Aric Chen - Böcker

Winner of The Best Architecture Book of the Year Award 2024: the story of internationally renowned architect I. M. Pei’s life and work, including such instantly recognisable buildings as the glass pyramid at the Louvre, Paris, and the National Gallery of Art's extension in Washington, D.C. I. M. Pei (1917–2019) was one of the world’s most influential architects. Born and raised in China, Pei trained and worked in the United States, establishing a practice that spanned seven decades and multiple continents. His legacy includes the realisation of some of the most high-profile projects of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, from the modernisation of the Louvre in Paris to the design of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. Pei’s life and work are explored here through six topics that were central to his unique approach to architecture: transcultural identity, urban redevelopment, art and civic form, material and structural innovation, politics and patronage, and regenerating cultural and historical archetypes. Bringing together previously unpublished archival materials, specially commissioned essays, new photography, and personal contributions from those who knew and worked with Pei, this book presents both celebrated and lesser-known aspects of the architect’s life and career while solidifying his position in architectural history and popular culture.

A major new overview of 100 of the world’s best contemporary interior design projects, chosen by 10 of the world’s leaders in the design world.

Now in its eleventh year, the Design Museum’s Beazley Designs of the Year award and exhibition showcase the most innovative, relevant and thought-provoking projects in contemporary design. From the first iPhone to Zaha Hadid’s final building, the nominations for the award have spanned the fields of architecture, digital, fashion, graphics, product and transport. Introduced by Deyan Sudjic and guest curator Aric Chen of M+ in Hong Kong, this illustrated book brings together all the nominated designs for 2018, along with the reasons for their selection by an international group of design experts, practitioners and critics, including Iwan Baan and Hans Ulrich Obrist. It is a snapshot of the most exciting things happening in design today. At the beginning of the second decade of its life, the essence of the concept remains the same. A wide and international group of expert nominators have been invited to put forward up to three projects each that for them reflect significant new directions in six fields, from architecture to transport. The results are put together by a guest curator to form an exhibition at the Design Museum. A jury selects winners in each category, as well as one overall design of the year. The Design Museum has published an accompanying catalogue for the award and exhibition over the past ten years, which was marked by the publication of the ten-year anniversary book Designs of our Time: 10 Years of Designs of the Year.

The book provides a privileged insight into how this groundbreaking architectural studio works, especially their innovative approach in which their primary inspiration is derived from the constraints of a given project, hence the subtitle, Inspired by constraints. It shows how XRANGE’s unconventional architecture places an emphasis on systemization and tactility, resulting in audacious but grounded and utterly unique buildings. To do so, it features texts by the principal architects, leading architecture critics, lavish documentation and photography, and in-depth examinations of such significant projects as The Wandering Walls, Ant Farm House, Stone Cloud, and many more.

Arata Isozaki (1931–2022) undoubtedly ranks among Japan’s, and in fact the world’s, most distinguished architects. He ran his own firm in Tokyo from 1963 and realised buildings in many countries, as well as holding teaching appointments at Columbia, Harvard, and Yale universities. He created a body of work that has constantly evolved and transformed over decades. His best-known designs include the Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art in Fukuoka, the Shenzhen Cultural Center Concert Hall, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, the Berliner Volksbank office building on Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz, the Palasport Olimpico in Turin, and the Allianz Tower (Il Dritto) in Milan. Isozaki was awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1986 and the Pritzker Prize in 2019.Arata Isozaki: In Formation is the first new monograph on the architect in 15 years.. Conceived in close collaboration with Arata Isozaki & Associates, the book features photographs, plans, model images, drawings, and watercolours from all periods of Isozaki’s career. Arranged thematically, it follows key concepts of the architect’s creative development from the 1970s throughout his lifetime. Introductory essays round off this comprehensive survey of an outstanding architectural oeuvre.

Exploring design works ranging from furniture and temporary art installations to interior design and architecture by CL3, founded by William Lim, and related studios Lim + Lu and Open UU, this book presents a fresh consideration of the essence of contemporary Asian design and how it has evolved over the past few decades. The projects selected share a sensitivity to Asian qualities: a deep appreciation of site and context, craft and design details, with imaginative architectural responses delivering a reinterpretation of cultural heritage and traditions. The book includes a contextual essay by Hong Kong-based architecture critic and author Catherine Shaw, a foreword by architecture and design curator Aric Chen, and a chapter dedicated to conversations on the modern interpretation of eastern aesthetics and the unique experience of designing for a new Asia between William Lim, Swedish museum director, art critic and writer Lars Nittve, and Shanghai-based architect Lyndon Neri. The projects are presented in a clear, vibrant graphic style designed by William Lim and artist and graphic designer Stanley Wong, aka anothermountainman, to evoke an Asian quality. Each chapter includes a text by William Lim and features original conceptual sketches, photographs, floor plans, and drawings.