“This is the book of the summer,” says my local bookseller as I buy a copy of Perfection by Italian author Vincenzo Latronico. It’s true. The book came recommended by a trusted source. I first spotted the minimalist, cobalt-blue cover (a Fitzcarraldo Editions signature) on the tube and then in the hands of sunseekers in London parks. After reading, I passed on my own copy to a colleague and discussed it with friends at dinner parties.
At just 120 pages, Perfection is a succinct exploration of millennial malaise: it follows expat couple Anna and Tom, who live in Berlin and are deeply preoccupied with curating their lives in the attempt to find meaning through the objects that they surround themselves with. The first few pages detail their apartment: string lights, curved Danish furniture, brass candle holder and all. A small jungle of indoor plants includes monstera, fiddle-leaf fig, peperomia, alocasias, euphorbias and philodendrons. A black metal side table is stacked with “past issues of Monocle and The New Yorker”.
The premise of Perfection is an update on Georges Perec’s 1965 novel Les Choses, which chronicles the lives of Jérôme and Sylvie, a young Parisian couple who also seek a sense of self through their possessions: jade ashtrays, a brown-velvet sofa and leatherbound books signal the French mid-century zeitgeist. But an insatiable and financially unsustainable desire for more trinkets, tchotchkes, furniture and clothes drives them to a total rejection of this chosen milieu. They flee Paris for Tunisia. In Latronico’s 21st-century retelling, his protagonists also attempt to renounce their contemporary trappings but opt for digital nomadism in Sicily and Lisbon instead. Spoiler alert: despite moving countries, neither couple manages to escape themselves.
As I’m required to ponder design as a job (somebody has to do it), these two precautionary tales struck a chord. When does an obsession with objects become objective materialism? The truth is that I care deeply about my furniture, lights and homeware. And while they’re only possessions, they also distinguish the chapters of my life. Buying a sofa felt like a confirmation of adulthood. I cycle through phases of desire for one more item and disenchantment with what I already own. So I purchase and purge. Decluttering is an art form that I aspire to perfect.
Debating the pros and cons of materialism is a dead-end pursuit – and neither Latronico nor Perec come to any conclusions. With cost of living crises, economic disparity on the rise and wealth gaps widening, it’s unsurprising that this frustrating, late-capitalist climate also birthed Celine Song’s latest film, Materialists. Despite damning reviews, I found it shamelessly enjoyable. Without revealing too much about the somewhat predictable ending, the film confirms that money – and what it can buy you – will not provide your life with deeper meaning. Perfection, Les Choses and Materialists are simply polite reminders to exercise vigilance when prioritising what really matters in your life.
Read next: Five design and architecture books to lose yourself in this summer
1.
‘Magazine C’, South Korea
From the team behind Magazine B – the South Korean brand-documentary publication – Magazine C is a quarterly publication for furniture obsessives. Each edition is dedicated to a single chair, exploring the people, craft and stories behind a chosen design, starting with Jean Prouvé’s Standard chair, Thonet’s No. 14 and the Louis Ghost chair by Philippe Starck. Compact and sleek, the magazines have a considered aesthetic. A limited use of bright colours and crisp photography give the design a premium feel. Meanwhile, the familiar, neutral serif typeface of FK Roman Standard adds personality.
“Typography in general plays a central role in a magazine’s visual identity and editorial expression,” says editor in chief Minjung Kim. “It allows imagery of chairs and their surrounding contexts to be presented within a unified and coherent graphic framework.” A valuable contribution to design education, the magazine’s uniquely niche perspective offers a surprisingly diverse mix of content. From personal stories to lifestyle and architectural history, it successfully shows that there’s more to chairs than simply somewhere to sit – they can also be a lens on contemporary life.
reading-b.com
2.
