Among the critical adulation that follows VJAA wherever they build, you'll find words like graceful, beautiful, sublime, quiet, classic, disciplined, and lightall suggesting the kind of alchemy that makes the work of this Minnesota-based firm so highly regarded. The magic they performmarrying the simple forms of modernism with the rich materials of their sites in a thoughtful framework that encourages social interaction and environmental responsibilityis carefully illustrated and explained in this monograph, which evokes the very qualities that make their work so seductive and compelling. A former furniture maker, principal Vincent James brings the woodworker's appreciation of materials, details, joinery, and structure to the firm's work, which here includes both their award-winning houses such as the Dayton and Type/Variant houses and institutional projects, such as the Minneapolis Rowing Club, Tulane University Center, and St. John's Abbey and Monastery Guesthouse. Along with an introductory essay by Hashim Sarkis, partners Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos provide a captivating and insightful portrait of their talented young firm.

A collection of Courtney's columns from the Texas Monthly, curing the curious, exorcizing bedevilment, and orienting the disoriented, advising "on such things as: Is it wrong to wear your football team's jersey to church? When out at a dancehall, do you need to stick with the one that brung ya? Is it real Tex-Mex if it's served with a side of black beans? Can one have too many Texas-themed tattoos?"--Amazon.com.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • At last, a book that shows you how to build—design—a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage • “Life has questions. They have answers.” —The New York Times Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home—at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve. In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.

* Forty designs show how the public loo can become public artRestrooms are inescapably important amenities, but something of a grey zone when it comes to design. In a massive effort to make them inconspicuous, public restrooms have been standardized, buried in underground bunkers, hidden behind walls and unmarked doors. At times, it seems our embarrassment with their very existence has led to an inability to provide sound sanitation. This book presents a selection of over forty very diverse public restroom designs, in which toilets enjoy special status as a vehicle for various artistic and cultural expressions, corporate values and the needs of different social groups. Four experts from different backgrounds and countries have been invited to write on sensitive issues in public restroom design. More than 500 full-color photographs, plans and detailed descriptions illustrate the designs in detail and provide fascinating information to architects, interior designers, students, and so on.