An A-Z of the Modern World

B is for Bauhaus

A memoir and a master class in musing on modern design . . . It's a collection of thoughtful, absorbing essays about many aspects of modern design, a subject nobody writes better about than Sudjic . . . There are many rewarding pieces here on subjects ranging from the genius of Dieter Rams, the beauty of the Jumbo jet, the success of Ikea, the troubled concept of authenticity, and the contradictions of Leon Krier, to the development of the zip and the end of the typewriter and the analogue camera

The book is written with a natural fluidity, with authority, and at times an almost academic interrogation

Combining Sudjic's obsessive attention to obscure detail with a pop culture-honed eye for influence and connection, 'B' is a handbook of why things are the way they are

Deyan Sudjic is Director of the Design Museum. He was born in London, and studied architecture in Edinburgh. He has worked as a critic for the Observer and The Sunday Times, as the editor of Domus in Milan, as the director of the Venice Architecture Biennale, and as a curator in Glasgow, Istanbul and Copenhagen. He is the author of B is for Bauhaus, The Language of Things and The Edifice Complex.

This an essential tool kit for understanding the world around us. It's about our obsession with collecting, the quest for authenticity and the creation of national identities. It's about Hitchcock's film sets and why we value imperfection. It's about fashion and technology, about politics and art. 
 
'A memoir and a master class in musing on modern design . . . It's a collection of thoughtful, absorbing essays about many aspects of modern design, a subject nobody writes better about than Sudjic' - Evening Standard

The architecture of power

The Edifice Complex

Deyan Sudjic's The Edifice Complex: The Architecture of Power is a fascinating exploration of the language of architecture as an insight into the psychology of power, from tyrants to billionaires. 
 
 Why do presidents and prime ministers, tycoons and tyrants share such a fascination with grand designs? Is it to impress or terrify, to wield state power, make a bid for immortality or just satisfy their egos? 
 
 From Hitler's vast Chancellery to Saddam Hussein's Mother of all Battles mosque, from Olympic stadiums to Donald Trump's excesses, Deyan Sudjic examines the murky relationship between buildings, money and politics, revealing the power of architecture - and the architecture of power. 
 
 'A thrilling and passionately indignant trawl through vanity's most polluted depths' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;The Times 
 
 'An often frightening, sometimes hilarious set of stories of brutality, absurdity and occasionally beauty' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Evening Standar 
 
 'Punchily written ... deftly amusing ... a closely argued, brilliantly marshalled, important book' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Daily Mail 
 
 'Informed, lively and intelligent ... an asylum of power-mad politicians and Croesus-rich patrons' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;New Statesman 
 
 'By turns funny, acidic, penetrating and provocative ... as compelling a read as a popular novel' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Norman Foster 
 
 Director of the Design Museum, Deyan Sudjic was born in London of Yugoslav parents. He is a former architecture critic for the Observer, and a visiting professor at the Royal College of Art. Sudjic was Director of the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2002 and is author of The Edifice Complex, the much-praised 100-Miles City, the best-selling Architecture Pack, The Language of Things and monographs on John Pawson, Ron Arad and Richard Rogers.

Astonishing ... a thrilling and passionately indignant trawl through vanity's most polluted depths

Punchily written ... deftly amusing ... a closely argued, brilliantly marshalled, important book

Full of fascinating fact and smart observation ... clever, stimulating and thoughtful

Essential reading for anyone who cares about the physical world around them

As compelling a read as a popular novel ... it is as though the worlds of academe and the gossip column collide ... funny, acidic, penetrating and provocative

The Edifice Complex explores the intimate and inextricable relationship between power, money and architecture in the twentieth century. How and why have presidents, prime ministers, mayors, millionaires and bishops come to share such a fascination with grand designs? From Blair to Mitterrand, from Hitler to Stalin to Saddam Hussein, architecture has become an end in itself, as well as a means to an end. This is a book of genuine timeliness, throwing new light on the motivations of the rich and powerful around the world - and on the ways they seek to affect us.

The Language of Things

In The Language of Things Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum, decodes the things around us: their hidden meanings, our relationship with them, how they shape our lives and why we desire them. 
 
 Design is everywhere. It seduces, pleases and inspires us. It makes us part with our money. It defines who we think we are. An iPhone, an anglepoise lamp, a Picasso, a banknote, an Armani suit, a William Morris textile, a Lucky Strike packet, a spacecraft - every object tells a story. And understanding their stories offers us a whole new way of seeing the world. 
 
 'Articulate and wonderfully knowledgeable ... for anyone who takes an interest in the world around us' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Time Out 
 
 'A nightmare vision of a world drowning in objects ... witty, well observed and wide-ranging' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Guardian 
 
 'An elegant, witty and free-ranging survey, from Thomas Chippendale's ponderous 18th-century manor-house furnishings to Jonathan Ive's sprightly Macintosh iBooks' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Daily Telegraph 
 
 'Lively ... engaging' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Evening Standard 
 
 'Readable, sharp and worthwhile' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Financial Times 
 
 Director of the Design Museum, Deyan Sudjic was born in London of Yugoslav parents. He is a former architecture critic for the Observer, and a visiting professor at the Royal College of Art. Sudjic was Director of the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2002 and is author of The Edifice Complex, the much-praised 100-Miles City, the best-selling Architecture Pack, The Language of Things and monographs on John Pawson, Ron Arad and Richard Rogers.

An elegant, witty and free-ranging survey of industrial product design from Thomas Chippendale's ponderous 18th-century manor-house furnishings to Jonathan Ive's sprightly Macintosh iBooks

Sudjic's book rebukes designers for their arrogance and increasing self-importance ... readable, sharp and worthwhile

The Language of Things is a happy trot through the colourful landscape formed by design's eternal alternation between use and allure

Deyan Sudjic presents us with a nightmare vision of a world drowning in objects ... witty, well observed and wide-ranging

As a confessional, the book is witty and honest, and Deyan Sudjic remains one of our most insightful commentators

Articulate and wonderfully knowledgeable ... a very nice object in itself ... much in here for anyone who takes an interest in the world around us

We live in a world drowning in objects. But what do they tell us about ourselves? In The Language of Things, Design Museum Director, Deyan Sudjic charts our relationship - both innocent and knowing - with all things designed. From the opulent excesses of the catwalk, or the technical brilliance of a laptop computer, to the subtle refinement of a desk lamp, he shows how we can be manipulated and seduced by our possessions. Brilliant and courageous, The Language of Things defines the visual vocabulary of our time and gives us a powerful new way of seeing the world. With up to 100 colour illustrations throughout, this book itself is both a provocative and beautiful thing.

Deyan Sudjic

We live in a world that is now predominantly urban. So how do we define the city as it evolves in the twenty-first century? Drawing examples from across the globe, Deyan Sudjic decodes the underlying forces that shape our cities, such as resources and land, to the ideas that shape conscious elements of design, whether of buildings or of space. Erudite and entertaining, he considers the differences between capital cities and the rest to understand why it is that we often feel more comfortable in our identities as Londoners, Muscovites, or Mumbaikars than in our national identities.

Deyan Sudjic

Books by Deyan Sudjic

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