Gifts for Architects 2022 - Concrete Christmas Gift Guide

A concrete Christmas gift guide

Here we curate our annual wish-list of gifts for lovers of concrete architecture from Modernism to Brutalism, Post Modernism and Contemporary styles. Unwrapping any of these will allow your loved ones to be transported through architecture from Berlin to Santa Fe, Japan to Tbilisi – and provide some wholesome post-Xmas-dinner entertainment, be it in the form of reading, building or planning.

Mid Century Britain, Modern Architecture 1938–1963 by Elain Harwood

Batsford in collaboration with Twentieth Century Society

Leading expert and passionate advocate of modern British architecture Elain Harwood gives the best overview of British architecture from 1938 to 1963. Growing in popularity and with an increasing understanding of their importance as a background to our lives, the buildings range from the Royal Festival Hall, Newcastle City Hall and to Deal Pier and Douglas ferry terminal, from prefabs and ice cream parlours to Coventry Cathedral and the Golden Lane Estate. The author writes in non-technical, layman’s language about the design, architecture and also the influence of these buildings on the lives of our towns and cities.

Available from the Twentieth Century Society here. 

 

Santa Fe Modern: Contemporary Design in the High Desert

Monacelli Press

This book is the first survey of Modernist and Contemporary architecture and interiors in Santa Fe. The high desert landscape serves as an ideal setting for bold, abstracted forms of modernist houses featuring swathes of glass, deep-set portals and courtyards. Architects featured draw from the New Mexican architectural heritage, while applying that language to modern day expectations. The houses are responses to the New Mexico landscape and climate, demonstrating the synergistic relationship between art, architecture, and the land.

Available from Monacelli Press here.

 

Barbican Estate Print

The Modernist

Manchester based magazine, shop and publisher The Modernist presents a new print by Matthew Steele of the Barbican Estate from the 'Estates' range. Available in four colours – Green, Jade, Orange or Turquoise – the print is a crisp, graphic representation of the Barbican, which was built during the 1960s and the 1970s in London and designed by architects Chamberlin Powell & Bon.

Available from The Modernist here.

 

Brutal East II

Zupagrafika

This playful book allows readers to explore and learn about the Brutalist and Modernist architecture erected in the former Eastern Bloc and ex-Yugoslavia, and build some of their most intriguing edifices, from the massive housing estates in Moscow to a brutal skyline of Tbilisi. As well as nine pre-cut and pre-folded models to press out and assemble with easy-to-follow instructions, Brutal East vol. II includes chapters with photographs and texts providing a valuable insight into the featured buildings and their history, as well as a foreword by Alexander Ostrogorsky.

Available from Zupagrafika here.

Atlas: Tadao Ando

Prestel/Penguin

This exploration of Tadao Ando’s work traverses both the physical and spiritual world through photographs by photographer and film director Philippe Séclier and text by Yann Nussaume. In 2012, Séclier visited Tadao Ando’s iconic Church of the Light, and was immediately compelled to journey around the world to further study the architect’s buildings. He began a nine year project to photograph 130 buildings. Each building is represented in numerous black and white images, arranged like a mosaic on the page, corresponding to Ando’s own philosophy of the logic of structure and geometry. A helpful appendix pinpoints the geographic diversity and range of Ando’s oeuvre.

Available from Bookshop.org here. 

Our products:

Postmodern London Map

Discover London's brightest, boldest, and most eclectic architecture with this guide to Postmodernism in the capital. Featuring over fifty buildings, this two-sided map includes photography, building details and an introduction. Written by Owen Hopkins, with original photography by Nigel Green. Architects and practices represented include CZWG, Jeremy and Fenella Dixon, Terry Farrell & Partners, FAT, SOM, James Stirling and many others. With only a small number of London’s Postmodern buildings listed, this map hopes to inspire more admirers of the movement, who can help protect London’s late 20th century heritage.

Available here.

 

Brutalist Calendar 2022

Prepare to be transported each month by the strange and wonderful designs of these colossal concrete – and sometimes controversial – constructions. Our limited edition monthly wall calendar is a celebration of some of the most awe-inspiring and influential examples of Brutalist architecture around the world. Printed by one of Europe’s most environmentally progressive family-owned printers, with a bold design this calendar will bring some interest to any interior space and is an ideal gift for architecture aficionados and amateurs alike.

Get yours here.