Climate Skin

Gerhard Hausladen
Concrete planning advice for architects and engineers who wish to exploit not only the architectural potential of facades but also their climate-control possibilities, treating the building envelope as an essential component within a complete climate-control solution. A comprehensive handbook that covers all aspects of the design and planning of energy-efficient facades. Birkhäuser Verlag. ISBN 9783764377250. Hardback. $140.

The Concrete Dragon

Thomas Campanella
In the early 1980s China launched the greatest building boom in human history. The Concrete Dragon examines the forces behind this urban revolution and traces both the historical precedents and the increasingly globalised information, ideas and trends that have combined to create a new Chinese landscape. ISBN 9781568986272. Hardback. $60.

Construction Site

Marie Antoinette Glaser (ed)
The building site has now become an unavoidable part of everyday urban life and yet our perception of it remains a contradictory one. This detailed examination of the building site reveals a hidden aesthetic that can make these sites a powerful source of inspiration full of complex meanings. Lars Müller Publishers. ISBN 9783037781128. Hardback. $93.50.

Contemporary School Architecture in Slovenia 1991-2007

Maja Ivanic and Spela Kuhar
Ever since Slovenia joined the EU in 2004, Slovenian architecture has attracted considerable interest worldwide. The internationally recognised projects of recent years are distinguished in particular by their innovativeness and originality. School construction, a priority in Slovenia for decades, has acquired special significance as a result of the country’s economic upswing. Springer Verlag. ISBN 9783211768440. Hardback. $82.

Design Diary 2008

red dot editions
A practical diary with comprehensive information on renowned design offices and manufacturers from all over the world. Day by day it provides useful information on exhibitions, trade fairs, museums, design institutions and trade papers. An established almanac in the design scene. AVedition. ISBN 978389990889. Hardback. $65.

Design Interviews: Alessandro Mendini

Museo Alessi (eds)
Published in collaboration with the Alessi Museum to celebrate the masters of design. Each book comes with a DVD video interview, a unique source of considerations and experiences about making design. A transcription appears in the book along with video stills, photographs and preliminary sketches of several projects. Edizioni Corraini. ISBN 9788875701529. Book/DVD. $37.50.

Design Interviews: Ettore Sotsass

Museo Alessi (eds)
Published in collaboration with the Alessi Museum to celebrate the masters of design. Each book comes with a DVD video interview, a unique source of considerations and experiences about making design. A transcription appears in the book along with video stills, photographs and preliminary sketches of several projects. Edizioni Corraini. ISBN 9788875701571. Book/DVD. $37.50.

Design Interviews: Richard Sapper

Museo Alessi eds
Published in collaboration with the Alessi Museum to celebrate the masters of design. Each book comes with a DVD video interview, a unique source of considerations and experiences about making design. A transcription appears in the book along with video stills, photographs and preliminary sketches of several projects. Edizioni Corraini. ISBN 978887507536. Book/DVD. $37.50.

Designing Public

Michael Erlhoff et al (eds)
A highly topical survey of our urban spaces and how design functions in the chaotic real world. How does design affect the public realm since the boundaries that separate public and private space have long since ceased to be clear? How can design do a better job of fashioning public space? Birkhäuser Verlag. ISBN 9783764386672. Paperback. $54.50.

Detail in Process

Christine Killory and Rene Davids (eds)
The way an architect chooses to treat architectural detailing can transform the merely ordinary into the extraordinary. The editors have collected together the best work of the past two years including new buildings by some of today’s most daring architects: James Carpenter, Marmol Radziner, Tadao Ando, Steven Holl, Jean Nouvel, David Chipperfield and SANAA. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781568987187. Hardback. $110.

Dietrich Untertrifaller

Walter Zschokke (ed)
Dietrich Untertrifaller’s buildings are renowned for their reuse of existing fabric and for employing passive house guidelines. Their projects range from commercial and office buildings to housing estates, single family houses and small scale projects such as cafes. Springer Verlag. ISBN 9783211715291. Paperback. $110.

Eisenman Architects

Todd Gannon (ed)
The Arizona Cardinals football team selected awarding-winning architect and intellectual provocateur Peter Eisenman to design their stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Opened in the summer of 2006, Eisenman’s latest work rejects all traditional and staid notions of the sports stadium, including a grass rollout field which remains outside the stadium until game time. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781568987200. Paperback. $50

etapes: international 11

etapes (eds)
This issue of etapes looks at the design of the medals and pictograms for the Beijing Olypmics, Pentagram’s posters for the Yale School of Architecture by Michael Beirut, experiments with digital printing and painting, the unfolding of French duo Ich&Kar’s posters for a North African restaurant in London and much more. Etapes International. ISBN 9782350170879. Paperback. $51.50.

Finnish Summer Houses

Jari and Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen
Presents in detail 20 villas, cottages and cabins by architects such as Eliel Saarinen, Oiva Kallio, Alvar Aalto and Juhani Pallasmaa, among many others. Contemporary photographs, archival images, drawings and plans illustrate the diversity found in the designs of Finnish summer residences. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781568987521. Hardback. $87.50.

