1

India Mahdavi

This long-awaited monograph does not disappoint. With art direction by Studio Achermann, the tactile, large-format tome elegantly traces 20-plus years of the Paris architect–designer’s career. Much more than a vanity project, it incorporates a thoughtfully curated treasure trove of drawings, sketches and models to unfold Mahdavi’s creative process, while an extensive interview charts the depths of her philosophy, from her embrace of genius loci to her own Iranian heritage.

Whether it’s furniture or branding or iconic restaurant interiors — think Hôtel Le Cloître in Arles and London’s Sketch restaurant, where she practically invented millennial pink — there’s ample thought behind all that delicious colour, which makes the experience even sweeter.

2

Guest Crit

Full of shit talk but free of bullshit, with insights on everything from housing policy to smart cities, starchitecture and suburban shopping malls, the Twitch-streamed Guest Crit presented by Failed Architecture, is a singular presence and a breath of fresh air among architectural media. Joined by a rotating cast of friends (previous guests have included the writers Alexandra Lange and Eva Hagberg), hosts Kate Wagner, Kevin Rogan and Michael Nicholas offer a take on contemporary design that’s delightfully bereft of academic and architectural jargon. Catch the stream on the last Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. EST.

3

Form and Flow: The Spatial Politics of Urban Resilience and Climate Justice

“If we know anything, we know that the future will be urbanized and that the urbanized future will be defined by what we have done to climate.” For architect, author and UCLA urban planning professor Kian Goh, these sobering facts were the genesis for a vital examination of urban geography in the climate crisis. How are cities responding to the reality of global warming, and, more importantly, how do their responses affect social equity? Analyzing climate resilience plans — and the community opposition to them — in Rotterdam, New York and Jakarta, Goh’s academically robust yet community-oriented book traces the conflicts between marginalized residents and the urban visions imposed upon them.