Miami: Hot and Cool

In brilliant color, Hot and Cool pays tribute to the diverse and distinctive architecture of this city of contrasts. Blending the exotic with the suburban, the historic with the up-to-the-minute, the deceptively humble with the ultra-extravagant, Miami is an amalgam of classic Art Deco, sleek modernity, tropical lushness, and palatial elegance. The warm tints and cool stonework of the Mediterranean tradition are a natural fit with Miami's climate, as evidenced by the Italianate splendor of Villa Vizcaya or the more modest but nevertheless stylish bungalows of Coconut Grove. Everywhere the colors shine in electric-hued walls, bright pottery, mosaic tiles, lush vegetation. Boasting more than 400 photos of more than two dozen homes, this volume also provides a mini-lesson on the cultural history of a unique city. --Amy Handy