Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide

"For those seeking architectural armchair travel experiences, I would heartily recommend Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide . This is an urgent volume for a rich, multi-layered city in the midst of a destructive redevelopment. It seems that one can find all of architectural history in this city, from turn-of-the-century revivalism and romanticism, to concrete expressionism, and modernist design. In contrast to Cairo’s ancient and medieval architectural heritage, the city’s modern architecture has to date not received the attention it deserves. Confinement has limited our access to noteworthy spaces and places but given many a renewed interest in exploring home. For architecture books, how could I resist a book about libraries? For The Love of Books is a standout for ideas on how to curate your library, and ties in with recent debates about the value and virtue-signalling of libraries in lockdown. Home is where the heart is— and the Hi-Fi . As more music becomes digital rather than analogue, this design book presents an almost wistful look back at the designs that for many defined the acoustic experience of being homebound. It may be some time before most of us fly again. The noise of overhead air traffic has become an ever more distant memory for many of us. What goes on in air terminals the world over when no-one is flying? Looking forward to perhaps boarding again next year, we also await the publication in January of Tom Hegen: Aerial Observations on Airports , from one of my favourite publishers of art, architecture and photography books, Hatje Cantz. Here, the German photographer known for his aerial photographs documents Germany’s airports at the height of 2020’s lockdown in all their geometric stillness. Inundated with ever more digital imagery, as all of us have become content producers while corporations harvest our IP. Yet no matter the extent of the proliferation of photos, some images remain seared on the imagination, a retinal after-image on the mind’s eye. In 2020, we lost several who had captured images of lasting power. These included Chris Killip, perhaps best known for his unflinching series In Flagrante , which he made in the industrial north-east of England between 1973 and 1985. And Paul Fusco, whose most enduring image is perhaps the track-side family of mourners passed by Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral train in 1968. I will be adding both photography books to my library in memoriam. Just published, The New Woman Behind the Camera presents a detailed survey of the many ways women around the world shaped modern photography in the mid twentieth century, and is also on order. Lockdowns have been messing with our sense of both space and time, but we will all remember where we were during the quarantines of 2020. Many of us will remember what we were reading, and the art, architecture and photography books in 2020 that have left a lasting impression. Which art books left an impression on you this year? Part of our Best Books of 2020 series"