Buildings in Print: 100 Influential & Inspiring Illustrated Architecture Books by John Hill (Prestel 2021) showcases 100 of the most influential illustrated architecture books published over the last century.
The author, John Hill, is the founder of the hugely influential architecture blog A Daily Dose of Architecture, which recently shifted course to focus entirely on architecture books of all kinds. His selection for this volume spans centuries, continents, and genres to include Le Corbusier’s Towards a New Architecture, Project Japan by Rem Koolhaas, Atlas of Another America: An Architectural Fiction by Keith Krumwiede, X-Ray Architecture by Beatriz Colomina and Thomas Wolfe’s From Bauhaus to Our House.
I love books. In particular I love architecture books. More specifically, I love illustrated architecture books. This love has led to books defining various parts of my life: a sizeable personal library that seems to push me and my family out of our apartment; a blog devoted to architecture books called A Daily Dose of Architecture Books; a tendency to always have at least one book with me, reading it on the subway or even while walking down city sidewalks; and a stupefaction that other architects do not always share my bibliophilic passion. Buildings in Print is the latest expression of my love for architecture books, functioning as a build for architects wanting to build a library of important books but also as a visual argument for the continued relevance of illustrated books in our digital age.
– John Hill, Introduction to Buildings in Print: 100 Influential & Inspiring Illustrated Architecture Books (Prestel 2021)
The books selected are organised into the categories of Manifestos, Histories, Education, Housing, Monographs, Buildings, Exhibitions, Building Cities, and Critiques, and each one has a reproduction of the book’s cover along with selected spreads which are accompanied by Hill’s informed, personal, and engaging take on what makes the title unique and indispensable. In addition, sidebar Top 10 lists from many of today’s leading critics and architects are scattered throughout. Capturing the best of Hill’s insightful and curious mind, this invaluable resource will broaden the world of anyone interested in the field of architecture—and provide irrefutable arguments for these works’ continued relevance.