Tabletop Tomes
American Equestrian Design, US$55
It’s one thing to create a gorgeous barn, but if its equine occupants don’t appreciate it as much as you do, the point has been missed. Blackburn Architects has become known for engineering breezy stables that keep horses cool in summer and warm in winter. Strategic siting moves air through the spaces and allows for natural light to infuse what might otherwise be dark corners. The firm has also become expert at creating stylish, cosy spaces for the humans, as well as grooming and veterinarian stations within the structures. This tour de force of stunning stables takes you through New England and horse country in the South to projects in the West and Midwest.
Workstead: Interiors of Beauty and Necessity, US$65
Interior-design firm Workstead’s projects combine Danish minimalism with the leather-and-wood accents of American design traditions. As a result, its homes and condos feel both contemporary and practical, balancing light-filled rooms with tranquil-yet-functional layouts. For one project, a Victorian-style mansion in upstate New York, the team added a modern pavilion structure; for an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Workstead redesigned virtually everything, adding oak cabinets to the kitchen and new furniture to the living areas. The studio’s lighting collection, such as the otherworldly Orbit chandelier and the geometric Hieroglyph pendant, pepper the pages. Those who want a small piece of the design practice’s look can purchase these fixtures separately online.
Gilles & Boissier, US$65
Interior-design duo Patrick Gilles and Dorothée Boissier met while working at Liaigre. The couple founded their own practice in 2004; commissions from Moncler CEO Remo Ruffini helped get the ball rolling from there (they’ve since worked on many of the skiwear brand’s retail stores). The Paris-based duo’s work, like much of the interior design found in France, feels incredibly sumptuous and incorporates both ornate furnishings and dynamic artworks. Their book chronicles a wide range of projects, from the opulent Baccarat Hotel in New York to a palatial residence on
Lake Como. It’s a great gift for museum-goers looking to integrate their own collection into a home, as Gilles & Boissier deftly balance art and design in their work.
Koichi Takada: Architecture, Nature and Design, US$75
Of all of Takada’s designs, perhaps the best known is the undulating wooden gift shop he created for the National Museum of
Qatar, which graces his monograph’s cover. Inspired by the crystal-filled Cave of Light nearby, it’s indicative of Takada’s larger oeuvre, which always considers a building’s responsibility to the environment. Because the Sydney–based architect uses only natural materials, there’s a sense of comfort and ease to his work that’s a welcome antithesis to the glass-and-metal boxes of most contemporary architecture. He’s looking to the future, too. One of his most significant in-the-works projects is a residential high-rise that will incorporate more than 1,000 trees and 20,000 plants. Should it pan out as planned, it just may set a new standard for sustainable living.
Kuma. Complete Works 1988—Today, US$200
There’s no question that
Kengo Kuma has significantly changed the shape of contemporary architecture – in particular, his preference for natural materials over manmade ones. Like works from peers Shigeru Ban and Tadao Ando, Kuma’s projects are wide-ranging and take stylistic risks. While he’s now most celebrated for his design of the monolithic, cedar-panelled Japan National Stadium – the centrepiece of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics – he began his career with small-scale projects in rural regions such as Tohoku and Shikoku. In the mid-1990s, he worked on a villa in coastal Shizuoka, where a layer of water covers the terrace, connecting the bay views to the home itself. This retrospective includes 500 photographs and sketches depicting every facet of the prolific Japanese designer’s creative process.