Customer Reviews

Marmol Radziner + Associates: Between Architecture and Construction

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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While liberally illustrated with color photos, renderings, sketches and plans this is much more than just another architectural coffee table book. Rather it tells the story, through extensive text, of one architectural firms pursuit of excellence not only in design, but in the delivery of the finished product - the building itself. In order to achieve this lofty goal the fledgling Marmol Radziner + Associates quickly evolved into a design-build entity: one capable of performing much of the actual construction work through in-house departments. Presented are a representative sampling of completed projects including numerous residences, the restoration of a mid-century Neutra masterpiece, as well as commercial and institutional efforts. The 'Desert House' prototype for a prefab approach to single family housing is also well documented here. Many of the custom prefab houses that followed are presented via computer generated renderings as well as the occasional photograph.

Very small floor plans only rarely containing room labels are minor distractions to an otherwise compelling presentation.

Highly recommended!

First off I have become a major Marmol Radziner fan ever since I saw pictures of their Desert House - steel frame, floor to ceiling glass walls, modern design, contemporary furniture with a mid-century modern feel.
This book gives some insight into Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner's philosophy, their architecture, design and construction company. The book covers some of their key projects including the restoration of Richard Neutra's fabulous Kaufmann House all the way through to the their incredible Desert House. The book also covers their latest entry into the high end prefab space and their furniture designs. I was somewhat disappointed with the photos in the book. They were not very high quality and they are the same photos you'll find on the web including on their site. In addition, the sparse floor plan drawings were completely useless - very basic (no details at all) and were so tiny that you need a magnifying glass just to look at them. I wished they'd include more on the prefab stuff but you can get more details on the prefab stuff at their web site. All in all a pretty good read and some decent pictures from these two very talented architects of modern design.

A wonderful collection of work from this young, energetic firm. The design/build aspect of their work in particular, is intriguing for those of us in the design community who struggle with the dance of getting our design initiatives realized. This monograph demonstrates that a single vision shared by the persons responsible for the design and constuction can yield special results. The work is "modern" in the fact that it belongs in the time in which is created. The detail is crisp and the conceptual rigor of the design process is evident.

If you are planning to buy a prefab house - this is a great book for your imagination. Marmol Radziner does such an amazing job on prefeb.... !!