184 pages
9 1/2 x 9 inches
170 color illustrations
ISBN 978-1-58093-184-7
$40 hardcover
($50 Canada
£25 UK)
World rights

Architecture on Architecture
Platt Byard Dovell White
Introduction by Kenneth Frampton

The award-winning firm Platt Byard Dovell White is best known for designs that introduce contemporary forms and materials to historic contexts, layering architecture on architecture. Based in New York City, the firm has completed highly visible projects in landmark districts, including the New 42 Studios in Times Square, the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center in Central Park, the Equinox Fitness Center in Greenwich Village, and the Chanel headquarters on Fifty-seventh Street. Current designs include the controversial new entrance for the New-York Historical Society, an addition to the Poly Prep Lower School in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and a mixed-use building for Congregation Shearith Israel on Central Park West.

The four principals, Charles A. Platt, Paul Spencer Byard, Ray H. Dovell, and Samuel G. White, are active participants in architectural life of the city, serving on the faculties of Columbia and New York Universities and on the boards of the Municipal Art Society, the Landmarks Conservancy, and the Preservation League of New York State. Paul Byard is the author of The Architecture of Additions, the first critical review of additions to significant buildings. Sam White has written two monographs on the work of the legendary firm McKim, Mead & White.

Architecture on Architecture, the first monograph on PBDW, illustrates the firm’s philosophy through an elegant, full-color presentation of institutional, commercial, and residential projects. Architect’s sketches and plans are included in each of the twenty-two portfolios presented, adding depth and detail to the individual descriptions. A lively timeline follows the personal and professional lives of the architects, suggesting how past work, collaborations, and experiences inform the work of this multi-faceted firm.

Kenneth Frampton is the Ware Professor of Architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. His books include Modern Architecture: A Critical History, Studies in Tectonic Culture, Le Corbusier, and Labour, Work and Architecture.