Book Review: Some Ideas On Living In London and Tokyo - Steven Taylor and Ryue Nishizawa

Some Ideas on Living in London and Tokyo is an excellent juxtaposition of the work of two outstanding contemporary architects. It presents a series of residential projects designed by Ryue Nishizawa - one of the founding partners of the Pritzker Prize winning firm Sanaa - followed by a series of projects by London based architect Stephen Taylor.

The beauty of this publication by the Canadian Center for Architecture and Lars Muller Publishers is that it presents each design as a process. It follows the buildings from early conceptual models, sketches, renderings, and developed drawings through to images of the built conclusions. It demonstrates that great architecture is not an isolate vision by rather is a product of hundreds of iterations of a design. An idea is massaged and altered slowly through experimentation before it evolves into it's elegant and simple resolution.

Both of these architects would be classified as minimalists - they utilize clean lines, minimal decoration and pristine details. Their buildings are composed of a simple material palate with clean white interiors and large expanses of glass. Yet the seemingly simple design masks the complexity of the design process that lead to the built outcome. These iterations were on display in the exhibition this book was based on and are captured in the beautiful images presented within its pages. It is a beautiful book that is a great resource for anyone looking for inspiration for residential design.

Some Ideas on Living in London and Tokyo
editor: giovanna borasi
publishers: canadian centre for architecture & lars müller publishers
year: 2008
size: 160 pages, 15 x 21 cm
ISBN: 978-3-03778-150-0
http://www.cca.qc.ca
http://www.lars-mueller-publishers.com
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