Salone Selection
After the “Drafting Futures” Arena conference space, the Salone Library, and the Corraini Bookshop, the Formafantasma creative duo – Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin – has also designed the new “fair within a fair” setup dedicated to rare objects. Here’s their preview
12 books to place under the tree or give as a gift. Conveying discoveries, insights and visions
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A journey through women’s interior design, three iconic monographs and the links between design, photography and marketing, up to the transformation of Jeddah, social innovation and a reportage by Branzi and... 50 designers on the sofa
STORIES
Almost Nothing by Nora Wendl, University of Illinois Press
in English
The story of one of the masterpieces of modernist architecture – Mies van der Rohe’s Edith Farnsworth House – seen for the first time through the eyes of the client, so restoring her to her rightful place in history. Through the rich correspondence left by Farnsworth, a cultured and influential personality from Chicago as well as an established medical researcher, a totally different story emerges from the one narrated to date, which undermines her image as an angry former lover of the architect. The construction of these 140 square meters of glass and steel ended in bitterness, with a lawsuit between the architect and the builder, and a countersuit by Farnsworth, whose charges were dismissed as unproven. Farnsworth’s memories alternate with the author’s reflections on misogyny and professional ambition, shaping a creative essay on love, loneliness, beauty and the search for the divine.
Almost Nothing by Nora Wendl, University of Illinois Press
INTERIOR DESIGN
Making Space by Jane Hall, Phaidon
in English
An exhaustive investigation, illustrated with hundreds of photographs, on how women have continuously redefined interiors. Organized in alphabetical order – from Aino Aalto to Diana Żurek – the book presents the work of 250 interior designers – well-known, lesser-known and emerging figures from over 50 countries since the mid-19th century. Although women were believed to have an innate knowledge of the home, gender long limited their professional recognition. Decoration was seen as an extension of unpaid domestic work. Often overcoming barriers of class, race, and institutional prejudice, their creativity is expressed not only in beautiful, but also deeply personal and politically significant environments. Among the Italians: Gae Aulenti, Cristina Celestino, Emanuela Frattini Magnusson, Paola Navone, Elisa Ossino and Nanda Vigo.
Making Space by Jane Hall, Phaidon
MONOGRAPHS
Shiro Kuramata by Deyan Sudjic, Phaidon
in English
A tribute to the legacy of Shiro Kuramata, the influential Japanese designer who passed away prematurely in 1991. His traditional aesthetic fused with the principles of Western design has secured him a prominent place in the history of contemporary design. The volume is a reissue of the monograph published in 2013 with an introduction by Deyan Sudjic (406 pages and 600 illustrations, many of them previously unpublished). It explores his rich output of furnishings and commercial buildings based on the use of industrial materials enhanced through their intrinsic qualities, such as transparency, translucency or tactility. In homage to Kuramata’s predilection for material qualities, the monograph is presented in a special acrylic box. The essays and personal reflections explore the sources of his creative world, with their roots in his childhood torn apart by war.
Shiro Kuramata by Deyan Sudjic, Phaidon
DESIGN
Hello Image by Tulga Beyerle, Viktoria Heinrich, Esther Ruelfs, with essays by K. Grcic, T. Hwang, V. L. Heinrich, L. Rapp, E. Ruelfs, S. Schumacher, D. Sudjic, Hirmer Publishing
in German and English
The catalogue of the exhibition running until 12 April 2026 at the Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe in Hamburg, the volume explores the presentation of a product and its advertising image from the early 20th century to the present day, highlighting how diverse and complex the ties are between design, photography and marketing and point out that their integration can decree the success of a brand. The catalogue gives examples ranging from the 1920s – when graphics, photography and design came together for the first time – to contemporary digital advertising. Examples include: Caffè Hag, the first model for the development of a brand that moved from graphics to photography as a new design medium; Olivetti, one of the first companies to set up its own advertising department to create and maintain a brand image; Apple, in the eighties and nineties, as a pioneer in the presentation of products.
Hello Image by Tulga Beyerle, Viktoria Heinrich, Esther Ruelfs, with essays by K. Grcic, T. Hwang, V. L. Heinrich, L. Rapp, E. Ruelfs, S. Schumacher, D. Sudjic, Hirmer Publishing
SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Modern: Jeddah in Transition, 1938–1964 by Abdulrahman and Turki Gazzaz / Bricklab, ArchiTangle
in English
Highlighting 15 case studies, together with academic essays and visual contributions, the volume is a study in depth of the fading modernist architectural heritage of the port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The urban transformation of the centre, from a small walled city and strategic hub for pilgrims heading to Mecca to a modern, sprawling metropolis, began in 1938 with the discovery of the oil fields, which attracted international companies and institutions and marked the beginning of its profound architectural and infrastructural reconfiguration. As a reaction to this radical change, the vernacular vocabulary has been mythologised and the modernist developments of the next thirty years are now perceived as inauthentic, so that many buildings have been demolished, and still are, to make way for new megaprojects.
