Hundertwasser Architecture €37.50
For a more human architecture in harmony with nature
Angelika Taschen (Ed)

`Straight lines are utterly alien to human beings, to life, and to the whole of creation`. Friedensreich Hundertwasser

`A world full of colour`, says Friedensreich Hundertwasser, `is synonymous with paradise`, a maxim that characterises the whole of the artist`s architectural work. Goodbye to functional building, Hundertwasser stands for organic ways of living, with colours and shapes tuned to the natural and the human. `Straight lines`, he says, `are utterly alien to human beings, to life, and to the whole of creation`.

Since beginning his artistic career in the 50s, Hundertwasser has been preoccupied with architecture in his painting. In the early 70s he designed his first architectural models and façades. Success vindicated his vision. With greenery on the rooftops, irregularly positioned windows, gilded turrets and not a straight line in sight, Hundertwasser`s architecture is unmistakable.

This first catalogue raisonné of Hundertwasser`s architecture examines all his buildings and projects, whether realized or not, tracing them from the first sketches, through the models, to completion.

320pp 1997,2007 Hbk Ed 2 247x322

Built by Hand €45.00
Athena Steen, Bill Steen, Yoshio Komatsu (Ill)
Built by Hand is the most extensive documentation ever published of traditional (`vernacular`) buildings throughout the world. With examples from nearly every continent, the book documents the diverse methods people have used to create shelter from locally available natural materials, and shows the impressive handmade finished products through this truly stunning compilation of photographs. Unlike modern buildings that rely on industrially produced materials and highly specialized electric tools and techniques, the shelters featured here represent a rapidly disappearing genre of handcrafted and beautifully composed structures. They are the work of simple people who, as builders and homesteaders, have integrated artistic beauty and practical form into their shelter needs.

Built by Hand offers insights into the world of vernacular building, along with potential solutions to many of the problems that plague modern architecture. It is a must-have collection that preserves and documents the rich cultural past of each structure and its community, and offers inspiration for those looking to build in a way that is motivated by something larger than speed, efficiency, and economic profit.

480pp 2003 Hbk 247x215