11 Architecture Books for the 2020 Holiday Season

Valentina Silvestrini curates a selection of 11 architecture books published in 2020, organized around two themes: urban narratives (Genoa, Milan, Rome) and disciplinary research. Andrea Botto's 'Reviviscenza' documents the replacement of Genoa's collapsed Morandi bridge with Renzo Piano's new viaduct, with proceeds to charity. The Fondazione Renzo Piano also released a bilingual volume on the same project. 'Nuove architetture a Milano' reissues Roberto Aloi's 1950s survey of 72 iconic buildings, updated with new critical texts. Two Quodlibet books funded by Fondazione Cariplo examine Milan's peripheries and urban gardens. 'Roma. Guida all'architettura' adds buildings completed since 2007, including MAXXI by Zaha Hadid Architects and Palazzo Rhinoceros by Atelier Jean Nouvel. Giovanni Durbiano's 'I Nuovi Maestri' revisits postwar Italian architects and the Casabella-Continuità magazine. Matteo Zambelli's 'La mente nel progetto' targets design students with cognitive tools. Vittorio Marchis's 'Dall'Arte allo Zero' is a philosophical dictionary for engineers. Pierluigi Nicolin's 'Architettura in quarantena' reflects on heterotopias during lockdown. Alessandra Coppa's 'Architetture dal futuro' explores utopian housing prototypes by firms like Foster + Partners and Studio Libeskind. Finally, the catalogue for the postponed 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, 'Le muse inquiete', includes histories of all Giardini pavilions, including Carlo Scarpa's destroyed in 1984.