Books in the Masterpiece series

This installment of the Oscar Riera Ojeda Masterpiece Series focuses on Fort 137 by Daniel Joseph Chenin. Set in a remote location to the west of Las Vegas, Nevada, the brief was for a residence that established a direct connection to its surroundings in a sustainable, environmentally-friendly manner using locally-sourced materials as much as possible. In response, Chenin produced an open structure divided into three different levels with each volume carefully placed to be read as a series of rock masses and also to protect against the harsh sun and wind while also offering uninterrupted views of the surrounding landscape. This book provides a privileged glimpse into the conception and execution of this superlative structure with a text by the renowned architectural critic Aaron Betsky, an interview with the architect, sumptuous photography by Stetson Ybarra, XXXX and XXXX, illuminating drawings, diagrams and layouts. An homage to the forts built when the area was first being settled, the building sits resplendently alone in the tranquility of the landscape: truly a modern masterpiece.

A striking addition to the Birdseye Masterpiece series celebrating sustainable and innovative rural modernism. Field House showcases a distinctive Rhode Island residence designed by the award-winning Vermont architecture and building firm Birdseye. Fronted by an open meadow and otherwise surrounded by a deciduous forested hillside, the minimalistic design of the home engages the landscape and is an exercise of contrasts. Featuring an introduction by the renowned architecture critic Aaron Betsky as well as in-depth analysis, sumptuous photographic documentation and detailed plans and diagrams, this volume explores every stage of the design and building process, from its conception to the stunning end result. It thus offers valuable insight into how an award-winning residence like Field House came into being, showing how brilliant design, thoughtful landscaping and a harmonious philosophy can come together to create a subtle architectural masterpiece. The residence is composed of two separate gable volumes: a two-story main house and a one-story garage, knitted together with a perpendicular exterior walkway buttressed with an intermittent full-height site wall.

Not all masterpieces scream for attention. Some wait with patience, with composure, for their genius to be felt. Joseph Biondo's Equanimity House is just such a work of art; the exceptional, hiding in plain sight.