‘The New Sustainable House’, Australia
The New Sustainable House by Sydney-based writer and curator Penny Craswell is a rallying call to action. Architects, designers, builders and their clients have more information, technology and innovative materials at their fingertips than ever before; and yet the building industry is one of the world’s greatest polluters. The notion of designing with the environment in mind has been around for some time – but meaningful change has been slow.
To get the industry thinking even harder about its impact – and what is possible to achieve – Craswell profiled 25 architect-designed homes from around the world that stand out for their innovative solutions. Highlights include a single-storey mud-brick box built in the Texas desert and an all-timber Swedish cabin that is completely petrochemical-free. What unites this diverse lineup is the shared ambition of architects and clients to do as little harm to the environment as possible, without losing out on comfort or aesthetics. “There is no one quick fix to sustainable architecture,” says Craswell. But this book is as good a place to start as any.
thamesandhudsonusa.com
3.
‘A Passion for Jean Prouvé’, France
A Passion for Jean Prouvé: From Furniture to Architecture showcases works by the 20th-century French engineer, architect and metal artisan from the collection of gallerists Laurence and Patrick Seguin. Generously illustrated with photographs and previously unpublished drawings, the bilingual publication demonstrates how Prouvé was a strong advocate for mass production and industrial techniques.
The Seguins’ private collection features little-known pieces, such as the 1939 Saint-Brévin table, as well as more iconic works, including the Métropole chair and the 1930 Cité armchair. The collection is split between their Paris apartment and gallery and their estate in the south of France, where Prouvé’s demountable houses are installed en plein air. The Seguins’ passion for Prouvé’s work attests to his creations’ enduring charm. “His modernity prefigured many contemporary approaches,” say the collectors. “There is a real dialogue – a synergy – between his furniture and contemporary art.”
patrickseguin.com
4.
‘Casa Mexicana’, Mexico
The rich architectural tradition of Mexico, defined by sun-soaked concrete walls and wooden ceilings, is the subject of Casa Mexicana – a new publication from British publishing house Thames & Hudson. With photography by Edmund Sumner and text by London-based architecture journalist Jonathan Bell, this colourful monograph takes its readers to 26 homes across the country. From tucked-away houses on the streets of Mexico City to beachside retreats in Puerto Escondido, the book is an exploration of contemporary brutalism and natural textures such as concrete, stone and wood, which seamlessly blend into dense greenery and dramatic landscapes.
Sumner’s photographs capture sweeping vistas and intimate details, while floor plans and drawings offer technical insight. Architects such as Ludwig Godefroy and Mauricio Rocha appear throughout, showcasing the range and ethos of Mexican design today. Whether you’re dreaming of a remote getaway or want to explore the structural nuances of a dynamic architectural movement, Casa Mexicana is a visual journey into the heart of the nation’s built environment.
thamesandhudson.com
5.
‘Dakar, Métamorphoses d’une Capitale’, Senegal
All cities must change if they want to avoid becoming static mausoleums – but what’s at risk when that transformation happens too quickly or almost indiscriminately? Authors Carole Diop and Xavier Ricou are worried that part of their hometown, Dakar, is losing its architectural soul in the process of relentless modernisation. So they have put together a book called Dakar, Métamorphoses d’une Capitale. It’s half a portrait of the city, half a manifesto for sensitive preservation and wholly a case study for urban planning across Africa.
From its beginnings as a series of fishing villages inhabited by the Lebu people through to its official founding as a city in 1857, the colonial era and post-independence expansion, each of the Senegalese capital’s historical chapters is explored with illuminating photography and cartographic evidence that unearths traces of the past in the present. Published by Éditions de l’Aube, it’s an ambitious, impassioned and necessary work. It’s also a rare opportunity to admire pictures of Dakar’s modernist, neo-Sudanese and art deco treasures, as well as the masterpieces of asymmetrical parallelism that shaped its visual identity. All 450 buildings are neatly laid out in the book’s closing inventory, an impressive catalogue of a heritage under threat.
editionsdelaube.fr
