Holiday Gift Books

'Tis the season for spending, giving, receiving, eating, and reading. To get in the mood, I've made a list of some interesting books out just in time for the holiday season, in alphabetical order.





Camera Obscura by Albelardo Morell

Photographs of photography. Black and white images of rooms used as box cameras, upside-down images of New York through a pinhole.





Images: A Picture Book of Architecture by Ilka Ruby, Andreas Ruby, Philip Ursprung

An exploration of 2d images in contemporary architecture.





Great Glass Buildings - 50 Modern Classics by Jenny & Peter Hyatt

An impressive array of projects are presented, each using glass in unique ways.





New York: The Photo Atlas by getmapping

Another New York photography book, this time from above.





Scents of the City by Isabelle Nägele und Ruedi Baur

Obsessive photographs of the ubiquitous clutter of cities around the world, from signage to postal boxes and from London to Tokyo.





Skins for Buildings edited by Piet Vollaard and Els Zijlstra

A visual encyclopedia of 200 different finishes, each in close-up and in context.





Space: Japanese Design Solutions by Michael Freeman

A book on the beauty of small.





Suitcase House by Gary Chang

The architect's contribution to the Commune by the Great Wall, a 40m long rectangular box with pneumatic panels for flexibility.





Tadao Ando: Complete Works by Philip Jodidio

A large, large format monograph on the greatest living Japanese architect.





Zaha Hadid: Complete Works edited by Gordana Fontana Giusti

A unique boxed set covering the career of the Pritzker Prize-winning architect. Different sized books focus on different aspects of her work, such as sketches, plans, models, and the finished building.