Michael Kimmelman

From the New York Times architecture critic, his celebrated walking tours of New York City, now expanded, covering four of the five boroughs and some 540 million years of history, accompanied by some of the people who know it best As New York came to a halt with COVID, Michael Kimmelman composed an email to a group of architects, historians, writers, and friends, inviting them to take a walk. Wherever they liked, he wrote--preferably someplace meaningful to them, someplace that illuminated the city and what they loved about it. At first, the goal was distraction. At a scary moment when everything seemed uncertain, walking around New York served as a reminder of all the ways the city was still a rock, joy, and inspiration. What began with a lighthearted trip to explore Broadway's shuttered theater district and a stroll along Museum Mile when the museums were closed soon took on a much larger meaning and ambition. These intimate, funny, richly detailed conversations between Kimmelman and his companions became anchors for millions of Times readers during the pandemic. The walks unpacked the essence of urban life and its social fabric--the history, plans, laws, feats of structural engineering, architectural highlights, and everyday realities that make up a place Kimmelman calls "humanity's greatest achievement." Filled with stunning photographs documenting the city during the era of COVID, The Intimate City is the ultimate insider's guide. The book includes new walks through LGBTQ Greenwich Village, through Forest Hills, Queens, and Mott Haven, in the Bronx. All the walks can be walked, or just be read for pleasure, by know-it-all New Yorkers or anyone else. They take readers back to an age when Times Square was still a beaver pond and Yankee Stadium a salt marsh; across the Brooklyn Bridge, for green tea ice cream in Chinatown, for momos and samosas in Jackson Heights, to explore historic Black churches in Harlem and midcentury Mad Men skyscrapers on Park Avenue. A kaleidoscopic portrait of an enduring metropolis, The Intimate City reveals why New York, despite COVID and a long history of other calamities, continues to inspire and to mean so much to those who call it home and to countless others.

"Architects are not building temporary housing because we are too busy building for the privileged people.... I'm not saying I'm against building monuments, but I'm thinking we can work more for the public." - Shigeru Ban, Pritzker Prize, 2014In 1994, after seeing photographs of the plastic sheets given to Rwandan refugees to live under, Shigeru Ban went to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to propose ideas for better shelters. Since then, Ban has been critically heralded for his innovative approaches to environmentally sound architecture and his devotion to humanitarian efforts in the wake of some of the most devastating natural and man-made disasters. His temporary housing has employed everything from plastic beer cartons to paper tubes to create ingeniously flexible spaces. By sourcing unconventional, recycled, inexpensive, local and sustainable materials, he stimulates devastated economies by involving local resources and labor. These works stem from empathy and have restored shelter and gathering places, offering comfort, protection and dignity to stricken communities around the world.This important volume is the first book-length study to collect, catalogue and examine Shigeru Ban's architectural responses to disaster relief. Essays and discussions of individual projects, drawings in the artist's hand, instruction manuals, diverse photographs and a timeline and map make an essential compendium for the most personal and relevant aspect of Ban's work. The book is a major contribution to the broad subjects of humanitarian relief and sustainable design solutions, and provides an inspiring testament to Ban's ongoing dedication to our planet and its people.Born in Tokyo in 1957, Shigeru Ban studied at the Southern California Institute of Architecture and went on to Cooper Union's School of Architecture where he studied under John Hejduk. At age 48, Ban won the 2005 Thomas Jefferson Medal in Architecture from the University of Virginia. He was profiled by Time in their projection of twenty-first-century innovators in the field of architecture and design. Ban was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2014.

In the wake of the Occupy Wall Street movement, leading planers and social scientists examine public space today and freedom of assembly. The Occupy Wall Street movement has challenged the physical manifestation of the First Amendment rights to freedom of assembly. Where and how can people congregate today? Forty social scientists, planners, architects, and civil liberties experts explore the definition, use, role, and importance of public space for the exercise of our democratic rights to free expression. The book also discusses whose voice is heard and what factors limit the participation of minorities in Occupy activities. This foundational work puts issues of democracy and civic engagement back into the center of dialogue about the built environment. Beyond Zuccotti Park is a collaborative effort of Pratt Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, City College of New York School of Architecture, New Village Press and its parent organization, Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility. The book is part of an open civic inquiry on the part of these organizations. The project was seeded by a series of free public forums, Freedom of Assembly: Public Space Today, held at the Center for Architecture in response to the forced clearance of Occupy activities from Zuccotti Park and public plazas throughout the country. The first two recorded programs took place on December 17, 2011 and February 4, 2012.

In the wake of the Occupy Wall Street movement, leading planers and social scientists examine public space today and freedom of assembly. The Occupy Wall Street movement has challenged the physical manifestation of the First Amendment rights to freedom of assembly. Where and how can people congregate today? Forty social scientists, planners, architects, and civil liberties experts explore the definition, use, role, and importance of public space for the exercise of our democratic rights to free expression. The book also discusses whose voice is heard and what factors limit the participation of minorities in Occupy activities. This foundational work puts issues of democracy and civic engagement back into the center of dialogue about the built environment. Beyond Zuccotti Park is a collaborative effort of Pratt Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, City College of New York School of Architecture, New Village Press and its parent organization, Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility. The book is part of an open civic inquiry on the part of these organizations. The project was seeded by a series of free public forums, Freedom of Assembly: Public Space Today, held at the Center for Architecture in response to the forced clearance of Occupy activities from Zuccotti Park and public plazas throughout the country. The first two recorded programs took place on December 17, 2011 and February 4, 2012.

Skyhorse Publishing is proud to revive Playing Piano for Pleasure. With the wonderful writing one would expect from a longtime New Yorker reporter, Piano aficionado Charles Cooke, offers concrete routines for improving your piano performance. A pleasant and constant cheerleader, Cooke asks readers to practice every day, suggesting that they work through just that section time and again until it is perfect. In addition to his own thoughts, Cooke includes material from his interviews with master pianists, artists, and writers. The result is a book that should be cherished for years to come.

An exploration of art as a great passion of life, written by a chief art critic for The New York Times, considers what can be learned through pictures, sculpture, and the artists who create them, in a personal exploration that invites readers to become more aware of art and the creative spirit within one's own life. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.