Customer Reviews

Morphosis, Vol. 3: Buildings and Projects, 1993-1997 (v. 3)

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As someone who holds graduate level degrees in both architecture and graphic design I take immense pleasure in participating in a journey of design presented by some of the most talented individuals practicing today. The latest installment in Morphosis' development is by far the most mature of their collected works. Perhaps this is owing to the continued and greater collaboration between architect Thom Mayne and designer+critic Lorraine Wild. To a greater degree than the other two, Volume 3 presents the collection of minds at work at Morphosis. The pages "read" like a piece of architecture, taking us through the visceral experience of space-yet here we are in two dimensions. Literature can at times be difficult, and this book is not an easy experience, but it is worth the time and effort to engage the images, the drawings, the words. Like one of the other revolutionary tomes Ms. Wild has designed-John Hejduk's "Mask of Medusa"-we must pause to think about how to read: The table of contents has been placed in the middle of the book, and we are left to choose our own path through the work, piecing together an understanding which in turn becomes an experience, and that of course, is architecture.

It is visionary like the magazines designer+architect El Lissitzky published, "Vesc Objet Gegenstand," and "ABC." Such visionary books are for inspiration, not illustration, nor are they for the faint of heart.

neat drawings, but this book is for hard-core fans of Morphosis. the amount of graphic information enclosed is staggering at first, but once you own it you will get bored with it. there is no meat on these bones. the text, tellingly placed in the back like an afterthought,is meaningless. i doubt anyone without prior experience with Morphosis' projects would really understand what he is up to.

Being an architecture student, I constantly refer to many books, and Morphosis is one of my favourite contemporary architecture firm. This is really a thick and quite a heavy book. Its a compilation of many of Morphosis' work. Their "Best Of.." volume. This marvelous edition is divided into 2 parts. The first part consist of many colourful computer generated views, elevations, plans and 3D computer models etc of their buildings. The 3D models give a good visual understanding of their complicated but exciting buildings. The second part consist of essays by Thom Mayne. The thing about Morphosis is Mayne's writing is clear. He states his intention and theories clearly without getting out of the subject of architecture much. He talks about the difference between a project and a building which is a very good way of looking at architecture today. The graphics and writing provide a very clear understanding of their buildings. The bottom line is, if you like Morphosis, you'll love this book among your collection.

The information presented in the book is good--no doubt about that. But the graphics of the book is too much--it takes away a lot from one's ability to clearly read and understand the drawings. Whoever designed it does too much to overwhelm the senses and as a result, the reader is left confused and thumbing page to page trying to figure out what is going on. Also, the quality of the binding is rather lackluster--after about half way through the book, the binding (which was basically a piece of paper HOT GLUED on to the pages) fell apart. Thom Mayne's work is interesting (and perhaps nothing more than that) but he doesn't much help his case if the quality of the design and the construction of the book is this BAD.

I have seen a lot of books on Morphosis out there. Some are more projects' photographs, other are of single projects drawing, philosophy and graphic. This one is a graphic masterpiece. I bought this when I was an architect student and it helped me layout the foundation of my portfolio and presentation. I don't necessary design like Morphosis, but love how they projected their projects to the curious eyes. This is a very thick book, of mostly weird angles FormZ's renderings mixed with CAD drawings. You get tried of looking at rendering pages after pages, but each project is unique in its own. My friends and roommates borrow this book the most of all the books in my architectural library, by far. The cover is very cool, but the pages were cheaply glue or constructed and it break apart, under heavy browsing. I repair this book with zappa-gap many times. So this is my #1 architectual book.

As with the previous two volumns in the Morphosis Building and Projects series, this book emphasizes graphics, not architecture. It is difficult, if not impossible to understand the concepts indicated in the computer generated images. Very few actual photos of buildings. The text is also very complex and seems to attempt to discuss issues deeper than any of the designs seem to achieve. I own all three volumnes and this is by far the poorest. I continue to hope that a better product will be produced showcasing Morphosis. No insight is gained from this book - only pure frustration. Look elsewhere for fresh architectural ideas - you will not understand these!

One of the few architecture books at the brick and mortor bookstore that isn't sealed shut with shrink wrap. After I flipped through it I immediately bought it through amazon. It is designed by Cranbrook design superstar Lorraine Wild, the design perfectly represents what Morphosis is about. I take it from the other reviewers that they only looked at the images and did not read anything at all because they did not "get it". Their work is delivered as a cyberpunk novel outtake, the setting an industrial dance club with torture devices. There is a wonderful surreal short story that acts as a sort of guide to viewing the work as well. I am not an architect but this is inspirational enough for me to spend half a decade in school to become one. Reminds me of the Jean Tinguely book published in the early 70's (with sketch overlays) and a similar design philosophy as Low/Tek

Very groovy, lots of groovy Form-Z. A portfolio model