Julie Cirelli – författare

Proximities: The Architecture of Jon Lott is an erudite exploration into the practice of PARA Project, a design firm based in Amenia, NY, and the philosophies of its founder Jon Lott. Lott's work, characterised by its openness to reconfiguration and its dialogue with context, is presented through five key projects: Haffenden House, Pioneertown House, Stump House, Brugge, and Lean-tos.The book probes the significance of proximity and approximation in Lott's work and emphasises how these elements facilitate a deeper engagement with the surroundings. Structured around thematic prompts such as "Readings/Reflections," "Proximities/Approximations," and "Diptychs/Doubles," it offers a multifaceted examination of Lott’s design approach, and also highlights the playful and improvisational aspects of Lott's methodology.Featuring theoretical discourse and practical insights, Proximities is both an architectural monograph and a philosophical inquiry into the nature of creating and experiencing space. It is essential reading for those interested in the intersections of architecture, philosophy, and environmental interaction.With contributions by Mark Lee, Jon Lott, Charles Shafaieh and Julie Cirelli.

Scarcity of resources in all forms is commonly portrayed negatively. Yet these conditions—which have long been a reality in many extreme climate conditions across the global south and are increasingly becoming a global reality—often stimulate an abundance of innovation, inspiration, and ingenuity. Permanence has created a climate crisis, with spaces constructed with non-degradable materials, resource extraction without active replenishment, and buildings designed for a single-eternal use. Our present reality is marked by a global pandemic, violent conflicts, and the looming threat of climate change-induced environmental disasters. This fragile situation is particularly evident in the Global South, where systems, innovations, and structures shaped by imperial and industrial powers through exploitation and extraction of natural resources lack a long-term, sustainable vision. Yet there remains an optimism about the creative possibilities that arise within these constraints.Field Notes on Scarcity, published in conjunction with the 2023 Sharjah Architecture Triennial, examines what scarcity truly looks like on the ground, and the challenges and opportunities it presents across architecture and design. 60 scholars and practitioners from across the Global South—including Lesley Lokko, Yinka Shonibare, Formafantasma, Rahul Mehrotra, Olalekan Jeyifous, Abeer Seikaly, Ilze and Heinrich Wolff, Chitra Vishwanath, Deema Assaf, and many others—contribute reflections, poems, visual essays, and dialogues exploring what scarcity represents, what it inspires, and what it reveals.

The Beauty of Impermanence is a scholarly documentation of the 2023 Sharjah Architecture Triennial. It explores architectural responses to sustainability, resource scarcity, and adaptability, highlighting the contrasting resource management strategies of the Global North and South over the last 400 years. The North exploited resources through a belief in endless abundance and technological advances, underpinned by religious and mythological justifications for colonialism and slavery. The South, characterised by resource scarcity, has innovated within these constraints, developing adaptable, sustainable solutions that may offer a blueprint for future global resource management.The book advocates for a shift away from a consumption-driven approach to one that is ecologically and ethically responsible, urging a collective and constructive resolve to create systemic change for a sustainable future. It is structured around the thematic strands Renewed Contextual, Extraction Politics, and Intangible Bodies and features essays by noted scholars and practitioners. Detailed project spreads from Triennial participants, showcasing innovative practices that integrate sustainable methods and materials round off this volume that serves as a vital resource for those engaged in the fields of architecture, sustainability, and urban planning.Text in English and Arabic.

Spirits out of Trees traces richly illustrated the interwoven stories of two architectural works by Burkinabé-German architect Francis Kéré: Xylem, a contemplative pavilion nestled within the aspen groves of Tippet Rise Art Center in Fishtail, Montana, and the Naaba Belem Goumma Secondary School, built for Kéré’s hometown community of Gando, Burkina Faso. Though separated by geography, climate, and culture, the two buildings are united by a shared philosophy: architecture as a site of gathering, learning, and care.The book explores how trees—literal and metaphorical—inform Kéré’s design language. Xylem evokes the spiritual and structural intelligence of trees, offering a space of quiet communion and passive cooling. Naaba Belem Goumma Secondary School transforms local materials into a living, breathing environment for education, shaped by and for its community.Combining architectural documentation and photography with personal writing and original poetry, Spirits out of Trees is both a tribute to Francis Kéré’s vision and to the enduring metaphor of the tree, as shelter and as a symbol of regeneration. Designed with the same humility and clarity that defines Kéré’s work, the volume offers a deeply resonant meditation on sustainability, cultural continuity, and the power of architecture to root us more fully in the world around us.

Now in its fourth year, the Örnsberg Auction takes yet another step in its development from experimental platform to legitimate counterestablishment movement. While the auction has always been practicedriven – meaning that designers are chosen, rather than individual works – this year the criteria for inclusion has been honed even further. Participants not only fall within the rather broad category of self producing designers working with small-scale production, but many to an even narrower and more radical subset of contemporary design. This year’s line-up favours designers with unique practices, whose methods of production are self-invented or who are working collectively. This years catalogue contains works by: Amanda Karsberg, Andreas Freinholt, Anna Nordström, Annie Johansson, Cora Hamilton, Dennis Grabén, Fredrik Ingemansson, Fredrik Paulsen, Jakob Robertsson, James Thompson, Jenny Nordberg, Jussi Ojala, Kristoffer Sundin, Lagombra, Lisa Berkert Wallard, Lotta Lampa, Ludvig Löfgren, Malin Henningsson, Maria Jeglinska, Mats Theselius, Mia E Gör ansson, Marjan Van Aubel, Not so precious jewelry, Odd Matter, Oona Linke, Petra Lilja, Sabine Marcelis, Samir Alj Fält, Simon Klenell, Tove Greitz.

The story of OOPEAA began in a rural field in Finland, where the now-iconic Kärsämäki Shingle Church was built by hand by hundreds of volunteers over half a decade. In the years that followed, OOPEAA has established itself as one of Finland's leading architecture firms, one that is distinguished by a sensitivity to material and craftmanship - first under the name Lassila Hirvilammi Architects and, from 2014, as OOPEAA Office for Peripheral Architecture. In text, photographs and drawings, this book traces the office's development into one of the most innovative and exploritory architectural practices in the Nordic region today.

Behind the Scenes gives you an inside look at today's design industry and the challenges it faces, the commercial undercurrents that shape and define it and a glimpse of those in power. The book includes subjects such as design media and PR and the relationship between the two, payment methods in the design industry, the escalating speed of the new and the effect it has on the products, as well as the importance of pricing. Behind the Scenes is a book debating the issues around design that rarely is spoken about.