Summer books of 2019: Architecture and design

Essays on Architecture and City Planning , by Hermann Czech, edited and translated by Elise Feiersinger, Park Books, RRP€29/$30

“Architecture is not life. Architecture is background. Everything else is not architecture.” Czech is an old-fashioned, serious architect and this is a serious, old-fashioned book of essays in the vein of his Austrian predecessors from a century ago, Adolf Loos, Karl Kraus and the others. Occasionally dry, always brutally honest and occasionally even funny, the clarity of thought shines through.

Henry van de Velde: The Artist as Designer from Art Nouveau to Modernism, by Richard Hollis, Occasional Papers, RRP£20

Written and designed by graphic designer Hollis, himself a hugely influential figure (he collaborated with John Berger on Ways of Seeing), this is a designer’s take on the designer’s designer. Van de Velde (1863-1957) almost single-handedly initiated Modernism and established the school in Weimar that would become the Bauhaus, where others would take over. His work remains, perhaps, overshadowed by those others and Hollis sets the record straight.

Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design , by Theo Inglis, Batsford, RRP£20

A gorgeously seductive trawl through the vivid archives of mid-century graphics from record sleeves and travel posters to public information and Mad Men-era ads, this irresistible book documents the high-point of both consumption and marketing. There could have been more jazz LPs but otherwise a colourful, enjoyable blast.

Non-Referential Architecture , by Valerio Olgiati and Markus Breitschmid, Park Books, RRP€25/$25

A bit of a cult book, this, first published in 2018 and now in a revised edition. Swiss architect Olgiati argues that an age that rejects ideology should have a non-ideological architecture. One way, he suggests, to rid ourselves of the dogmas of Modernism and the excesses of Postmodernism is to create an architecture based on nothing but itself. No references, no history, no meaning, just space and the emotion it imparts. This is a rare readable and intriguing contribution to architectural theory.

Stone Men: The Palestinians who Built Israel, by Andrew Ross, Verso, RRP£16.99/Bloomsbury, RRP$34.99

“They demolish our houses while we build theirs.” All the sorrow and pain of these stories is present in this brief quote from a Palestinian stonemason the author met standing in line at an Israeli checkpoint. The Palestinians have skilfully worked the stone of the land that was once theirs into cities and settlements for the Israelis. Nuanced and not flinching from criticism of both sides, this is a moving story of craft, material and culture.

Edwin Heathcote is the FT’s architecture critic

For a look at the best summer books across genres, go to ft.com/summerbooks2019

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