Stone

Description

Stone is a fascinating, fresh and insightful global tour of the world’s oldest and most beautiful building material

Featuring more than 170 structures, from prehistory through to today, the book includes an incredible range of buildings: awe-inspiring Neolithic monuments and the epic Pyramids of Giza feature alongside the work of twentieth-century icons, from Mies van der Rohe’s seminal Barcelona Pavilion to Marcel Breuer’s daring Met building in New York.

There are also projects by the world’s best contemporary architects, from Snøhetta’s angular Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo to Kengo Kuma’s sculptural Chokkura Plaza in Japan and David Chipperfield’s geometric Museo Jumex in Mexico City.

Arranged to promote comparison and discussion, each project includes an extended caption providing a perceptive commentary on the building.

An elegant and informative visual exploration, Stone demonstrates the remarkable variety of creative and innovative structures the material has inspired around the world.

William Hall trained at Central Saint Martins and began his career in the office of the minimalist architect John Pawson. He now runs his own design practice in London, working with clients such as Calvin Klein, MoMA and Tate. Hall is the author of Concrete, Brick and Wood (Phaidon 2012, 2015 and 2017).

“An insightful global tour… Get lost in its visuals and upgrade your coffee table style by pre-ordering now.”—Airows

“Stunning photographs of ancient tombs and churches, along with modern houses made out of volcanic rock and a material called clunch (basically chalk)… A global tour of more than 170 examples of the best rocky architecture of the past five millenniums.”—The Globe & Mail

“Spotlights iconic stone architecture.”—Hypebeast

“Stone demonstrates the positive environmental and aesthetic impact that using stone can have.”—1stdibs

“This beautiful book on stonemasonry would grace any coffee table.”—Crafts magazine

“Remarkable images from pre-history to today… stone is not an anachronism. It is the future.”—Mature Times

“From its richly textured book jacket (yes, it feels like the grooves, or “plug and feather” lines, left behind when stone is split with metal wedges and pins), to the 170 “how’d they build that?” images, to author William Hall’s descriptive, interesting text, Stone is a fascinating global tour of one of the world’s oldest and most exceptional building materials.”—Design Within Reach Blog

“This book is beautifully designed and thoroughly engaging for even the most novice admirer of architectural wonders.”—ArtDesk Magazine

“Boundless inspiring images and studies of buildings made from each book’s titular material.”—Grand Designs magazine

Additional information