This engaging book presents the first critical retrospective look at the extraordinary architectural achievement of Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and their firm. Known for such prominent buildings as the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery in London and the Seattle Art Museum as well as such major urban revitalisation plans as Washington Avenue in Miami and South Street in Philadelphia, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates changed the face of architectural history. This husband and wife team rejected the universality of modernist design for a particularised contextual and associational approach to building, lauding the "complexity and contradictions" in the historic citycape and "learning from Las Vegas" the value and vitality of the everyday environment. The book, which combines both biography and critical analysis, includes essays on the firm's early and later architectural works and on their lesser-known decorative arts. It also features handsome colour plates of the firm's buildings, architectural drawings, and furniture and other decorative arts, as well as a checklist of all their buildings and projects. The catalogue accompanies a major exhibition that opens at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in June of 2001 and then travels to the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla, California; and the Heinz Architectural Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Out of the Ordinary: Architecture, Urbanism, Design

Arts & Photography

Hiesinger, Kathryn B.

De Long, David G.

Brownlee, David

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

Yale University Press

The Philadelphia Museum of Art was founded in 1876, after its home city hosted the Centennial, with the primary goal of acquiring important examples of contemporary design and decorative arts. Collecting Modern explores for the first time the development and significance of this extraordinary collection, making unprecedented use of the Museum's archival resources, much of which has never been published. This overview reveals changing attitudes toward collecting over time, as Philadelphia (historically a conservative city) and its flagship museum were confronted with the dramatic aesthetic shifts heralded by modernism. 
From being the largest institutional collector of Tiffany glass in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to coaxing Florence Knoll Bassett out of retirement in 2005 to design her own exhibition, the Museum has made a unique contribution to the history of design through its collections and programs. Providing a thoughtful analysis of the Museum's history as a steward of contemporary decorative arts, this beautiful publication is a vital reference for anyone interested in the history of museums, decorative arts, and design.

Collecting Modern: Design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Since 1876

History & Criticism

Pritzker Prize–winning architect Zaha Hadid (b. 1950), known internationally for her radically innovative buildings, has designed furniture and objects since the beginning of her professional practice. This lesser-known aspect of her career takes center stage for the first time in the United States in Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion, which includes furniture, lighting, footwear, jewelry, and other objects that are as experimental in their design as any of her buildings.
This eye-opening book uncovers Hadid's commercial designs, made between 1995 and 2011, as a means of exploring the interrelationships among architecture, urbanism, and design that define her work. The texts, photographs, and drawings demonstrate Hadid's groundbreaking use of technology in digital design and manufacturing, and the methods and processes that propel her revolutionary formal language. The book also records the installation of her designs within a sculptural environment that the artist created for their display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion

Landmarks Of Twentieth-century Design: An Illustrated Handbook

A comprehensive study of international design, with essays on the trends, innovations, and significant objects of each period covered

Landmarks of Twentieth-Century Design: An Illustrated Handbook

Marcus, George

Graphic Design

Abbeville Press

Continuing the popular and illuminating "Speak" series, this handsomely designed volume offers a user-friendly lexicon of the decorative arts. Understanding antiques requires knowledge of a specialized vocabulary that tells initiates what something is, where it came from, and when it was made. AntiqueSpeak provides this essential information in concise but illuminating essays that cover almost a millennium of styles (such as Baroque and Art Deco), materials (glass, ivory), types of objects (furniture, toys and games), specialized areas of collecting (folk art, Judaica), and concerns involved with acquiring and caring for antiques (auctions, condition, marks and signatures). In addition, the book includes a handy one-page StyleChart; a section of color plates (one for each major style); an album of ornaments and classical orders, represented by line drawings; labeled drawings of selected furniture types; an introduction that explains how to use the book; and an invaluable index that provides dates and nationalities for all the designers, craftsmen, artists, and others discussed in the entries.

AntiqueSpeak: A Guide to the Styles, Techniques, and Materials of the Decorative Arts, from the Renaissance to Art Deco (Speak Series)

Marcus, George H.

Understanding antiques requires knowledge of a specialized vocabulary that tells initiates what something is, where it came from, and when it was made. AntiqueSpeak provides this essential information in concise but illuminating essays that cover almost a millennium of styles (such as Baroque and Art Deco), materials (glass, ivory), types of objects (furniture, toys and games), specialized areas of collecting (folk art, Judaica), and concerns involved with acquiring and caring for antiques (auctions, condition, marks and signatures). In addition, the book includes a handy one-page StyleChart; a section of color plates (one for each major style); an album of ornaments and classical orders, represented by line drawings; labeled drawings of selected furniture types; an introduction that explains how to use the book; and an invaluable index that provides dates and nationalities for all the designers, craftsmen, artists, and others discussed in the entries.

Antiquespeak: A Guide to the Styles, Techniques, and Materials of the Decorative Arts, from the Renaissance to Art Deco

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Antiques & Collectibles

Japanese Design: A Survey Since 1950

Fischer, Felice

Philadelphia Museum of Art

This comprehenisve study of international design includes essays on trends, innovations and significant objects of each decade of the 20th century. Hundreds of illustrations accompany detailed discussions of the aesthetic and intellectual impact of 20th-century design.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hiesinger, Kathryn B.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hiesinger, Kathryn B.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hiesinger, Kathryn B.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Out of the Ordinary: Architecture, Urbanism, Design

Collecting Modern: Design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Since 1876

Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion

Landmarks of Twentieth-Century Design: An Illustrated Handbook

AntiqueSpeak: A Guide to the Styles, Techniques, and Materials of the Decorative Arts, from the Renaissance to Art Deco (Speak Series)

Antiquespeak: A Guide to the Styles, Techniques, and Materials of the Decorative Arts, from the Renaissance to Art Deco

Japanese Design: A Survey Since 1950

Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion

Landmarks of Twentieth-Century Design: An Illustrated Handbook