Book It

Book lists have long been a holiday shopping season staple. You’ve seen them. They can be found everywhere this time of year. This may not even be the first book list you’ve read today.

That’s right. We’ve got our own list of books to seek out this year. We’re sure your favorite architecture magazine or website has a collection that makes recommendations from across the entire industry, but this list was established with an admitted self-interest. Our compilation pulls together recent books that have featured Centerbrook projects, as well as a pair that we’ve authored.

So whether you choose to visit your favorite local book retailer, or open up the world’s most popular marketplace app on your mobile device, the following is what to look for:

Cocktails and Conversations: Dialogues on Architectural Design

Abby Suckle & William Singer

Centerbrook Principal Mark Simon participated in an entertaining installment of the unique “Cocktails and Conversations” lecture series along with John Ruble of Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners. Published in November, this book highlights more than six years of lectures by a who’s who of eminent designers, including Simon’s and Ruble’s talk on the late, great Charles Moore, founder of both Centerbrook and MYR. Eight different Centerbrook projects are pictured in the book, as is a recipe for the cocktail crafted especially for the event, the “Mooretini.”

Connecticut Architecture: Stories of 100 Places

Christopher Wigren

Also published just in time for the holiday season, this compilation highlights the most historic and distinctive places in the Constitution State. Yale University’s ultra-sustainable Kroon Hall, home to the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, is featured in the book’s first section titled “Shaping the Landscape.” Centerbrook teamed with Hopkins Architects on the project, which was completed in 2009.

Ocean House: A Sense of Place, The History of Ocean House

Lauren DiStefano & Deborah Stewart

This brand new book takes an extensive and fascinating look at the history of the esteemed Rhode Island resort. The present day Ocean House is widely recognized as one of the world’s finest properties, and is arguably Centerbrook’s most publicized project. The book dedicates 20 pages of prose and pictures to its foreword, written by Centerbrook Principal Jefferson B. Riley, architect of the Ocean House.

The Architectural Story of Quinnipiac University: Four Decades, Three Campuses, Two Presidents, One Architect

Jefferson B. Riley

Written by Riley, this comprehensive compilation chronicles the unprecedented story of one architect designing for a college for more than 40 years. Riley’s detailed descriptions and imagery go behind the scenes of campus planning and design like never before. The book, which went on sale this past May, also includes Riley’s updated campus master plan and vision for potential future developments at Quinnipiac. As a bonus, fellow Centerbrook Principal Chad Floyd analyzes the evolution of college campuses in the afterword.

Centerbrook 4

Jefferson B. Riley, Mark Simon, Chad Floyd, Jim Childress

We will reach back to 2017 for this one to provide a reminder that our latest book representing Centerbrook’s collective portfolio is still relatively new and easily found in the market. Rich with imagery and insight, this book was composed by each of our four principals at the time – Riley, Simon, Floyd and Jim Childress – and highlights their most notable work from the 21st century.

The American House: 100 Contemporary Homes

Hannah Jenkins

Also from 2017, this title includes Riley’s own new residence that he designed along with his wife, Mary Wilson. The book dedicates four pages to the Riley-Wilson house, known as the eMBarkerdero, which is perched majestically along the Connecticut River.

A Setting for Excellence, Part II: The Story of the Planning and Development of the Ann Arbor Campus of the University of Michigan

Frederick W. Mayer

This book from 2017 is a second installment that goes behind the scenes of the planning and development at one of the nation’s premier public institutions of higher learning. Centerbrook’s School of Public Health complex is profiled as part of the book’s chapter on the evolution of the Medical Center.