CATEGORY

Who are the world's most exciting up-and-coming architects? 10 x 10_2 has 100 definitive answers, provided by 10 influential curators, educators and architects—including Zaha Hadid, Toshiko Mori, and Kurt Foster. Each featured architect is allotted four generously sized, photo-rich pages, with concise yet informative texts. The projects are distinguished by a rare combination of inventiveness, thoughtful use of materials and sheer beauty. In Zurich, Christian Kerez stacked and cantilevered solid concrete shear walls between large expanses of glass to create a multifamily residence of pristine structural integrity. In Minneapolis, Vincent James Associates Architects endowed a boathouse with the rhythm of repeated trussed beams, inspired by the activity of rowing. SPBR Arquitetos' glass-and-wood dental clinic in So Paulo features a transparent facade, designed to win the trust of neighborhood residents. In Tokyo, Tezuka Architects designed the space-saving Wall-less House, a steel-frame structure supported only by the central utility core and two columns. Among the more futuristic approaches are ONL's glass-and-metal highway sound barrier housing an industrial building in The Netherlands; New York-based Evan Douglas' fluid architectural elements, created by digital morphing; and Beijing-based Fake Design's dramatically scaled geometric stone formations for a riverside development in China. As a stimulating bonus, each member of the curatorial team offers an annotated list of 10 personal cultural influences, which range from John Berger's classic, Ways of Seeing, to films by Wim Wenders and the architecture-rich city of Chicago. Biographies of the 100 architects are also included. The only drawback of this splendid book, the second in a series, is its eccentric typeface. Stretched across overly long lines of body text and captions, it makes for eye-straining reading. --Cathy Curtis