The plans are drawn up, a site is chosen, foundations are dug: a building comes into being with the expectation that it will stay put and stay for ever. But a building is a capricious thing: it is inhabited and changed, and its existence is a tale of constant and curious transformation. In this radical reimagining of architectural history, Edward Hollis tells the stories of thirteen buildings, beginning with the 'once upon a time' when they first appeared, through the years of appropriation, ruin and renovation, and ending with a temporary 'ever after'. In spell-binding prose, Hollis follows his buildings through time and space to reveal the hidden histories of the Parthenon and the Alhambra, Gloucester Cathedral and Haghia Sofia, Sans Souci and Notre Dame de Paris, Malatesta's Tempio and Loreto, and explores landmarks of our own time, from Hulme's legendary crescents to the Berlin Wall and the fibre-glass theme parks of Las Vegas.

Not since the 1920s has American architecture undergone such fundamental changes asthose which are revitalizing the profession today. But in this period of great artistic fertilityand unrest, there has yet to emerge a critical theory capable of analyzing the conditions andexamining the attitudes by which our architecture is being redefined.Gavin Macrae-Gibson is thefirst of a generation of architects educated in the 1970s to construct a method of criticismpowerful enough to interpret this new architecture. The theory is built upon a close reading ofseven works, all completed in the 1980s: Frank Gehry's Gehry House in Santa Monica, Peter Eisenman'sHouse El Even Odd, Cesar Pelli's Four Leaf Towers in Houston, Michael Graves' Portland PublicService building, Robert Stern's Bozzi residence in East Hampton, Allan Greenberg's ManchesterSuperior Courthouse in Connecticut, and Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown's Gordon Wu Hall atPrinceton.The author uses urban plans, and architectural drawings and photographs to reveal thelayers of meaning present in each building, including the deepest layer-its secret life. At thislevel the buildings have in common the fact that their meaning is derived from the realities of animperfect present and no longer from the anticipation of a utopian future.Gavin Macrae-Gibson is apracticing architect. He has been Visiting Lecturer in Architectural Theory at Yale University since1982, and has taught and lectured widely throughout the United States and Canada. A GrahamFoundation Book.The Graham Foundation Architecture Series Two decades ago, the Graham Foundation forAdvanced Study in the Fine Arts published Robert Venturi's epoch-making Complexity and Contradictionin Architecture in association with the Museum of Modern Art. Now the foundation is renewing itscommitment to architectural literature by announcing the first two titles of a new series it islaunching with The MIT Press.The aim is to publish books that are of crucial importance to thetheory and practice of architecture, and that will enhance the understanding of architecture as ahumanist discipline. The series will feature original texts by contemporary architects, historians,theorists, and critics.

A brilliant, ambitious follow–up to The Secret Lives of Buildings, in which Hollis turns his focus from the great architectural constructions of the past to the now–vanished chambers they once contained. The rooms we live in are always more than just four walls. As we decorate these spaces and fill them with objects and friends, they shape our lives and become the backdrop to our sense of self. one day, the structures will be gone, but even then, traces of the stories and the memories they contained will persist. In this dazzling work of imaginative reconstruction, edward Hollis takes us to the sites of great abodes now lost to history and piecing together the fragments that remain, re–creates their vanished chambers. From Rome's palatine to the old palace of Westminster and the petit Trianon at Versailles, from the sets of MGM studios in Hollywood to the pavilions of the Crystal palace and the author's own grandmother's sitting room, The Memory Palace is a glittering treasure trove of luminous forgotten places and the alluring people who lived in them.

A strikingly original, beautifully narrated history of Western architecture and the cultural transformations that it represents Concrete, marble, steel, brick: little else made by human hands seems as stable, as immutable, as a building. Yet the life of any structure is neither fixed nor timeless. Outliving their original contexts and purposes, buildings are forced to adapt to each succeeding age. To survive, they must become shape-shifters. In an inspired refashioning of architectural history, Edward Hollis recounts more than a dozen stories of such metamorphosis, highlighting the way in which even the most familiar structures all change over time into "something rich and strange." The Parthenon, that epitome of a ruined temple, was for centuries a working church and then a mosque; the cathedral of Notre Dame was "restored" to a design that none of its original makers would have recognized. Remains of the Berlin Wall, meanwhile, which was once gleefully smashed and bulldozed, are now treated as precious relics. With The Secret Lives of Buildings, Edward Hollis recounts the most enthralling of these metamorphoses and shows how buildings have come to embody the history of Western culture.

A revised and updated edition of the landmark work the New York Times hailed as “a call to action for every developer, building owner, shareholder, chief executive, manager, teacher, worker and parent to start demanding healthy buildings with cleaner indoor air.” For too long we’ve designed buildings that haven’t focused on the people inside—their health, their ability to work effectively, and what that means for the bottom line. An authoritative introduction to a movement whose vital importance is now all too clear, Healthy Buildings breaks down the science and makes a compelling business case for creating healthier offices, schools, and homes. As the COVID-19 crisis brought into sharp focus, indoor spaces can make you sick—or keep you healthy. Fortunately, we now have the know-how and technology to keep people safe indoors. But there is more to securing your office, school, or home than wiping down surfaces. Levels of carbon dioxide, particulates, humidity, pollution, and a toxic soup of volatile organic compounds from everyday products can influence our health in ways people aren’t always aware of. This landmark book, revised and updated with the latest research since the COVID-19 pandemic, lays out a compelling case for more environmentally friendly and less toxic offices, schools, and homes. It features a concise explanation of disease transmission indoors, and provides tips for making buildings the first line of defense. Joe Allen and John Macomber dispel the myth that we can’t have both energy-efficient buildings and good indoor air quality. We can—and must—have both. At the center of the great convergence of green, smart, and safe buildings, healthy buildings are vital to the push for more sustainable urbanization that will shape our future.

* * * 'Informative and entertaining, this publication is a feast for the eyes, while also thought provoking, and offers excellent inspiration for daydreaming about what makes the perfect, modern house.' Wallpaper 'A fascinating selection of innovative homes....this is a thoughtful journey through the evolution of domestic architecture.' Sunday Express Over the last century the way that we live at home has changed dramatically. Nothing short of a design revolution has transformed our houses and the spaces within them - moving from traditional patterns of living all the way through to an era of more fluid, open-plan and modern styles. Whether we live in a new home or a period house, our spaces will have been shaped one way or another by the pioneering Modernists and Mid-century architects and designers who argued for a fresh way of life. Architectural and design writer Dominic Bradbury charts the course of this voyage all the way from the late 19th century through to the houses of today in this ground-breaking book. Over nineteen thematic chapters, he explains the way our houses have been reinvented, while taking in - along the way - the giants of Art Deco, influential Modernists including Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as post-war innovators such as Eero Saarinen and Philip Johnson. Taking us from the 20th to the 21st century, Bradbury explores the progress of 'modernity' itself and reveals the secret history of our very own homes.

Forced to take shelter when their Syrian city is plagued with bombings, young Nour and her cousin begin to bravely build a secret underground library. Based on the author’s own life experience and inspired by a true story, Nour’s Secret Library is about the power of books to heal, transport and create safe spaces during difficult times. Illustrations by Romanian artist Vali Mintzi superimpose the colorful world the children construct over black-and-white charcoal depictions of the battered city.