Holiday Gift List of Design Books

With the public increase in design consciousnesss has come a welcome increase in books about design.

Some of this season’s more general offerings, with an emphasis on interior design, were noted by me in a recent wrap-up for this newspaper’s Book Review section. The following are a selection of others I feel that have a more focused view of architecture and also might make an appropriate gift.

Of particular regional interest is “Romanza: The California Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright,” text by David Gebhard, photography by Scot Zimmerman (Chronicle: $29.95), featuring brief descriptions of about 24 projects Wright designed in California during his prolific career. The effort falls into a fragmented crack between being an informed guidebook and a light history. Still, for those like myself with a fascination for the varied, singular creations of Wright, the book is engaging, if pricey, the latter no doubt because of the wealth of color plates.

More studied, style conscious and topical is “Modern Classicism” by Robert A. M. Stern (Rizzoli: $45). For design theorist, practitioner and promoter Stern, architecture is a continuum, with roots deep in the Classical tradition. With this as a thesis, Stern rationalizes the march of “isms” up through the current conflicting canons of Post Modernism, and creates not-so-neat categories into which he places a host of current designers. This includes grouping Charles Moore, Frank Gehry, Arata Isozaki and Frank Israel, among others, under the category of “ironic classicism,” and Stern’s own work, along with that of Michael Graves, under “modern traditionalism.”

While one may scoff at Stern’s arbitrary and gratuitous selections and structuring of styles and history, his insights are provocative, the writing refreshingly clear and the illustrations excellent. The total is a tasty, if not tart offering, good for both browsing over and arguing.

In the same mode, though slimmer is “The New Classicism In Architecture and Urbanism,” (Academy Editions/St. Martin’s Press: $19.95. soft-cover). Composed of essays, articles and reviews exploring the classicist content of varied projects, the book has a slapdash quality that, while contradicting its subject, makes for interesting reading.

In the current rising design consciousness, engineering, generally, has been an afterthought, something recognized as necessary but secondary to styling, even in the fashioning of high-tech solutions. But engineering also can be quite elegant, as illustrated by the projects celebrated in “The Great Engineers,” edited by Derek Walker (St. Martin’s: $50).

Composed of 22 essays focusing on the most notable engineering achievements of the last 150 years, the book, published in association with The Royal College of Art of England, is a fascinating glimpse of the profession coming to grips with a range of challenges. Included are such projects as the prefabrication of the landmark Crystal Palace of 19th-Century London, the expansion of the railroad, the design of public health systems, the construction of various buildings thought at first to be unbuildable, the placement of oil rigs in the North Sea, and the emergence of solid state electronics.

In addition, there are short biographies of some of the great engineers and a chronology of notable inventions, adding up to an excellent gift for anyone interested in engineering, and its contribution to art, architecture, and industry.

However, for something less pricey for those with an interest in engineering an alternative might be “Great American Bridges and Dams by Donald C. Jackson (The Preservation Press: $16.95), a modest guide to these very visible, and notable, civil engineering feats across the country and their historical significance.

This is another in a series of well-illustrated and designed soft-cover books published by the Preservation Press under the auspices of the National Trust for Historic Preservation focusing on Americas architectural and design heritage.

Others of note include “Built in the USA,” edited by Diane Maddex ($8.95), which explores various building types, from airports to zoos; “America’s Architectural Roots,” edited by Dell Upton ($9.95;), which examines the ethnic derivations of America’s buildings, and “Master Builders,” edited by Diane Maddex ($9.95, which presents short, illustrated biographies of more than 100 of America’s more renowned architects and builders. All make excellent, reasonable stocking stuffers for those with an interest in architecture, design and historic preservation.

Also for the stocking stuffers new from Preservation Press are two post card albums, “Ducks and Diners” and “Picture Palaces,” each $6.95, and each consisting of 24 full color, perforated, ready-to-mail post cards exuding the glory days of roadside attractions and exuberant movie theaters.

If you are tempted not to mail such post cards, and prefer them instead as the focus of a richly designed, well-illustrated light history, consider then “Greetings From Southern California,” (Graphic Arts Center: $24.95). With an introduction and comments and captions by Monica Highland, a composite local pop author, the book is a relaxed romp across a golden landscape, paced by a wealth of colorful post cards that echo “wish you were here.” And when leafing through the book, you are indeed there.

For glimpses of how Los Angeles looked then, and now, warmly recommended is a 1989 calendar called “The Changing Face of L.A.” (Photoventures Publishing, 2880 Rowena Ave. LA 90039, 213/668-1277, $10.95). The sometimes stark, sometimes provocative, and sometimes evocative photos are by William Reagh, who has been conscientiously recording city scenes since 1935.

Featured each month in the calendar shaped by Matthew Marchand is a photo of a particular view of the city taken in the past, and matched with a recent photo of the same view at present. The result is a dramatic montage of a city in flux, and a reminder that the only constant in Los Angeles is change, and that 1989 is almost upon us.