Breuer

This excellent architectural study by McCarter provides a thorough account of what it's actually like to be in Marcel Breuer's buildings. In his introduction, McCarter (Steven Holl) explains his intent for the book to serve as "an invitation and a provocation to visit Breuer's buildings, and sit in his chairs, and discover what no writing, however empathetic, careful, and articulate, can capture%E2%80%94the lived experience of place." The book focuses on the importance of interior and exterior design questions to Breuer's work, to emphasize "the capacity of reinforced concrete to simultaneously shape both building structure and inhabited space." McCarter uses remarkable precision and meticulous details in his descriptions of many Breuer homes and larger structures. He doesn't merely climb steps but climbs "the ten steps." This voluminous and convincing account of Breuer's brilliance is made all the more poignant by McCarter's disappointment in his subject's later work, arguing that large commissions spoiled the careful cohesion of his many remarkable decades. McCarter successfully demonstrates that in Breuer's body of work, "a balance between embodied space and sculptural form" is achieved in ways seldom seen anywhere. (June)