Mondo Lounge III

Pad: The Guide to Ultra-Living

The Book of Tiki
Kirsten, Sven
The official book of the world of Tiki. Do not enter the world of Polynesian pop without the sacred knowledge of Sven A. Kirsten.

California Crazy and Beyond: Roadside Vernacular Architecture
Heiman, Jim
A hot-dog joint shaped like a puppy, an antique store replicating a Japanese temple, Van de Kamp's windmill-shaped bakeries, houses resembling beached boats these are just a few of the architectural curiosities featured in Jim Heimann's CLASSIC California Crazy & Beyond: Roadside Vernacular Architecture, an expanded edition, including 386 color and b&w illustrations, of his California Crazy of nearly 20 years ago.

Contemporary : Architecture and Interiors of the 1950s
Jackson, Lesley (Editor)
In the years after World War II, the theory-laden modern movement blossomed into popular contemporary design. Le Corbusier and Levitt, Brussels and L.A. reinforced concrete and Formica--all became part of a trend towards sleek, functional, pared-down design. This excellent book could have been a compendium of '50s architectural and interior memorabilia, and therefore a success with nostalgia buffs (who will also love it), but it is far more than that. Lesley Jackson has written an intelligent, entertaining book on the intersection of life and design in the postwar era. One of our favorite coffee table books!

Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture
Hess, Alan
A nostalgic trip back to the '50s and a look forward at the architectural future. This book is an all-time QUINTESSENTIAL classic and the standard by which all others are judged--a must own! It's out-of-prit so get one while you can...

1000 Chairs
Fiell, Charlotte, Peter Fiell (Editor), Simone Philippi
Sleek, stuffed, buttoned, or bent, in the den or the dining room, the chair is an indicator of its owner's identity. Chairs make up much of the interior landscape of our homes and workplaces, and a comfortable chair is considered a great asset in either location. A rigorous survey of the last 150 years of chairs, 1000 Chairs is a pictorial guide to the axiom "you are where you sit."

Blueprint for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses
Smith, Elizabeth A. T.
One of Southern California's most significant contributions to modern architecture was the Case Study House program sponsored by John Entenza's Art & Architecture magazine. Between 1945 and 1966, thirty-six experimental prototypes were designed and the majority built. Featuring some of the most important architects of the region and generation--including Charles Eames, Craig Ellwood, A. Quincy Jones, Pierre Koenig, Richard Neutra, and Raphael Soriano--the program reflected the modernist goal of reinventing the house as a way of redefining living.

Mid-Century Modern : Furniture of the 1950s
Greenberg, Cara and Tim Street-Porter (Photographer)
This highly praised celebration of '50s design recalls the wonders of boomerang-shaped coffee tables, the funky curvaceousness of biomorphic furniture, the industrial sleekness of cool metals, and other design delights. Will undoubtedly foster a new appreciation of furniture from the '50s.

Palm Springs Weekend: The Architecture and Design of a Midcentury Oasis
Hess, Alan and Andrew Danish
Alan Hess offers an authoritative yet refreshingly nondoctrinaire view of the various ways European and American architects--some famous, some not--adapted the canons of modernism to suit the desert climate, landscape, and lifestyle. With evocative vintage photographs and an engagingly retro design by Andrew Danish, this is one of the most enjoyable popular architecture books in years.

Southern California in the '50s: Sun, Fun and Fantasy
Pheonix, Charles
Charles Phoenix has obviously spent countless hours researching this book. The amazing photos and memorabilia gathered here are priceless and worthy of more than a mere cursory examination. Where else could you see this stuff? His text evokes memories of innocent times we'll never see again. I'm giving this book to co-workers, family, and friends as holiday gifts. I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't treasure this book

Modernism Rediscovered
Serraino, Pierluigi
This book is made of the essence of modernism. All photos are taken during the original time period. It is a great lesson of architecture. This treasure trove will captivate architecture historians and mid-century modern design buffs. Shulman's slick, elegant renderings of buildings amount to an unusual and intriguing look at some of modernism's less celebrated works.

Books on Specific Architects and Designers

Neutra

Pierre Koenig
Steele, James, David Jenkins, Pierre Koenig
Pierre Koenig (b. 1925) is a leading figure of the Modern movement in America, and a guiding influence in the "Case Study House Program". This is the first full study of Koenig's career, providing an unparalleled insight into the evolution of Modernism on the West Coast. Koenig designed and built his first exposed steel house in 1950. In 1957 he was chosen to design Case Study Houses #21 and #22. These houses have become iconic, capturing the excitement and optimism of the period. This book includes new and vintage photographs together with the architect's original drawings.

The Architecture of R. M. Schindler
Schindler, R. M. and Michael Darling (Compiler)
Intuitive and pragmatic, embracing the free flow of indoor and outdoor space, the houses designed in California by R.M. Schindler are among the most celebrated examples of 20th-century domestic architecture in the United States.

The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention
Albrecht, Donald (Editor), Beatriz Colomina, Joseph Giovannini, Charles Eames, Philip Morrison
Published on the occasion of a major international traveling exhibition organized by the U.S. Library of Congress and the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany (holders of the two richest Eames collections in the world), this comprehensive volume is a testament to the Eameses' belief that good design could improve people's lives. From the 1940s to the 1970s, the prolific husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames designed furniture, buildings, exhibitions, and interiors, and made films.

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