in architectureWhy Zaha Hadid's gender and ethnicity mattered so muchWhy... View full entry
In Archinect's latest giveaway, our readers had the chance to win a coveted copy of Architectural Guide China. This unique travel guidebook presents an architectural overview of nine major urban sites in mainland China as well as Hong Kong and Macau.The winners are:Bryce - Milwaukee, WISam... View full entry
Called Amazon Books, the store will be located at Westfield UTC mall near UC San Diego...The store will presumably resemble the Seattle location, which sells a limited selection of Amazon's best-reviewed books. That venue also doubles as a showroom for the e-commerce brand's expanding hardware lineup, which includes its Kindle, Fire TV, Fire tablets and Echo. The Echo, the company's latest gadget, is an in-home personal assistant powered by artificial intelligence. — The Los Angeles Times
Although small, independently-owned bookstores have been thriving lately, national chains—such as Borders Books, which shuttered its doors in 2011—have not adapted as well to Amazon's disruptive online model of cheap, on-demand books. Now the online retailer is reversing its... View full entry
Architectural Guide China is a unique travel guidebook that presents up-to-date insight into the rich architectural histories in Eastern China's megacities, which continue to create widespread impact through rapid urbanization, population growth, and the consequential effects on the natural... View full entry
