In the last edition of the Disrupt Symposium, the first-ever event organised for Architects, Engineers and Construction specialists bringing to stage the true blueprint of Industry success, we hosted Marta Buges from the famous Actar Publishers who shared with us the business secrets to book publishing.
According to Marta publishing monographs is a way to elevate your business game. Books help strengthen identity, reaffirm your goal within your team, have a better relationship with your collaborators and work with your ideal clients.
Marta Buges is an architect and editor engaged in the dissemination of the debate on contemporary architecture and urbanism in the interest of continuously rethinking the practice. She coordinates editorial projects at Actar Publishers and is also an editor and content curator at the digital platform urbanNext.net.
Actar Publishers is a publishing house based in New York. Founded in Barcelona in 1993. They publish titles of the most influential practices and theories of emerging architects, designers, and thinkers of contemporary culture. Their publishing program is internationally known for circulating innovative and ambitious works from the field of architecture, landscape architecture and urbanism. They are distributors of their own titles along with titles published by renowned institutions and schools of architecture. They are committed to supporting the ideas that make the practice move forward. Books are designed to reflect that idea, as they vary in size, shape colour and texture just as the content is singular and original.
Here are different ways books can help with the business, illustrated with cases:
Books as Catalysts
Unboxing New York by ODA
New York is a city dominated by regulations and a firm post-recession development boom where architects are to obey conventions and prescribed parameters. Building codes, market and time are equivalent to light, context and proportion. Unboxing New York looks at reclaiming the architect’s power to design a quality of life that is fundamental.
The changing shape of the city exhibits forces, theories, and histories responsible for the transformation. This book is an analysis of how architects deal with these common conventions. It is split into 5 smaller books with short articles, research pieces, diagrams and analysis of key features of projects to present an accessible and engaging road map of a large metropolis like New York adding value to urban life.
ODA has developed a formula for decision-making to design alternative buildings with its prolific experience in New York. They have created and built over 50 structures covering an area of 50 square miles and witnessed the development of the city first-hand.
According to Martha, this book by ODA is a monograph on their experience designing and building in New York. It is a way to look back and reflect on their work, as well as an opportunity to project themselves to the future. It is an honest and effective approach that aligns their architectural value with how they want to convey their image. Divided into 5 parts the section Living explains the Why, the sections Zoning and Developing explain the How, and finally, the sections Marketing and Building explain the What of the projects.
Taking advantage of the book launch, the studio published a video where we can see the team working while the book is being handed from department to department as if it were one of their building projects. The book ends up on a table where principal Architect Eran Chen discusses it with a client. In this way, they are not only showing their expertise in the field, with all the experience gained in the last years but also how they work collaboratively as a team.
They did a public book launch in New York and hosted a private dinner at the Venice Biennale with prestigious experts in the field, where the publication was given to every guest. This last event led to the firm being invited to participate in a competition in Rotterdam which ODA went on to win. By disseminating their architectural values through the book, they not only strengthened the team’s drive but also connected with potential clients.
Books as Experiences
Strange Objects, New Solids and Massive Things by Archi-Tectonics
Modernism was considered a norm in architecture for almost a century. It was presented to citizens as an expression of modern life. In the 21st century with the digital came online societies, niche cultures and digital design. Digital manufacturing aided in producing surface patterning, fabrication of special building components, removing constraints of standardization in construction and being experimental.
Research and prototype testing allow for informed decision-making. Today we have reached a stage where digital design and robotic productions are the norm and integral in the design making it important to be rethought. The book Strange Objects, New Solids and Massive Things recounts some of the earliest projects and examines them valuing performance over form and design intelligence over style. The book breaks down 10 current and recent projects that celebrate the particular and singular over the ideal and universal using examples of prototypes, mock-ups, process documentation and testimonials.
Winka Dubbeldam, founder of Archi-Tectonics explains that this book was conceived as an unusual book since the office had previously published 3 monographs already. This fourth book had to be more than the display of the latest projects, it had to convey the uniqueness of their work.
The book is very expressive in its format. It’s not a pristine object, it’s big and robust, which allows a certain playfulness with it. This materiality instils Winka’s approach to anyone reading or holding the book. It expresses how non-standard their architectural design process is, which resembles an industrial design practice.
Books as Statements
Green Obsession: Trees Towards Cities, Humans Towards Forests by Stefano Boeri Architetti
Written by Stefano Boeri Architetti with contributions from professionals from other fields, the book follows along the 15-year journey of Stefano Boeri and his architecture studio in redefining the relationship between the city and nature. It helps raise awareness about protecting the world and its biodiversity through scientific essays, discursive threads, and dialogues by imminent personalities in respective fields.
