We continue our review of 2023 with a roundup of this year’s top architecture and design books, including a survey of 60 years of Barbie Dreamhouses and a volume documenting tidal pools around the world.
Also featured in the roundup is a series of books on kerbside dining shelters made popular during the coronavirus pandemic and two books on brutalism, one focusing on architecture in Paris and the other in Italy.
Here are Dezeen’s top 10 books of 2023:
Barbie Dreamhouse by Mattel and Pin-Up
To mark the 60th anniversary of Barbie’s Dreamhouse, Toymaker Mattel and architecture magazine Pin-Up released a book illustrating the evolution of the dollhouse and its furnishings from 1962 to 2021.
It features photographs by fashion photographer Evelyn Pustka, architectural drawings, and quotes and essays from designers, critics and historians examining how Dreamhouses throughout the decades echoed the styles and domestic ideals of the time.
Find out more about Barbie Dreamhouse ›
Brutalist Paris by Robin Wilson
Barlett School of Architecture professor Robin Wilson documented over 50 brutalist buildings completed in Paris from the 1950s to the 1980s in his book Brutalist Paris.
Spotlighting celebrated brutalist structures as well as those that have been abandoned and demolished, the book explores the social, political and cultural contexts of the buildings in seven essays, with photography by Nigel Green.
Find out more about Brutalist Paris ›
Sea Pools: 66 saltwater sanctuaries from around the world by Chris Romer-Lee
Tidal pools – seawater pools filled by high tides – from around the world are captured in this book by architect Chris Romer-Lee.
Romer-Lee created the book with the aim of showcasing the “often overlooked coastal infrastructure”, from a tidal pool in Portugal commissioned during the authoritarian Estado Novo regime (pictured above) to a pool in South Africa that had a dangerous impact on the topography of the coast due to its enormous size.
Find out more about Sea Pools ›
Noticing a trend in kerbside dining shelters springing up on New York City streets during the coronavirus pandemic, freelance creative director John Tymkiw spent three years photographing the makeshift structures and compiled them into a series of books titled How We Ate.
Tymkiw described the shelters as an important new form of architectural expression, which responded to a commercial necessity for increased outdoor seating when Covid-19 limited the capacity of indoor gatherings.
Find out more about How We Ate ›
Photo courtesy of the Onera Foundation
David B Peterson collated mid-century embassies designed for the United States in this book, including a structure in Athens with a cantilevered roof by Walter Gropius and a triangular building in Oslo by Eero Saarinen.
According to Peterson, the purpose-built United States embassies of the Cold War period were designed to be a clear break from neoclassical architecture, which had come to be associated with fascism after world war two.
Find out more about US Embassies of the Cold War ›
Ultimate Collector Motorcycles by Charlotte and Peter Fiell
This double-volume anthology spotlights 100 of the most collectable and valuable motorcycles of all time, including ones that broke world records and won prestigious races.
Written by Charlotte and Peter Fiell and published by Taschen, Ultimate Collector Motorcycles provides detailed descriptions of the technical design and history of each bike.
Find out more about Ultimate Collector Motorcycles ›
Living on the Edge by Agata Toromanoff
Design historian Agata Toromanoff’s book Living on the Edge celebrates houses perched on the edges of clifftops, many of them exhibiting innovative solutions to building on challenging landscapes.
For Toromanoff, the remote locations and vulnerability to harsh weather conditions are what make clifftop architecture interesting, whether it’s a Chilean home with a vaulted roof designed to withstand strong winds (pictured above) or a mirror-clad extension in Canada placed on a steel frame that is anchored into the bedrock.
Find out more about Living on the Edge ›
Brutalist Italy by Roberto Conte and Stefano Perego
The second book showcasing brutalist architecture in this roundup is Brutalist Italy by photographers Roberto Conte and Stefano Perego.
It features “visually striking and sometimes surprising” examples of brutalism in Italy, including a Star Wars-like cemetery extension, a viaduct supported by twisting arches and a monolithic cheese-shaped temple.
Find out more about Brutalist Italy ›
Photo courtesy of the Twentieth Century Society
100 20th-Century Shops by Twentieth Century Society
Architecturally significant UK stores, from retail parks to post-war shopping centres, are captured in this book by the Twentieth Century Society.
It documents the architectural heritage and evolution of retail in Britain throughout the 20th century, which saw a significant change in consumer culture and attitudes around high street shopping.
Find out more about 100 20th-Century Shops ›
Black Country Type by Tom Hicks
Also celebrating architecture in the UK is Black Country Type by artist Tom Hicks, which chronicles post-industrial buildings in the West Midlands.
The book includes factories, warehouses, shop fronts and underpasses that are unified by bright colours, sharp graphic lines and the use of typography.
Find out more about Black Country Type ›
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