ARQUITECTURA Y DISEÑO

Published on the occasion of a major exhibition at Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan, this volume explores the deep and transformative relationship between Louis Vuitton and Japan, which has produced myriad innovative collaborations that have defined the brand and revolutionized contemporary fashion. This fresh perspective on the global impact of the luxury powerhouse follows Louis Vuitton’s journey from pioneering trunk innovations to its outsize influence on global street style, especially in Japan. In the volume, the Maison’s history comes to life, from the evolution of its Monogram logo (which took inspiration, in part, from Japanese design) to the ingenious flat stackable trunk and patented lock innovations, alongside the brand’s bold expansion into Japan. The authors consider the house’s groundbreaking artistic collaborations most notably with artists Takashi Murakami (with his iconic “Monogramouflage”) and Yayoi Kusama (with her signature polka-dot motifs) which transformed Louis Vuitton’s visual identity.

The mid-19th and early 20th centuries heralded new means of transport and equipment and, with them, new and original ways of exploring the world. Transatlantic liners, automobiles, long-haul airplanes, zeppelins, and express trains unfurled new horizons and changed travel itself into an adventure. Distant lands were no longer solely accessible to aristocrats, explorers, and adventurers. Instead, the world opened up to new groups of people eager to circumvent the globe. And for many of these new globetrotters, traveling was synonymous with Louis Vuitton, the French label whose iconic and functional luggage trunks could be found on nearly every boat, plane, car, and train around the world. In this beautiful book, author Francisca Mattéoli recounts 50 tales of thrilling travel undertaken in every possible mode of transit, from the hot air balloon to the space shuttle, each lavishly illustrated with more than 300 historical photographs and ephemera from Louis Vuitton’s official archives. Louis Vuitton: Extraordinary Voyages is a journey all its own—an evocative and transporting account of the most surprising and transformative trips taken since the 19th century.

Written with full access to the company’s archives, this incredible volume demonstrates Louis Vuitton’s passion for fine design with a stunning array of archival art, product designs, and cutting-edge advertising. The company is examined through the lives of its first three leaders—founder Louis (who invented the modern trunk), his son Georges, and his grandson Gaston. Now with fresh information on subjects such as designs for ready-to-wear clothing, shoes, jewelry, and even automobiles, this revised edition includes 20 additional pages and updated material throughout the book, covering the brand’s recent history, with new text and photographs. This book is a work of art, perfect for gifting.

From the mighty halls of ancient Alexandria to the coffered ceilings of the Morgan Library in New York, human beings have had a long, enraptured relationship with libraries. Like no other concept and like no other space, the collection of knowledge, learning, and imagination offers a sense of infinite possibility. It’s the unrivaled realm of discovery, where every faded manuscript or mighty clothbound tome might reveal a provocative new idea, a far-flung fantasy, an ancient belief, a religious conviction, or a whole new way of being in the world.In this new photographic journey, Massimo Listri travels to some of the oldest and finest libraries to reveal their architectural, historical, and imaginative wonder. Through great wooden doors, up spiraling staircases, and along exquisite, shelf-lined corridors, he leads us through outstanding private, public, educational, and monastic libraries, dating as far back as 766. Between them, these medieval, classical, baroque, rococo, and 19th-century institutions hold some of the most precious records of human thought and deed, inscribed and printed in manuscripts, volumes, papyrus scrolls, and incunabula. In each, Listri’s poised images capture the library’s unique atmosphere, as much as their most prized holdings and design details.Featured libraries include the papal collections of the Vatican Apostolic Library and the Trinity College Library, home to the Book of Kells and Book of Durrow. With meticulous descriptions accompanying each featured library, we learn not only of the libraries’ astonishing holdings—from which highlights are illustrated—but also of their often lively, turbulent, or controversial pasts. Like the Franciscan monastery in Lima, Peru, with its horde of archival Inquisition documents.At once a bibliophile beauty pageant, an ode to knowledge, and an evocation of the particular magic of print, Massimo Listri. The World’s Most Beautiful Libraries is above all a cultural-historical pilgrimage to the heart of our halls of learning, to the stories they tell, as much as those they gather in printed matter along polished shelves.

The world’s most important contemporary designers showcase their work within the historic setting of Chatsworth House to shine light and spark conversation on the intriguing juxtaposition of the old and the new, the past and the future, and the evolution of design histories and practices. Chatsworth is an extraordinary environment to experience design: a repository for great works of fine and decorative art commissioned by generations of the Cavendish family for over four centuries. Expanding on the eponymous 2023 exhibition at Chatsworth, Mirror Mirror features the works of sixteen contemporary artists through captivating in-situ photography with accompanying artist biographies and essays that unearth how historic artifacts and environments inform and inspire modern artists' practices today. This diverse group of artists includes Michael Anastassiades, Ini Archibong, Wendell Castle, Andile Dyalvane, Ndidi Ekubia, Najla El Zein, Formafantasma, Joris Laarman, Max Lamb, Fernando Laposse, Jae Sae Jung Oh, Samuel Ross, Chris Schanck, Ettore Sottsass, Faye Toogood, and Joseph Walsh. From lithe, LED lighting structures illuminating the halls of the Chatsworth library to a seating sculpture hand-carved in Iranian travertine in the grand estate’s formal Rose Garden, these modern works create unexpected and timeless connections with the house’s architecture, interiors, furniture, and ceramics.

Above the forest floor, a world of wonder awaits. Tree houses have always captured our imaginations—symbols of escapism, endless youthful summers, and a deep-rooted connection to nature. But today, they’ve evolved beyond childhood hideaways into architectural marvels that blend sustainability and cutting-edge design. So, climb up and explore 62 elaborate tree houses from around the world, each with its own fascinating story. With no single blueprint, they take many forms—some are anchored within towering branches, others mimic the shapes of trees, some shelter in the foliage without touching a trunk. But all have the same goal: to bring us closer to nature.