Fresh Dialogue 8 Designing Audiences

Ze Frank (ed)
A fresh look at graphic design through the eyes of three young designers, all of whom have embraced a media landscape dominated by social networking sites: Stefan Bucher with his wildly popular Daily Monster series, Eric Rodenbeck with the Flickr mapping brainchild Mappr and Katie Salen with Karaoke Ice, the travelling karaoke ice-cream truck. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781568987514. Paperback. $30.

Graphic Design The New Basics

Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips
An up-to-date basic design text for people who want to understand graphic design in a critical, rigorous way, informed by contemporary media, theory and software. A colourful, compact, clearly written volume from the author of such bestsellers as DIY and Thinking with Type. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781568987026. Paperback. $60; ISBN 9781568987705. Hardback. $87.50.

IF Yearbook Product 2008

International Forum Design (eds)
The winners of the iF product design award 2008, one of the world’s most important design awards. Categories include audio and video, telecommunications, computers, lighting, home textiles and furnishings, house and home, leisure and lifestyle, industry and buildings, medicine and health care, office and business, public and interior design and transportation. Birkhäuser Verlag. ISBN 9783764386252. Hardback. $130.

The Image and the Region

Alain Thierstein and Agnes Forster
Mega-city regions are a frequent topic of discussion but for the majority of politicians, planners, institutions and residents the features of mega-city regions remain invisible. This book seeks to redress this imbalance, highlighting the necessity to visualise mega-city regions. Lars Müller Publishers. ISBN 9783037781319. Paperback. $70.

Le Corbusier: The Chapel at Ronchamp (new English only edition)

Daniele Pauly
Previously only available in a bilingual edition, this new English-only guide to Le Corbusier’s Chapel at Ronchamp is indispensable for specialists and tourists alike. The chapel’s shell-shaped roof and rounded walls with rhythmic openings are the essential elements of this sculptural construction, one of Le Corbusier’s best known works. Birkhäuser Verlag. ISBN 9783764382322. Paperback. $37.50.

Le Corbusier: The Villa Savoye (new English only edition)

Jacques Sbriglio
Previously only available in a bilingual edition, this new English-only guide to Villa Savoye includes historic documents and new photographs that provide an in-depth presentation for both visitors and architecture enthusiasts alike. Completed in 1931, Villa Savoye established Le Corbusier’s reputation as a master of 20th-century architecture. Birkhäuser Verlag. ISBN 9783764382308. Paperback. $37.50.

Letter by Letter

Laurent Pflughaupt
Laurent Pflughaupt analyses each letter of the Roman alphabet in detail, tracing its origin, evolution and form. Twenty-six entries establish correspondences between letters and elements borrowed from a variety of different fields of study, ranging from traditional paleography, phonetics and graphic arts to the more arcane areas of musicology and esotericism. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781568987378. Paperback. $43.50.

Nano Materials in Architecture, Interior Architecture and Design

Sylvia Leydecker
Nanotechnology is widely regarded as one of the 21st century’s key technologies, especially the coating of surfaces to lend them functional characteristics such as increased tensile strength. Architects, interior designers and designers will find an introduction to the scientific background specifically tailored to their needs. Birkhäuser Verlag. ISBN 9783764379957. Paperback. $93.50.

New Exhibition Design 01

Uwe Reinhardt and Philipp Teufel
The best and most unusual – in terms of design and content – technologically and socially innovative exhibition projects of the new millennium in words and pictures: museums, expos, brand museums, showrooms, stage and shops. Moreover, it presents expert contributions that reflect the current discourse and address current trends and developments. AVedition. ISBN 9783899860283. Hardback. $115.

Now Is Then

Marvin Heiferman
Images from the golden age of snapshot photography: quirky, elegant, heartbreaking and heart-warming. The images both celebrate and question the conventions of snapshot photography. Texts by well-known visual culture critics offer fresh perspectives on the snapshots and their power over us. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781568987484. Hardback. $52.50.

Planning Guide for Conference and Communication Environments

Guido Englich and Burkhard Remmers
A wide-ranging, analytical and hands-on interpretation of modern fact-to-face communication in the work environment. Includes analysis and examples covering conference rooms, workshop environments, lecture halls, customer service areas, lounges and informal zones. Birkhäuser Verlag. ISBN 9783764387587. Hardback. $139.50.

Red Dot Design Concept Yearbook 2007/8

Ken Koo
The best design ideas and innovations from the most talented designers, design studios and companies from more than 40 countries. More than an identification of the latest innovations, this publication is a showcase of strong design ideas beyond appearance, beyond aesthetic form. AVedition. ISBN 9783899390902. Hardback. $179.50.

Studio and Cube

Brian O’Doherty
O’Doherty's follow-up to his seminal 1976 essays for Artforum, republished in 1999 as Inside the White Cube, which critically dissected the white space of the art gallery. In Studio and Cube he expands his interpretation to include the artist’s studio, tracking the relationship between the artwork and the artist from Vermeer through late modernism. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781883584443. Hardback. $43.50.

Young Architects 9

Architectural League of New York
The ninth annual publication of the best young practicing architects as selected by the Architectural League of New York. Competition entrants were asked to use the theme ‘proof’, creating projects that acknowledge architectural design as a unique process that begins with a speculation and gains traction through testing, confirming, checking and rechecking before and after designs encounter the real world. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781568987439. Paperback. $43.50.