Specialised Books

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) possessed one of the greatest minds of all time; his importance and influence are inestimable. This two-volume, midsize format comprehensive survey is the most complete book ever made on the subject of this Italian painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, scientist and all-around genius. With huge, full-bleed details of Leonardo’s masterworks, this highly original publication allows the reader to inspect the subtlest facets of his brushstrokes.

Part I explores Leonardo’s life and work in ten chapters. All of his paintings are interpreted in depth, with The Annunciation and The Last Supper featured on large double-spreads.
Part II comprises a catalogue raisonné of Leonardo’s paintings, which covers all of his surviving and lost painted works and includes texts describing their states of preservation.
Part III contains an extensive catalogue of his drawings (numbering in the thousands, they cannot all be reproduced in one book); 663 are presented, arranged by category (architecture, technical, anatomical, figures, proportion, cartography, etc).

Color Drawing: Design Drawing Skills

The Third Edition of Michael Doyle's classic Color Drawing remains the ultimate up-to-date resource for professionals and students who need to develop and communicate design ideas with clear, attractive, impressive color drawings.

Update with over 100 pages, this Third Edition contains an entirely new section focused on state-of-the-art digital techniques to greatly enhance the sophistication of presentation drawings, and offers new and innovative ideas for the reproduction and distribution of finished drawings. Color Drawing, Third Edition Features:
* A complete body of illustrated instructions demonstrating drawing development from initial concept through final presentation
* Finely honed explanations of each technique and process
* Faster and easier ways to create design drawings
* Over 100 new pages demonstrating methods for combining hand-drawn and computer-generated drawing techniques

Step-by-step, easy-to-follow images will lead you through digital techniques to quickly and easily enhance your presentation drawings.

Greece: Splendours of a Civilization

Ancient Greece was the cradle of western civilization; its influence reverberates today in almost every sphere of life, from philosophy and politics to literature and art. This volume explores in almost 400 stunning colour photographs the best of its architecture, paintings, sculptures and brilliantly sophisticated pottery and metalwork. This superb overview of the extraordinary riches of Greek art encompasses every era, from the abstract purity of the Cycladic figurines and the perfection of the Classical period to the 'baroque' of the Hellenistic era. The accessible and wide-ranging text begins in the Bronze Age with Minoan Crete, and proceeds through the glories of 5th-century Athens and the birth of democracy, to the feats of Alexander the Great and ultimately to Greece's conquest by Rome. Further sections examine other essential aspects of Greek culture, including architecture, religion, theatre, sport and warfare. Completing the volume is a spectacular itinerary that takes in the most beautiful cities of ancient Greece and its colonies, including Asia Minor and southern Italy. Descriptions are brought to life and cities restored to their former glory in specially commissioned colour reconstructions, including several fold-outs. With numerous diagrams, site plans, maps and a glossary, Greece: Splendours of an Ancient Civilization is a panoramic study of one of the most important periods in human history.

A World History of Architecture

The Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius declared firmitas, utilitas, and venustas-firmness, commodity, and delight- to be the three essential attributes of architecture. These qualities are brilliantly explored in this book, which uniquely comprises both a detailed survey of Western architecture, including Pre-Columbian America, and an introduction to architecture from the Middle East, India, Russia, China, and Japan. The text encourages readers to examine closely the pragmatic, innovative, and aesthetic attributes of buildings, and to imagine how these would have been praised or criticized by contemporary observers. Artistic, economic, environmental, political, social, and technological contexts are discussed so as to determine the extent to which buildings met the needs of clients, society at large, and future generations.

Hockney's Portraits and People

This work is a record of the life and loves of one of the world's best known artists, David Hockney. It tells the story of Hockney's relationships with family, friends and lovers, illustrated by works ranging from the intimate to the large-scale.

Visual Encyclopedia of Architecture

Neoclassical and 19th Century Architecture

This volume offers a complete survey of European architecture during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, examining in particular the influence of the cultural trends of the period on the architects' works. The first section of the book deals with the history of eighteenth-century architecture in France and England, countries where Cartesian-school philosophical speculation and Anglo-Saxon philosophical empiricism wielded a determining influence. After analysing the developments of the classical tradition and its propagation throughout Europe, the book studies in depth the history of architectural movements, comprising neo-classicism, neo-Renaissance and neo-Gothic architecture. The outstanding, forerunning personalities of this brilliant artistic period who, in the course of the nineteenth century, offered fecund theoretic and stylistic contributions, include Gottfried Semper, John Ruskin and Eugene Viollet-le Duc.

The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance

Guides the reader from the earliest revivals of Roman style to the villas of Palladio and Vignola. Each of the great architects is clearly and sensitively discussed. 202 illustrations.

American Architecture

In this reference book on architecture in America, Cyril Harris covers everything to do with the built environment, from construction materials and techniques to decorative terms and practical devices, from dogtrot cabin to skyscraper. The entries - including over 2500 definitions and nearly 1000 illustrations - are complemented with historical or biographical nuggets.

Architectural Details - Stairs

First of all: Stairs are an essential structure for crossing height differences ? whether dynamic or elegant, modern or traditional, narrow or spacious. But beside this function as an article of daily use stairs are also a medium to express a specific way

Architectural Details - Windows

Windows serve as the eye of the house. They provide contact between the internal world of a building and the world outside ? windows permit light, air and glances to move into the space but also establish a connection to the outer world for all people ins

Bar and Restaurant Interiors

The latest title in the Interior Structures series offers real-world design solutions for bars and restaurants from some of the most influential names working today. Bar and Restaurant Interior Structures is a visual thesaurus of design ideas from bar and restaurant interiors around the world. With a critique and photographic spread for each location, this book offers a fascinating look at how these interiors were put together. For each project spatial qualities, lighting design and use of materials are all analysed and compared to provide the technical background to these striking interiors.

Lavishly illustrated with colour photographs throughout.

Includes the work of internationally renowned architects and interior designers, including Conran and Partners, Diller and Scofidio, Jakob and Macfarlane, Branson Coates and more.

An inspiring source book for architects and interior designers working in this area.