From Rizzoli's From the Land: Backen, Gillam, & Kroeger Architects     

 

Archtober (�rk'tōbər) is New York City's Architecture and Design Month, the third annual month-long festival of architecture activities, programs and exhibitions taking place during the month of October. Archtober's mission is to focus on the importance of architecture and design in everyday life. To learn more, visit www.archtober.org.

In honor of this year's Archtober festivities, Rizzoli presents these contributions from various architects, scholars, and architecture enthusiasts--who just happen to be the author's of our most recent crop of architecture books.

For a full list of our recent and upcoming Architecture titles, visit:
The Urban House
"One of the exciting aspects of looking at some of the most daring contemporary houses around world is to see so many ways in which modern architecture and design in the twenty-first century are free to express more than an academic style--they can express the lifestyle of the client, the wit of the designer, the spirit of the place in which it is constructed. For instance the room pictured here is in a converted cast-iron warehouse building in TriBeCa designed by Dan Wood and Amale Andraos of Work Architecture Company, and in it you can see how layers of elements--the nineteenth-century structural columns, the owners' photography collection, the bold and playful furniture--create a space that is wholly modern without being at all sterile or severe."

-Ron Broadhurst, author of 
The Urban House: Townhouses, Apartments, Lofts, and Other Spaces for City Living 
Traditional Architecture

Apartments in Mayfair, London. From Rizzoli's Traditional Architecture: Timeless Building for the Twenty-First Century book.

"This project--which exemplifies my approach--is a new apartment building in the traditional context of the Mayfair residential area of London that replaces an unsympathetic 1930's block. The original 18th Century building that occupied the site was grander in scale and detail than its neighbors. I therefore decided that the new building should be of unique character, whilst continuing the tradition of the neighboring Georgian context.

The contemporary Classical replacement building will be one of the few and the first to be built in this area of Mayfair for decades and integrates harmoniously with the surroundings. With a pediment and stone fa�ade, a Piano Nobile and Classical detailing the building possesses a unique identity, momentarily breaking the horizontal rhythm of the otherwise repetitive terrace."  
-Alireza Sagharchi, RIBA FRSA, author of
Traditional Architecture: Timeless Building for the Twenty-First Century
The Solar House

"If you're curious about the future of solar architecture, head to the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California, this October and visit the 2013 Solar Decathlon.  Twenty new experimental solar houses built by students will rapidly materialize for public tours and within weeks they will be demounted and sent home.  It will be quite a spectacle. In The Solar House: Pioneering Sustainable Design, I discuss the Solar Decathlon's legacy in the context of the longer history of architectural experimentation with solar heating which dates back to the 1930s. The Decathlon has occurred five times, including the 2009 event on the National Mall in Washington pictured here.  In the book I discuss many reasons to watch the event with a critical eye, but what will surely shine through will be the enthusiasm of the students and their fascinating solutions for an age-old theme: the solar house."

 

-Anthony Denzer, Ph.D., M.Arch., LEED-AP, author of

 The Solar House: Pioneering Sustainable Design  

Stone Houses
"There is nothing tied more to the land than a stone house.  Stone represents shelter, permanence, and local color.  Traditional farmhouses were built with stone cleared from the fields making a statement about the wealth that could be derived from the land.  Subtle differences in stonework communicated the growth of the homestead.  At Hillside Farm, Okie's own house, the small 18th century tenant farmhouse was his living laboratory for over 40 years of additions and modifications as he perfected his particular interpretation of the local architectural vernacular."
Visions of Seaside 
"In the current tsunami of global crises, which includes exploding global population, climate change, peak oil, public health, and inadequate housing for burgeoning single households, planning is more important then ever to ensure a sustainable livelihood for future generations.  These seemingly independent crises have all reached their tipping point in the beginning of the 21st century and many communities are looking at high-capital technological solutions to resolve these crises. These technocratic responses will be unable to solve the problems in their entirety. 
 
Physical planning merged with geographic, political, social and economic strategies are necessary to combat the challenges that lie ahead.  Energy required to move from building to building is far greater than the energy requirements to cool and heat individual buildings.  The solution lies in the creations of compact walkable neighborhoods such as Seaside, Florida."

-Dhiru A. Thadani, Architect + Urbanist, author of 
Allan Greenberg 


"Why shouldn't the kitchen be as beautiful as any other room in the house? Families often spend more time in the kitchen over a year than in, say, a living or dining room.  Many people have told me they think the kitchen in the photo is the most beautiful room in this house. They especially like the bold coved cornice and custom shaped tiles on the walls by RFG Tiles. A kitchen has more components than any other room in the house. If each part is beautifully designed but remains an integral part of the room, it may arrive at Frank Lloyd Wright's idea that 'a house maybe more a home by being a work of art.'"

 

-Allan Greenberg, author of Allan Greenberg: Classical Architect  

Backen, Gillam, & Kroeger Architects

From Rizzoli's From the Land: Backen, Gillam, & Kroeger Architects book.
Photo: Adri�n Gregorutti

"This hillside house overlooking the Napa Valley, for the owners of Ovid Winery- like much of the firm's work-is both simple and sumptuous. Simple in the use of architectural elements like gables, porches, and patios; sumptuous in the use of tall proportions, natural materials, and strong axial connections to an iconic landscape. And of course it's all about outdoor-indoor living. You can look through the tree-framed courtyard, past the roaring outdoor fireplace, through the stately living room, and out to the valley view. The house is always part of a larger environmental sequence: from land to living space and back again."

  
In This Newsletter
The Urban House
Traditional Architecture
The Solar House
Stone Houses
Visions of Seaside
Allan Greenberg, Architect
Backen, Gillam, & Kroeger Architects
Quick Links
Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Find me on Pinterest

View our videos on YouTube

Visit our blog