Midnight Modern brings into focus a view of Palm Springs and its internationally renowned modernist houses never before shown, shot entirely by the light of the full moon. Created over the course of three years by Australian photographer Tom Blachford, the surreal images function as portals in time, with the homes, cars, and beautiful scenery appearing almost exactly as it all did 60 years ago. The crisp moonlight adds a new dimension to the famous mecca of desert modernism and shows a contrasting side of a town famous for its sunshine, cocktails, and hedonism. Working closely with the Palm Springs community, Blachford gained remarkable access to some of the most coveted architectural jewels in the area, including the Kaufmann Desert House, Edris House, Frey House II, Frank Sinatra Twin Palms Estate, and dozens of restored Alexander tract homes in the valley. Blachford's work builds on the famous documentary and lifestyle approaches of Julius Shulman and Slim Aarons, but injects a signature mystery. His cinematic aesthetic acts as a stage for an untold narrative, inviting the viewer to script their own drama going on behind the walls of these historic homes. This original, lush work is a rich contribution to the record for those midcentury architecture and design lovers fascinated by Palm Springs.

If you design some of the most stylish and beautiful modern houses in the Los Angeles area, including many for celebrityclients, how do you ensure that the projects are built to the standards you, and your patrons, demand? If you're the highlysought-after firm of Marmol Radziner + Associates, you do what an increasing number of practices are doing: becomeyour own contractor, building your projects with the same rigor and beauty with which they were designed, and, in theprocess, remake your firm into one of the most visible and successful design-build firms in the country. Praised as "modernist savants" by the New York Times, Marmol Radziner + Associates have redefined the indoor-outdoor California lifestyle made famous by legendary mid-century modernists such as Richard Neutra and Albert Frey. Their multifaceted projects include not only residential, commercial, and institutional buildings but also mid-century modern home restorations, furniture, and prefab home manufacturing. Whether building a Hollywood hideaway that floats ethereally over a lush garden or a childcare center for LAX airport employees, each project embodies the philosophy of the firm by integrating finely crafted details with technically inventive modern spaces. Marmol Radziner + Associates explains in detail how this pioneering design-build firmone of the few led by architectshas managed to integrate buildinginstallation, construction, and fabrication into one seamless design process. Architects Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner give an open and honest account of the inner workings of their award-winning firm. Their personal perspectives combined with interviews with employees, clients, and collaborators highlight the synergistic nature of their work. This unique monograph takes the reader from the early stages of conceptual design all the way through construction with special attention focused on their innovative solutions to a variety of on-site challenges.

"An important contribution to the understanding of 'modernist' culture in the United States and a perceptive analysis of the achievement of a major American architect, with a European background and an international reputation."--William Jordy, Brown University "This study, part biography and part architectural analysis, is a modern masterpiece of architectural history. The prose is lucid and sometimes elegant--very much like the work of Richard Neutra which it so brilliantly examines."--Peter Gay, Yale University "An important contribution to the understanding of 'modernist' culture in the United States and a perceptive analysis of the achievement of a major American architect, with a European background and an international reputation."--William Jordy, Brown University

This is the first monograph featuring the work of architect Mickey Muennig. Muennig is an important proponent of organic architecture, creating highly individualized structures and spaces that express the dreams and needs of his clients, while complementing the natural environment. He has designed buildings, most notably in the Big Sur area of California’s Central Coast, that blend with their surroundings, incorporate passive energy features, and utilize natural materials in original ways. Maintaining a daring balance between past and future, Muennig’s unique work captures the iconoclastic spirit of Big Sur. Mickey Muennig studied architecture under Bruce Goff at the University of Oklahoma. Upon graduating, he worked on various architectural projects around the country until a fortuitous vacation to Big Sur on California’s Central Coast in 1971 changed his life forever. He subsequently moved there, and has lived and worked in Big Sur ever since. Muennig was recognized by Architectural Digest as one of the top 100 architects in the United States in 2000 and 2002.

A superb visual reference to the principles of architecture Now including interactive CD-ROM! For more than thirty years, the beautifully illustrated Architecture: Form, Space, and Order has been the classic introduction to the basic vocabulary of architectural design. The updated Third Edition features expanded sections on circulation, light, views, and site context, along with new considerations of environmental factors, building codes, and contemporary examples of form, space, and order. This classic visual reference helps both students and practicing architects understand the basic vocabulary of architectural design by examining how form and space are ordered in the built environment.? Using his trademark meticulous drawing, Professor Ching shows the relationship between fundamental elements of architecture through the ages and across cultural boundaries. By looking at these seminal ideas, Architecture: Form, Space, and Order encourages the reader to look critically at the built environment and promotes a more evocative understanding of architecture. In addition to updates to content and many of the illustrations, this new edition includes a companion CD-ROM that brings the book's architectural concepts to life through three-dimensional models and animations created by Professor Ching.

Through Julius Shulman’s lens, the architecture of Southern California became iconic images of modernism. His photographs heralded the glamor and casual elegance of a lifestyle and architecture that has become revered worldwide. Focusing on the desert paradise of Palm Springs, which was his seminal crucible, this book presents his masterpieces. Images range from Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House and Albert Frey’s Raymond Loewy House, to Paul R. Williams’ house for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Frank Sinatra’s house, John Lautner’s house for Bob Hope, as well as other famous landmarks. The book features more than sixty buildings by fifteen of the most notable mid-twentieth-century architects. With new photography and images culled from his personal collection as well as the Getty Center, this book includes many images never before seen.