If there’s one thing Dallas needs, it’s better designed housing, and lots of it. In his new book, Building in Place: Architecture Rooted in Context and Social Equity (Rizzoli, $65), architect Lorcan O’Herlihy shows that economy and beauty are not mutually exclusive, and that building quality housing at scale is in fact possible. The book illustrates a range of the Los Angeles-based architect’s projects, including subsidized, student, and market-rate housing, all inventive in their use of materials and — especially — color.
Building healthier, more inclusive housing is also the subject of Vishaan Chakrabarti’s latest monograph, The Architecture of Urbanity: Designing for Nature, Culture, and Joy (Princeton, $37). To keep up with global population growth, Chakrabarti argues, will require the construction of 2.4 trillion square feet of new space over the next 40 years. That’s a lot of new building, and here Chakrabarti makes an argument for dense urban spaces as the solution for a healthy planet.
Those books tackle heady, difficult subjects. James Biber’s The Architect & Designer Birthday Book (PA Press, $45), is a happy contrast, a sugary treat between floppy covers. It is exactly what it claims to be: every page is dedicated to a date in the calendar, with a short essay on a notable architect or designer born on that day. I’m sure just about everyone who picks it up immediately flips to see who shares their birthday. April 15? That’s Leonardo Da Vinci. March 5? Louis Kahn. October 5? Maya Lin. Biber (March 3) is not only a gifted designer but a friendly authorial companion, offering personalized capsule histories of every birthday boy and girl. A perfect gift. Or just get one for yourself.
