London Books Roundup: March 2015

16 March 2015 | Books & Poetry | By: M@

Our regular guide to the latest books about the capital.

Chunky books about architecture arent exactly in short supply, but heres one that punches above its own considerable weight. It does so by taking account of how buildings affect the peopleliving in and around them, and vice-versa. The book is organised by area, with inner London sliced into 30 or so chapters (Clerkenwell, Bankside, etc.). Each covers around a dozen important buildings and other architectural spaces.

Rather than simply characterise the fabric of a building, author Paul Knox delves a bit deeper to recall its history, and even its prehistory. For example, the brutalist former Home Office on Petty France stands on the site of the equally derided Queen Annes Mansions, a continuation of overbearing, Orwellian architecture.With a supremely generous picturebudget (525 colour photos!) and a deftly written text, this is both a first-rate guide to the citys bricks and stones, but also a visual social history of a perplexing city.

From Merrell. Author website.

And now for something completely different. Alice Stevenson is a professionalillustrator, but shes also a keen walker, and an urban walker at that. Her book offers vignettes from 32 urban strolls, nearly all of them north of the river. Her compassmight need oiling, but her experiences flow from the pages with ease and grace. From a melancholy sojourn round the slopes of Hampstead to the antique futurism of the Barbican and its attendant Pedway system, we find that a good walk can conjure all moods and mindsets.

For Alice, as for anyone, London can be a wonderland or a torment, but there is always more to explore.The book is decorated throughout with the authors own semi-abstract illustrations, making this an attractive gift book or inspiring manual of perambulation for anyone who spends too many hours indoors.

From September Publishing. Author website. Authors twitter @AliceStevo.

A tricky one to review, seeing as it pretty much does what it says on the front. This photo-heavy guide to western Europes tallest habitable building takes you through all its evolutions, from design, to construction, to a set of panoramas from the observation decks. Along the way, theres an interview with architect Irvine Sellar, a floor-by-floor guide to whats in the Shard, a history of the area and information on key buildings you can peer down on from the top. Curiously, theres no specific mention of Aqua Shard, Oblix and Hutong, the three restaurants that most make the Shard worth visiting, although the Shangri-La hotel is briefly name-checked. The book isattractive, well illustrated and, best of all, balances on its end like a miniature Shard. It isan official guide, though,so dont expect any other kind of balance, but an account that glows like the Shards illuminated peak.

From Thames & Hudson.

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London Books Roundup: March 2015