While cities have always inspired ideas for humanity it is now time to include them in the multi-layered strategy of policy-making for climate change and the environmental debate. One of the most environmentally restorative processes even today is the process of photosynthesis. Protecting existing natural areas and biodiversity, planting trees, de-carbonization, renewable energies, digitalization, smart mobility and the circular economy could be the answer to tackle climate change.
This Anthropocene period has visible effects on the changing environment and also affects all living beings in it. The “Green Obsession” aims to provide solutions through architecture and urbanism and gives voice to the ecological transition that can only be achieved through a paradigm shift.
A new kind of urbanism, questions and the relationship between humans and nature are concepts explored in the book to draw a portrait of our era. Separate professionals come together to educate the global community using a shared environmental strategy.
According to Martha, the most iconic projects and ideas from the firm are featured in the book. Green is clearly the predominant colour across their work and gives evidence of their “green obsession” and how their practice aims at making urban environments greener.
The book discusses the current context, knowledge and tools they have been gaining in the course of their practice and how they have applied them in projects all over the world. Their proposals help create a narrative to imagine new realities. Contributors such as Mitchell Silver, former commissioner for the New York City Apartments, Jane Goodall, Anthropologist, and Paul Hawken, Environmental Activist are key agents that reflect on how the future should be built and validate Stefano Boeri’s vision.
A book launch on Dezeen reinstated what a statement the book Green Obsession makes and explored the ambition of his enterprise. During a conversation for a podcast on urbanNext hosted by IE School of Architecture in conversation with Stefano Boeri, he picked the book Mutations from his collection. This book, published in 2001, with Rem Koolhaas being one of the contributors along with Boeri, represents a specific moment in history and takes us back to that time by simply seeing its cover. Green Obsession is also a strong manifesto, with a cover that clearly states its intentions, and which might be used in the same way in 20 years as a representation of how architecture is aiming for greener environments.
Books to Mark Trajectories
Geographies of Trash by Rania Ghosn & El Hadi Jazairy of Design Earth
Waste management is a geographic concern that in the age of the environment remains invisible. Geographies of Trash looks into forms, technologies, economies and logistics of waste management systems in terms of aesthetics and urbanism in Michigan across 5 projects and controversies about technology, space and politics.
With the help of the research-design methodology, the book probes spatial issues through concepts and maps the relation of trash to the space in Michigan. It is also a study in alternative strategies, rituals and imaginaries that reclaim trash as matter in place. By dissecting these issues, the book makes the concern visible and engages the audience in a debate on waste systems in architectural urbanism.
Design Earth is a design practice that engages the medium of speculative architectural projects. Published in 2015, their first book, Geographies of Trash, makes visible the scale of waste management through thorough analysis and proposed architectural strategies to reduce the amount of its negative impact.
In 2017 they published Gestories, a manifesto on the environmental imagination which highlights the commitment to investigate solutions for the climate change emergency. This highly illustrated book surged the reputation of Design Earth. Their drawings were exhibited at the Seoul Biennale and on the cover of Domus Magazine, having a great impact on the architecture field. The book served as a vehicle for their work and went from being purely academic to being in the hands of renowned artist Olafur Eliasson.
Their third monograph, entitled The Planet After Geoengineering, is a graphical novel explaining climate engineering and a possible future of Earth. Exhibited at the Venice Biennale, Bauhaus Museum in Germany and Onassis Foundation in Greece, this book marked the trajectory for Design Earth as a leading practice in the exploration of making public the climate crisis.
All books are conceived to disseminate the progress of their research. The firm produced 3 books which aided them in marking the path of their career and are currently working on their fourth one which is yet to be released to complete the collection.
Middle: Vacant Spaces NY by MOS, Crown Hall Dean’s Dialogues 2012-2017
Bottom: Architecture As Measure by Neyran Turan, Álvaro Siza Vieira: A Pool In The Sea by Kenneth Frampton and Vincent Mentzel, KM3 by MVRDV. All published by Actar Publishers.
Books are very much alive and publishing one does not mean building a memorial for ideas. It is a strategically planned path to achieve your goals.
Marta Buges
Publishing a monograph involves 3 stages:
At the production stage, the book is edited, designed, and manufactured with the author's goal in mind. The distribution must be strategic, and although it must cover an audience as wide as possible, it also needs to focus on the most fitting markets. The book is part of a carefully curated catalogue, so being involved with a publishing house helps with connecting with a broader network. Communication strengthens the dissemination with analogue and digital presence.
Books are far from being outdated in the digital age. Book publishing can play a huge role in elevating a business game within the architecture and design industry. The benefits of publishing monographs go beyond mere documentation and become powerful tools for strengthening identity, fostering team cohesion, building relationships with collaborators, and attracting ideal clients. They offer unique opportunities for architects to convey their visions, share their expertise, and engage with a diverse audience. By leveraging the power of book publishing, businesses can elevate their brand, expand their networks, and make a lasting impact in the industry.
